I just reread this and decided to post it here, despite the fact I wrote it last year.

Title-- Black & White & Red All Over (well, it's a better title than Korat Story #1, which is how it's archived on my site!)
Rating and Warnings-- PG-13 for graphic violence (might deserve an R rating; not sure).
Species and Characters-- Species is Korat--characters are Zrego (red-striped black male), Thelyris (tan male), Numi (black female), Echved (white female), Atumi (black male), Erashun (white male), Wureshi (black male), and Jysulehn (red female). (Zrego, Thel, and Jy are copyright to poetrywolf. =^^=)
Summary and Notes-- This is a long-ass story that I wrote at Kitty's request sometime last summer. It requires decent knowledge of Korats to really understand and knowledge of the following: Shula (red male) is the grandson of Redwood (Korat Original; red female). Shula leads an elite pack of Korats on Lavana with the express purpose of furthering and bettering the race by extensive mental and physical training to push and exceed all breed and species limitations. Wureshi is a bastard Korat who spent his life bettering himself by learning under the great masters (not Shula, but others) and then killing them. He's formed something of an army of Korats by incessant breeding with healthy females, and he trains the offspring himself after killing the mothers. Most Koratian masters who could've stopped Wureshi earlier are dead because of him--Atumi and Erashun, soul-brothers and masters both, are pretty much the last ones who stand a chance (other than Redwood herself). However, since Atumi and Erashun have never put their pride aside and worked together to fight him, they've never been able to kill Wureshi.

Confused? Don't worry, it only gets worse better. ~_^;; And I repeat--this is a long-ass story. Like mondo-long. So you've been warned. =D (However, I would appreciate feedback by people other than Kitty and my Korat RPers. ^^;; In fact, since this bugger is so long, if you leave a thoughtful review in a comment, I'll do a second request for you. =D Just tell me what you want with the review.)




It was dawn again.

No surprise, really. It dawned every day. Zrego cracked open one midnight blue eye, watching the sunlight creep over the dusky violet horizon. Ghrayu spat out orange rays, blinding in their hot intensity... but ahh, glorious against a glossy pelt and sleep-lax muscles. The Korat closed his eyes again with a quiet sigh of contentment, allowing the sun to warm his night-cooled body. The vivid orange light shone on his well-groomed ebony fur and turned his ruddy stripes a strange fiery color, hotly glittering along lengthy grey claws and bluely highlighting an ebony tailblade. The warm spring wind played with a bloodred rebel mane that fell, equine-style, over the male's piercing eyes and tumbled down his furled neck in gentle waves.

A dust-brown knot of limbs, tail, and neck next to the red-striped black stirred sleepily, narrow muzzle poking out of the tangle of Korat and sniffing the air, eyes closed. The soft sound disturbed Zrego's warm doze and the older Korat exhaled noisily, flicking an ear in the tan's direction. Thelyris took the hint, grinning toothily, and ducked his muzzle back into the crook of his hind leg, impossibly twisted in a Yoga-esque ball. As Eleis began to chirrup in the forest nearby, small (and not so small) birds awoke, ruffling feathers and calling in diverse voices to one another. Zrego rumbled his annoyance and rolled onto his back, stretching luxuriously and baring an ebony stomach to the sun's warmth.

"Mri'fa?" The voice was smooth but slightly higher than alto, despite the masculine undertone. Zrego opened one dark eye, canting his pointed ears back in tacit disapproval. Thelyris still, despite a year of travel together, refused to call him mri'fao, insisting on the more formal and respectful mri'fa. The tan's touseled head was up, slender muzzle angled at his companion... but he didn't speak. The look in his expressive, pale mocha-brown eyes spoke in place of his cultured, if young-sounding, voice. Thelyris often awoke questioning.

Zrego tucked his sleek muzzle under his forehands, blue eyes squeezing shut. With a resigned sigh, the striped answered the unspoken question with a far different answer. "We keep moving, Thelyris. There's no place for us here." The tan reached out a long, slim tailblade of a rusted hue and poked the red-black's muscular haunch. "I know why I left Shula, mri'fa, but why won't you tell me why you did?" Zrego flinched, sending a ripple down his glossy fur, and rose abruptly.

"I told you, Thelyris. There was no reason for me to stay. Now come on. We can hunt today, if we're careful." The mellifluous tenor was countered by a high-pitched growl of annoyance, Thelyris rising on skinny legs to a height that topped Zrego's by eight full inches, despite the hybrid's far more toned, graceful, and muscular build. The muss-furred tan was exceptionally tall and insanely quick because of it, though his agility was just barely lacking. However, raised by Redwood's own son, Of Ana's Line as well, and trained in the legendary Shula's pack... there wasn't much that Thelyris couldn't do.

Zrego moved without waiting for his younger companion, long limbs extending in an easy lope down the hill, towards a small plains-like expanse ringed with forest. There would be prey in the forest, elusive but present. Thelyris, with an uncharacteristic glower, trailed him briskly, dusty paws beating the bluegrass in a rhythmic drumroll. Zrego felt the unusual stiffness of his tan companion and sighed mentally, slacking his speed slightly to fall back and run alongside the younger male. "Alright Thel... you want my story? You were alive for most of it, you know." The tan looked over with startled golden-brown eyes; this was unexpected. Zrego resigned himself to remembering his tale and spoke in a storytelling voice.

