War looked up silently at the girl who he had seen once before and a soft whine escaped him. He allowed her near for that reason alone. Had she been a stranger, he would had attacked. At his and his master's name the great beast whined again before laying his head on his master's now cold chest. Tears fell from his closed eyes and onto the dead man, and the dog shuddered violently. He felt so cold, so empty. All that he wanted now was for his master to open his eyes.
_______
above the city floated a massive tower that vanished into the heavens, a tower of brilliant glowing blue. The divinii compound. The steady cadence of footstep filled the upper floor, Tailia and her older brother striding silently to a set of large doors. They swung open as the duo approached reveiling a large room, a regal looking divinii sitting behind a black desk. Books lined the walls, tapistries of reds and violets hanging from above. The silver haired man looked up from the stack of papers he was sifting through his fierce white eyes taking in the two.
" Has the human been disposed of?" He asked in his rich baritone as he smoothed his well groomed beard.
" Yes father." The younged ma;e divinii replied, Tailia's emotionless gaze moving to the floor.
" Good. My son, you are dismissed." The apparrent leader of the divinii stated. The young man bowed deeply before exiting the room. He gave his sister a dark glance on the way however. When the doors slid back into place, the older divinii rose to his feet. He was even more impressive now that he was at his full height, standing nearly seven feet, long shining hair bound neatly in a loose tie and regal navy and violet robes covering his broad shoulders and muscular frame.
" Tailia...I know you wanted to keep the boy. But, he was not a good pet...The human was a danger to you and myself in this building and you know that." The man stated. The woman nodded mutely, her fists clenched at her sides.
" We shall find you a well trained pet, one that won't slit out throats as we sleep." He murmured as he hugged his daughter to him. She said nothing for a long moment before she stepped out of the man's arms.
" I do not want a broken pet..." With that she left him.
______
It was amazing how interesting a stream of clear water could be. Pure, untaited, beautiful. It trickled by gentle, little eddys forming where it went around pristeene blue and red rocks that jutted just out of the surface. A gentle glow seemed to come from that stream, soothing and warm. A soft breeze played at violent red hair before a large hand raised to move it from a well tanned face. White eyes watched the water silently, and as he sat there on the bank of that stream, Terris questioned why he was here. And better yet, where was here? The soft grass that blanketed the entire area was a phenomina that he has never seen before. The sky was a gentle hue of a sun set, reds, golds, blues, and violets cascading down toward the horision where the sun remained in place. He turned his curious gaze to his own body, noting that he was wearing a clean tightfitting white muscle shirt, a pair of white hakama, and his sword was resting at his side. His chest was no longer wounded, no scars on his body at all in fact.
"Terris! What took you so long?" Came a gruff voice. Slowly the young man turned to face a man who looked about his age, his short black hair spiking out here and there around his sharp face. A wide grin split his well formed mouth at the look of baffled confusion that was now sported on Terris' face.
" J-Jake?" He asked in shock as he rose to his feet.
" In the flesh!" The man beamed.
" Wha? Huh? How