"I met Numi when I was just over two years old, newly adolescent but already learned in the ways of the world. I had just been accepted by Shula and Atumi... at that point, I was not Atumi's soul-brother. That would come later, just after you were born, in fact. I'd snuck out of the territory, entering the crater-riddled, sulfuric band of land directly north, that strip that separated the Korat pack from the Erauqs further north. I saw... well, sensed, really... a presence and turned. A black, pearl-bladed and blue-eyed, approached. We introduced ourselves... and that was all we said. That night was spent in dance, art in the purest of forms. We circled and leapt the craters, twirling and spinning in mid-air and on the ground. After that, I thought I'd never see her again as she melted into the night...

"But I was wrong. A few months later, she came and asked admittance into the pack. I was Erashun's student now, along with my aunt, Jysulehn. Erashun... had tried to kill me when I met, knowing my bloodline when even I did not; Aunt Jy told me of my father, and my mother's and uncle's and cousin's deaths, after Atumi calmed the white. I had no idea that Atumi would defend me so, even against his soul-brother. After that night, Erashun took me in and taught me the art of the mind, whereas Atumi had trained my body. But I digress.

"Numi was accepted into the pack as one of Atumi's students. She trained under him while I was with Erashun. When my mind was not exhausted and her body unmarred, we would leave together and dance, as we did that first night. Atumi knew every time we left... and he smiled, I think, to see us train ourselves, together, far better than we would ever be trained under masters. To learn and to better oneself requires love... if not love for another, then love for perfection. I had very little of the latter, but a good deal of the former.

"In the next years in the pack, both Numi and I were shuffled from master to master, sometimes together in training but more often not. And then you know what happened there, Thel. You were in early adolescence, weren't you?" Zrego paused, glancing at his companion for the first time since he began his narrative. The tan dipped his head in a nod, thin ears flicking. He spoke, feeling the need to continue the story, as the red-black had fallen silent once again. Zrego rarely spoke so much.

"Yeah. Mizu and I had just turned two, I think... when Numi told everyone Thanks for the good times and the training, I have what I came for. And she left, back to her old territory I guess. She never mentioned having another pack, or anyone or anything to return to, really, but no one ever asked. Shula told her to come back whenever she wished to visit, which is kinda rare... but Numi was a cool Korat. He liked her... btsa, everyone did. She was pretty well-loved." Thel eyed Zrego, wondering if the older male would, perhaps, continue... and to the tan's surprise, the tenor voice took over the story once again.

"Numi was gone, but I was now firmly a brother to Atumi and Erashun. She told me why she was going, and offered me a home with her." Midnight blue eyes clouded, shadowed by more than the looming trees as the two Korats entered the dew-damp forest. "I didn't go. I still don't know why... But I didn't. Over the next year, Erashun and Atumi continued training me especially, as the pack grew and matured and changed and shifted... in newcomers came, and out trained Korats went. Families met, cubs were born, grew, trained, and left. Then... then my soul-brothers told me they would face Wureshi in battle. My bloodfather against my truest family. I was surprised when they told me. Atumi had always fought alone... but had never been able to best Wureshi. The same was true for Erashun. But this time... this time they said he was becoming too dangerous.

"They had to go, and fight together. The best warriors, excluding the Originals themselves and Wureshi, blast his soul... went to place their lives on the line for the good of the Koratian race.

"But it was too late..."

Zrego abruptly stopped speaking, cupped ears pricking up and eyes narrowing. Thel froze as well, uber-keen senses catching the same crystal-clear, distant sound that Zrego's did: the clash of tailblades. "Come, Thelyris," Zrego said, erupting into a headlong run and casting his mind ahead of him to find the swiftest path. The gangly tan could've easily outrun the shorter striped, but through respect and prudent caution kept by his side as the pair of young adults rocketed through the dense, morning-dark forest. It was only a pawful of seconds before both males came upon a scene of utter, almost unnerving familiarity.

Fresh sunlight, filtering through a break in the canopy, glittered on a glossy ebony pelt, rays dancing along the writhing movement of toned muscles as a supple, short Korat dodged the downstroke of a long, straight tailblade and countered with snapping jaws at a violet-tinged white throat. The black, dwarfed by a full two feet of height by the muscular white femme, sprang away as the white countered with a vicious kick... but the ease of the black's movement, the effortless speed and liquid grace... all spoke in soundless volumes to one male's eyes.

"NUMI!" Zrego howled, his eyes wide and entire well-built frame frozen. The black jerked in surprise, having been far too intent on her sparring match to notice the males' silent arrival, and stared his way with rounded periwinkle eyes. A slow grin formed on her sleek muzzle and Zrego felt something in his chest burn hotly at the expression, so familiar, he'd missed seeing that very smile so much--

A powerful tail-strike from the white landed the thick part of the femme's tail across Numi's flank, bowling the small black over and sending her sprawling. Zrego's burgundy-banded ears pinned back to his head and with a vicious snarl, his battle-trained body lunged for the white with the sheer intent of ripping her throat out. Thelyris stayed put, light mocha eyes darting to and fro, observing everything in the heat of the moment and ignoring the nagging feeling at the back of his mind that something was... wrong? Or just misunderstood?

Numi rolled to her paws, laughing... though the rippling sound died as she spotted Zrego's lightning-fast attack. Echved, never having trained under the masters, would not be able to counter that, and though they were rivals, Numi did not in any way wish the white dead. A grin curved the black's sculpted muzzle and she sprang from a run, colliding with Zrego's bigger frame mid-air and knocking the striped away. Luckily, Echved had already jerked backwards in a fast-for-her-breed dodge, mud-brown eyes wide in surprise. Thel relaxed minutely as he realized the white was no enemy, merely a sparring partner, and turned an amused gaze on the two forms lying in the tall, golden grasses.

Zrego found his muzzle unnervingly close to Numi's when his mind snapped out of fighting-mode. The black was laughing again, sprawled loose-limbed on her back with her forehands dangling in the air, head angled towards his and pale blue eyes sparkling merrily. The young male, feeling strangely nervous, rolled so that he was laying in a more upright Sphinx-like position; Numi stayed where she was, grinning. "I had no idea you'd find me here, mri'fao," she purred delightedly, lightly pawing at his muzzle. Whatever anxiety had stressed his mind and muscles faded at that feather-soft touch... and with it melted all composure he'd managed to regain.

Thelyris laughed aloud at his companion's sudden dropping of his guard, drawing the white's brown gaze. She arched one furred brow and he swept a graceful bow, grinning; he was nearly as tall as she. "Thelyris," he introduced quietly, giving Zrego and Numi as much privacy as was possible in the vicinity of two other Korats. The big femme snort-laughed, "Echved." Tan and white eyed each other with half-caution, half-amusement, trying to ignore the scene in the grass and the low voices coming from within.

"I... uhm... I..." Zrego found it hard to speak, something he'd had trouble with when first getting to know Numi as well. Dyone it, he thought he was done stuttering! Numi laughed, rolling over to mimick his pose, moist black nose a mere six inches from his. Zrego inhaled her earthy-rich scent and grinned, memories and an old mindset surfacing. "I didn't mean to find you, honestly," he admitted sheepishly, midnight eyes twinkling. "Thel and I were hoping to hunt and when we heard a fight..." Numi finished for him, "Naturally you came to investigate." She glanced at the thin, leggy tan and chuckled, "He could use some food. He still hasn't grown into his legs," she raised her voice with a grin, "have you Thel?"

The young tan shot the black a cheerful grin, "Nope. Still working on that." Seeing her again reminded him of his youth, his cubhood safe in a pack with his sister and parents and older siblings... before wanderlust had struck and he had trailed Zrego when the older male left the pack... without Shula's blessings. The striped bumped muzzles with Numi, catching her attention again as one very close to the black's heart. In the depths of her mind, the black allowed herself to wish Zrego had accepted her offer a year ago and had come with her to her home... But as the hybrid spoke, she listened. "This is your territory, then...?"

Numi laughed, the alto sound echoed by Echved's rumbling chuckle. "No, mine is further east mri'fao. Beach-front territory, you know. This is Echved's. Oh! Speaking of which. Ech, this is--" The white interrupted amusedly, "The Zrego you keep telling me about. I figured as much. I've gotten an earful of descriptions by now, Numi, you didn't really need to say anything." The black ducked her head and face-pawed, shooting a mock-glare at the shaggy femme, who laughed again. Zrego felt irrationally proud and had to work to shake the feeling off.

You haven't changed much, mri'fao. Numi's voice was suddenly in his head, and Zrego sidestepped a flashback to earlier pack days. Nor have you, Numi. How have you been in the past year? The black laughed under her breath, periwinkle eyes bright. You make it sound so long, Zrego. I've been well. Trying to train Echved, but she's a stubborn blaggard who thinks the world of herself and not much of me. She grins broadly, amusement shining in her face. The striped nodded, I see. I've been wandering... with Thel here for company.

The intimate conversation was interrupted as sensitive ears caught a distant howl. Numi and Zrego (and Thelyris, with less expertise) honed their hearing to listen to the words contained within the drawn-out song. Echved stayed silent, recognizing the honing for what it was, and waited patiently. As the words spilled out into the air from miles away, Numi and Zrego felt their blood run cold...

Pass on to all Korats: Death! -- Death of three! -- Wureshi is dead, celebrate, joy! -- Two masters died killing him, mourn, grief! -- Wureshi dead! -- Killed by black Atumi and white Erashun! -- Honour their lives and deaths! -- Pass on!

Zrego was frozen, mind whirling in horrified thought. He didn't hear Thelyris crumple to the golden grass, sobbing... didn't see Echved lower her head as Numi telepathed the message to the big white... all he felt was pain. Everything he loved... gone... dead! The striped lurched to his paws, muzzle flung skyward as he howled his grief to the uncaring morning, rosy clouds tinted orange by Ghrayu's light. And then he allowed himself to fall, chest hitting the ground without any shock absorbed by his toned legs and knocking the wind out of him.

Numi was there suddenly, her ebony body intruding on his pain, shoving close and forcing him to look at her, to remember that he could think, hear, see... Midnight eyes squeezed shut and he tossed his sculpted muzzle, refusing. ZREGO! The scream was heart-wrenching, the tone betrayed... The red-black male slumped, falling onto his flank and allowing his tear-soaked muzzle to hit the moist, cool soil. And he refused to think, or to acknowledge what his senses were buzzing with, Thel's own grief, Numi's presence, Echved's silent withdrawl... None of it got through the pain of loss.

The supple black looked down at her friend's shaking body, his beautiful dark eyes glazed, and knew that all attempts to reach him now would be even more futile than those before. So she lay down, her upper body resting on his chest and her haunches pressed close against him, her muzzle on his neck, and tried to stop the trembling. Her curving, pearly blade held down his blue-black one, and with all her mind and heart she tried to ease his pain. Perhaps she was in shock, for she felt none of her own... only a strange sense of wrongness, of prophecy unfulfilled. Her pale blue eyes were dry and quite calm, though very worried for Zrego, and her heart was not torn with grief. Shock? Or perception?

Zrego's mind cast out wildly for Atumi's, soul-brother, and for Erashun's, father-figure... And like it had so many times since they (and soon after, he) departed the pack... it met with darkness, and snow. His eyes flew open and quite suddenly, he was in control of his body, felt Numi's close warmth, now heard Thelyris crying nearby. He scrubbed at his muzzle, drying the tears, and tilted his head so his nose touched Numi's. She looked so worried; it touched him, and the bodyheat she generated was more pleasant than sunlight itself. But there was no time to think of chances lost.

"They're not dead." A pause while two sets of startled feminine eyes locked onto his face. "Thelyris... stop mourning. They're alive. I feel them." Numi eased up and Zrego rose, a full foot taller than the lithe black. The tan, scruffy muzzle tear-stained, blinked misty, confused eyes. The striped sighed, "I feel them. Trust me, Thel. They're alive. Stop crying, and no one pass that message." Numi cocked her head slightly, self-consciously putting a bit more distance between herself and Zrego, mentally sighing for the necessity. But she'd offered, and he'd declined... chances lost weren't to be thought of right now. It wasn't the right time.

Dark brown eyes looked at the three others, and a deep but smooth voice rang out. "I suggest you go check. Numi, I'll watch your lands for you." Echved shook her massive head ruefully, "Don't know why, but this feels important, even to me. If they're alive, maybe so is Wureshi." Numi flinched at that thought, flattening silky ears. Zrego slowly turned his muzzle towards his friend, and she answered with a nod before he could ask. Thel sniffled, but managed a faint grin when Zrego glanced at him. "Thanks, Ech," the black murmured, sighing slightly. "Last I heard, they were northwest of here. Several days' travel even for us."

Zrego nodded, and without any more fuss the three Korats moved into a brisk gallop through the forest. Echved watched them go with a troubled gaze, but she shrugged her misgivings off. "With Numi... ehh. The boys'll be safe enough," she chuckled, knowing all too well how much her rival's training paid off. The violet-white femme surged into a shambling trot to mark Numi's territory as her own... temporarily, of course.



A natural plant-fiber cloth dripped with cool water as powerful jaws clenched it tightly. Corded muscles roiled under thick burgundy fur like a nightmare under the cloak of night as Jysulehn speeded her trotting gait to a measured lope. Her scarred black nose detected the scent of fresh blood; no doubt one of her two 'patients' had moved, opening one of his gaping wounds... again. The burly red sighed as she ducked under a particularly massive gnarled root and entered a small, underground sanctuary, earth walls and floor muffling most sounds and absorbing scent for an efficient hiding place. Though Jysulehn never thought they'd need to hide.

The femme dropped the cloth across a sleek, sculpted black muzzle stained with dried blood. The prone male didn't move, obviously deep within a healing trance again. He and his companion only came out when absolutely necessary, to check their progress and once in a while, to drink a bit of water. With worried golden eyes watching for any sign of awakening, Jysulehn slowly began to wash the blood from Atumi's once-beautiful pelt.

Dark silver eyes opened slowly and what had been deep, slow breathing became shorter and ragged as Erashun's mind surfaced. The white angled his scarred muzzle towards Jy as she glanced over, and for the first time in days his once-dynamic voice spoke, now a dull, pained whisper. "I will go one last time. Then I will be healed. And I will fight again." The red's keen eyes widened but she couldn't argue -no one could argue with Erashun, master of the mind and soul- as the mammoth white fell into another healing trance. Jysulehn's only comfort was the steady sound of two heartbeats, softer than her own but just as strong... and the knowledge that Wureshi was worse off than his two enemies.



It did indeed take several days for the three Korats, despite their exceptional speed, to reach what their senses told them was the battleground. The vast expanse of field was blood-soaked and scorched, once-golden grass cut to stubble, trampled and burned by the fight. Zrego and Thelyris started to move forward, to investigate at close range, but with a sudden movement Numi blocked their path. With whites showing round her pale blue irises, she hissed, "Look," and pointed with her pearly blade. To the three's right, half a mile down the slope on the battleground, a shadowy figure was approaching... and to their left, its matching silhouette was accompanied by a moving mass of pure whiteness.

The second battle was about to begin.

Zrego felt his insides churn as, using his training almost recklessly, he honed his eyesight to get his first good look at the distant form of his bloodfather. Wureshi, the infamous killer who, with his spawn, had blackened the Koratian race and killed their most promising warriors. Wureshi, who had killed the striped's mother, uncle, cousin... nearly killed his aunt, Jysulehn. And now, for the second time, this Korat was going to try to kill his soul-brothers. For all that... the guy really didn't look impressive.

He was a shadow, well-built at five and a half feet and muscular. Grace outlined his every step, but there was no real edge to his frame, only a darkness that blurred and confused the eye that tried to pierce it. The only light that touched his body was that which shone from his pure white eyes, a cold icy mockery of the warm orange sunlight that beamed down from above. He approached with effortless ease, a master of masters, a warrior in every inch of his black soul. He appeared to be just passing out of young adulthood, though in fact he was over eighty; his training had kept him young.

Zrego shook as he turned his sensitized eyesight to look for his soul-brothers. It eased his heart to see them virtually unscarred from what must have been a btsashe first battle. Atumi's lithe, powerful frame walked without a limp, and his glossy ebony fur was highlighted with fire by the midday sun, glistening brightly as his gait kept toned muscles rolling under the beautiful pelt. A light shone from his eyes too, this one teal and bright, sending watery highlights across his sculpted muzzle and dancing along the length of his whiskers. A velvet-grey blade was held jauntily, almost cockily high as he advanced.

Despite Atumi's radiating power, he was still dwarfed by the mass of white on his left. Erashun looked radically different now, though; he had not recovered his original appearance as easily as his soul-brother had. Still a pure white hue with no visible scars, nonetheless the huge male's fur had been cut uniformly short, barely longer than normal Koratian fur and silky-downy soft now, lacking the coarseness of a white's outer layer of fur. He had lost that protection in the first battle, it seemed, along with his splendid leonine mane and beard. Now the philosopher-warrior had a short pelt, but for the first time Zrego could see the muscles that lay beneath the snow-white fur, and he sucked in a surprised breath to realize that Erashun was built as much like a red as a white. His mass had not been all silky fur, after all.

The orange sunlight did not mar the snowy hue of the big male, though. It brightened him, like sunlight on true snow, almost sparkling with every deliberate, graceful step. The orange raced flame-like along the length of his whitely silver blade and longclaws, and even from such a distance, Zrego could see the fire sparkle within those profound silver eyes. The hybrid managed a grin as Numi pressured both males into settling down atop the hill and not going closer; even though Zrego now realized he would have no chance in a battle against his bloodfather, he wanted to see his soul-brothers fight.

Wureshi stopped as the other two did, separated by several dozen meters of tortured ground. There might've been something said; if it was, it was through a mental link, for none of the three observers caught any words, despite their heightened senses. But from behind Wureshi came a powerfully muscled red male, spawn of the infamous black; the darkly blood-furred beast loped forward, passing his father and closing the distance. "Lesser beasts fight first," Numi murmured under her breath, pale blue eyes locked with Thel's brown ones and Zrego's midnight gaze on the scene below. "Who's lesser?" Thel asked in a soprano-ish whisper, raising a brow and glancing at Erashun and Atumi.

Zrego couldn't believe his eyes as a matching red form appeared from the opposite direction and loped easily to meet the challenger. "Her."



Sharp golden eyes didn't blink as Jysulehn sent her muscular body into a rolling sprint forwards from where she had crouched, watchful, next to a massive boulder behind Atumi and Erashun. Atumi's mind brushed against hers before connecting more fully, the black finding concentration on anything but battle difficult at this point. Be careful, Jysulehn. You were well-trained... but so will this one be. I don't want you dead. Lacking the black's usual eloquence but with an unusual undertone of honesty, Jy noted to herself before replying calmly, Don't worry, Atumi. I have no intention of dying this day. With what had become practiced ease, the red femme expanded her senses and felt the world around her come alive.

An unfamiliar mindvoice, rough and gravelly, pounded into her skull. Prepare to die, descendent of thrice-accursed scum! That message must have been broadcasted, because Atumi's ears went back in a movement too quick to be seen... though matched by Jysulehn's own silent snarl. But in a calm, emotionless tone, she returned telepathy, Interesting term... for I know that Wureshi is Of Ana's Line, blast his soul, and thus you are, young brat. There was no response to this prod, and the black-clawed, -bladed, and -eyed male lowered his blocky muzzle slightly as he increased his speed from a run to a charge.

Jysulehn smiled without any humor at all. She knew the rules of battles such as these, had seen Atumi and Erashun fight Wureshi ten days ago... and knew exactly her chances of winning against a hand-picked fighter. It helped her confidence somewhat that, with sensitized ears, she heard the familiar rustle of fur and whiskers that was Atumi's grin. Her own gait stayed calm and steady, and the rhythm could be ignored as, deep within her chest, she began to gather her power. Ghrayu's orange light fell on a burgandy pelt that was now tinged golden from the warrior's very soul.

Her enemy was doing the same, black energy spraying outwards and negating the sunlight. Though not the best at actually sensing energy, Jysulehn had shown an uncanny proficiency with using it in massive amounts, though deft control also escaped her, despite Atumi's best intents. It didn't matter now; in a contest of red against red, raw power was the area of expertise. But the male was still charging forward and Jy's calm lope hadn't altered, and with an inner smugness she knew she had more stability... and thus loosed her attack first.

With a deep breath, powerful jaws opened wide and a bolt of thick, blindingly golden energy sprayed outwards, sheer willpower holding the blast together so that no side radiation sapped its strength. The male was a split second slower, roaring out a heavy shadow in her direction. Gold met black only a few meters from Wureshi's spawn and he was forced to stop, lest he run straight into the mass of boiling energy. Jysulehn kept running easily, muscular limbs moving automatically with no thought needed and power still pouring from her furled throat, condensed in the curves of its passage and unleashed to pummel against the red's own. The male, now stopped, summoned more strength to push the conjunction of energies a foot farther away... two feet... and then none.

There are tricks around a head-on collision of energies... and Jysulehn knew them quite well. Most she had never mastered, lacking the fine control that Atumi had displayed in teaching her, but there were a few that she used with great alacrity. Summoning more power in her chest, she stopped her own flow of energy for the briefest second and sprang one length to the left, immediately releasing an identical attack to her first. The black energy roared past her, and her own golden bolt hit the red male in the neck and shoulder, enveloping him in sudden molten fire. There was no howl of pain, not from one of Wureshi's brood, but Jy would not allow him to rise from his burning slump.

Another bolt and then she was moving forward again, using more speed than most reds possessed, the male staggering higher on his paws and shaking the liquid flame from his scorched flesh, skin and fur burned cleanly off to display the red muscles underneath-- Jysulehn diverted her energy to the stump of a tail that she still possessed, and though lacking a tailblade, created a full-length tail and a blade out of raw fire-gold energy... and struck. The energy plunged into the male's flesh as he lunged desperately, unused to having Wureshi's typical kick-'em-while-they're-down tactics turned back on him; the blade pierced the lower part of his furled throat and went into his chest, touching his heart and then burning it to ashes.

Wureshi's fighter slumped on the ground as Jysulehn calmly stepped back, holding and storing her energy deep within her body. She fearlessly met Wureshi's glowingly white gaze and grinned toothily, thick pelt unmarked by the brief battle. And, with utter composure and disdain, the red turned her back on the infamous black murderer and began to walk away.

She knew that would do it, and she honestly didn't expect to survive the results.



Half a mile away, atop a hill overlooking the lowlying battleground, Zrego sucked in a breath as he saw the shadow that was Wureshi disappear, even from his eyes. Numi swore, and Thelyris' thin muzzle turned rapidly, trying to locate the black killer. Funny thing was... when Zrego frantically looked for Atumi... he didn't see him, either.



Ebony blade met with one of velvet-grey with such force that a deafening sound arose from the impact, powerful enough to send shockwaves for meters in every direction like ripples in a pond. Jysulehn threw herself aside and turned a golden gaze to attempt to watch. But it was useless; even her trained eyes couldn't follow their movements. It was with sheer surprise that Atumi's rippling tenor was heard in her mind... sounding amused, nonetheless! Nice, Jy. Now back out. Quickly. The red spun and hurled herself away as fast as she could, listening to the wind howl -- it was all she could hear, other than the clash of tailblades.

When she got to the edge of the battleground, she turned back in time to witness an explosion of black and teal, looking like tar against water as energy enveloped shadow in a massive display of light and, after a moment's pause, thunderous sound. Then... more explosions of energy, blasts deflected or countered, that left dazzling after-images against Jy's eyelids every time she blinked. The very ground shook and once in a while, she could spot ripples in the air: shockwaves. She wondered why Erashun wasn't fighting yet; the huge male was on his paws and tense, deep silver eyes watching intently... but he made no move to join in the fray. Why?

There was a spray of thick crimson fluid, droplets glittering in light both natural and unnatural as they went up in an arch and then spattered like scarlet rain onto the ground. A black was down and one stood over him, but which was...? Jysulehn swore ripely as white radiated from above the unwounded male's muzzle, identifying him. But another deluge of blood erupted as a grey tailblade tore through a shadow-furred neck and Wureshi staggered backwards, surprised that his 'dead' opponent had struck him.

Atumi grinned bloodily from where he lay, his flank torn open by Wureshi's strike, rib-wall pitted now with the minor explosions that his enemy had thrown against him a split second after the initial blow. His haunch was partially fried, as was the back of his shoulder; he struggled to rise, stabbing his bloodied tailblade into the earth to lever himself up. Wureshi regarded him, unruffled by the gaping wound in his throat, and slowly smiled.

"You're the kid I met years ago, aren't you?" He didn't wait for an answer, only laughed cruelly. "Surprise, surprise. Have I become your motivation, little Korat? I wonder how you healed so well." It was fairly obvious that, in this part of the battle, fighting should be restrained to mind-games but... Atumi struck, moving as though completely unharmed. Using the same technique that Jysulehn had earlier, he funneled energy to his tailblade and also to his claws, throwing out some smaller explosive balls from his throat for good measure... And in the midst of chaos, every sharp, electrified edge on the black's body found itself buried in warm flesh.

Erashun now moved, recognizing a transitional period, and with incredible speed his white-silver blade stopped Wureshi's ebony one from decapitating the younger black. Either way, a surge of energy flung Atumi's tattered form several meters through the air before he crashed to the ground limply. Before Wureshi could quite recover from that kamikaze attack, Erashun's own silvery energy detonated around his downy-furred, muscular frame and flung the big black away. The white didn't allow his enemy to strike the ground in a crash-landing; he ran alongside the hurtling form and with almost methodic strikes, used his tailblade to avenge his soul-brother. Just as Wureshi was regaining his control mid-air, another silvery strike arched up and zigzagged groundwards like lightning, impaling the black in a ragged line from lung to hip.

Erashun was immobile, four muscular legs braced and entire body quivering with the power that was allowing him to hold and prolong his energy-strike, slowly but surely electrocuting his enemy who was unable to reach the ground, held suspended mid-air by the force of the silver lightning. The four Korats watching were blinded briefly, though Jysulehn recognized the attack and turned her head in time to avoid the pain of brightness. The silver light illuminated the charred black form of one Korat, glistening along crimson stains and the jagged edges of a broken blade.

For a minute that seemed an eternity, Erashun maintained his strike, letting his own life-force rip violently through Wureshi's body. And then he let it end, lunging in the same instant that he breathed again, a powerful blow from his tail sending the smoking body of his enemy into the air once more, having never landed fully. The white was yet unscathed, though his soul-brother had paid for it dearly, slumped motionlessly nearby... and Erashun had not forgotten Atumi's sacrifice. It was very difficult, when smoke and ash and blood nearly radiated from the fallen warrior, when there was not even a trace of teal energy left, when the only sound to be heard was the burble of blood pouring out from gaping wounds...

Erashun snarled, his silver eyes flashing, as Wureshi finally hit the ground-- but the white was upon him again, giving no quarter nor break, fighting much as the killer had in the battle ten days ago. There are times to stick to one's own style... and other times to match your opponent in every way possible in order to win. But the muscular black twitched, rolled over so that his muzzle was angled at the short-furred white... and let out a blast of energy with unsubdued strength. The black wave hit Erashun's chest squarely, but with whitely silver claws digging into the scarred earth, the massive Korat took the blow without flinching.

Wureshi's white eyes widened in a minute twitch. That strike should have flayed the fur and skin from his enemy, burning into chest muscles and collarbone and leaving a gaping hole once it hit the white's heart... but... there was barely a fine coat of ash on the burnt ends of the short snowy fur. His enemy had withstood a blow that had once torn mountains in two, decimated entire packs... without flinching.

Erashun grinned mirthlessly down at his enemy, long fangs bared now. He didn't say anything -a philosopher only in times of peace- as his tailblade descended towards the black's skull, a strike powerful enough to split the beast lengthwise should he choose to change the angle...



Zrego sucked in a startled breath as the killing blow froze mid-air and, out of the corner of his eye, saw Numi nod to herself. "Wureshi's body is broken, Zrego, but his soul is not. He still possesses too much power to be killed easily," she whispered when she noticed his glance, pale blue eyes trained on the scene below. Thelyris blinked but stayed wisely silent, keeping his thoughts to himself. The striped, however, narrowed his sight in on Atumi's immobile body. There was too much turmoil down there to detect life or... the lack thereof. He swore under his breath.



Jysulehn's golden eyes were similarly focused with steely intensity on the battle between white and black, now a contest of wills and not flesh. In this new arena, Erashun and Wureshi were equals, the black unable to push his opponent away and the white equally incapable of finishing his killing blow. But closer to her, in more than one way, was Atumi... unmoving and silent, though blood still seeped from his wounds and dribbled from his muzzle. The five-foot red eyed the distance between battle and black, deciding that the hundred meters would have to suffice. With a constant eye on Wureshi, she rose to her paws and darted forward, sprinting the stretch that separated her from Atumi.

White and silver eyes were locked, long straight tailblade hovering as though in indecision... despite the ripples of shaking force that were beginning to radiate outwards in the very air. Erashun threw his soul against Wureshi but was met with the black's own spirit, and again... strength was equaled. There was no winner in such stalemate... and Atumi...

The anger flared in the white's chest. His soul-brother lay broken on the battlegrounds thanks to Wureshi. Erashun snarled, long ears flattening for the first time during the battle... and his tailblade began to descend jerkily.

Jysulehn stopped abruptly as she reached Atumi, gold eyes wide in shock at the black's wounds. His entire right flank was flayed, muscles bared and torn, bones pitted as though with acid, blood dousing the whole skinless area in crimson beads and streams that slowly trickled down towards the scarlet-stained ground. The rest of him was charred, fur mere stubble and ashes except in a few protected spots; his stomach and chest were likewise ripped open, the outer curve of his throat chopped into shreds, with various other, 'cleaner' wounds on his right flank and tail pouring blood into the earth. There was no movement from the black at all, no sound except the deluge of blood...

The red femme raised his muzzle, leveling her golden gaze and looking towards the embattled males. Slow fury was building, a red's anger without the initial quick surge of rage; Jysulehn slowly moved forward, away from Atumi's body. Erashun's blade had been stopped, inches from Wureshi's singed black skull. The red did not hurry her pace, fully aware that she was probably walking towards her own death, and watched as the two masters struggled motionlessly.



Zrego jerked upright as he saw his aunt begin to walk forward. "Aunt Jy...!" The red-black lunged, stopped forcefully by a furry black body that impacted his chest with its weight. "Don't you dare, Zrego," Numi hissed. The male ignored her, tearing away and out of her grip (ignoring Thelyris' attempts to restrain him) and leapt into a sprint down the slope--

Only to find himself held mid-air.

He fell a second later, shock weakening his reflexes and allowing him to crumple to the earth. Numi was beside him again, mind-voice incapable of being ignored. Don't be an idiot, Zrego! STAY HERE! Her short frame was pushing his back up the slope, aided by Thelyris' lanky body, and the male could barely wonder where Numi learned that technique, his dark eyes fixated on the scene below.



Jysulehn stopped a few meters away from Wureshi and Erashun, golden energy suffusing her burgundy form. She did not apply her own force to press the white's tailblade down and end the black's life... no. She struck out her own way, yellow light sending molten fire spattering into the killer's open wounds, into his ice-white eyes. The tailblade jerked down another inch, sharp edge now just touching singed black fur...

A blast of black took her by surprise, and Jysulehn felt her own fur evaporate in the intense heat of shadow. She tumbled backwards, reasonably unharmed by the glancing blow, and found Erashun stumbling back from a vicious attack, Wureshi staggering upright and throwing his blood-stained, burnt muzzle around to stare at her. Hatred radiated almost palpably from his white eyes and Jysulehn struck once more, her golden fire sending spirals of smoke skywards from where it touched his body... And she prepared to die.

Erashun barely raised his muzzle, pain screaming in his nerves. He saw Wureshi face Jysulehn and tried to rise... but his muscles would not obey. It would take precious seconds to convince them to listen, that pain is but an illusion, and the red femme didn't have that much time. The white struggled, but as shadow engulfed Wureshi and began to erupt outwards, it was too late...

Jy countered, or tried to, with her own power; it was nothing in the face of such a slow but powerful strike. Sunlight drowned in shadow as Wureshi's black energy reached out in slow motion, death laughing in its shades of black--

There was a bright light, mere inches in front of Jy's red-furred muzzle. Blinding in intensity, the nearly transparent wall of water-hued energy hovered... and when the shadow touched it, Wureshi screamed.

Erashun was on his paws as the agonized sound died away and the black fell to the ground, muscles jerking. There was no time to waste, and especially no time to question a miracle; the white moved swiftly, blade plunging between scorched shoulderblades. It stopped just before the wound could be called fatal, Wureshi's mind still intact despite the pain that had just been inflicted. Erashun poured the remainder of his power into the strike, pressing downwards, but it was not yet enough.

Jysulehn sent out a tongue of golden flame that wrapped around Erashun's tailblade and dragged it deeper into flesh. Her strength was unhampered by the fear that had flashed and disappeared in her bright eyes, and though shaken she had enough power to counter Wureshi... barely. And just before the tip of the bloodied blade could pierce the black's heart, it stopped again. Wureshi was using the last of his own strength to preserve his life.

There was a dry, hacking laugh from somewhere nearby, and with a flash of brilliant light, the blade plunged deep. Silvery and golden light was consumed in a vivid teal hue, which vanished at the exact moment Wureshi died.

"It's over." Erashun sagged, wrenching his blade from the corpse of the killer and stepping a few paces away to collapse. Jysulehn quivered, energy spent but body reasonably untired, and slowly turned to look. Atumi hadn't moved, hadn't even twitched... but the blood had stopped flowing, and there was a very faint sound that suggested a heartbeat. The red's eyes widened and she pushed herself into a gallop, coming to a sliding halt at the black's side and crouching. After a very long moment, Atumi opened one teal-hued eye, met her gaze briefly, and closed it again in what might have been a wink.

A howl from afar brought the red upright, and incredulously she watched her nephew, a black, and a tan careen down the slope towards them. Erashun's bloody muzzle lifted wearily, saw Zrego, and managed a faint smile. Numi went first to Atumi, crouching near her fallen trainer until she was reassured that he was still alive; Zrego touched noses with his white soul-brother and then joined the black in watching for vital signs as avidly as Jysulehn had. Thelyris held back a little, keeping an eye on everyone and everything at once, as was his wont.

After several long minutes had passed, Erashun heaved his massive frame upright, thick muscles bulging with the effort. He didn't speak, but silently moved towards Atumi. Numi and Zrego, accustomed to this exercise, offered him their energies as he began to heal the black so that they could, at least, move him without doing more damage. Once that was done, Jysulehn took the black warrior onto her broad back and together, six Korats left the area where Wureshi died.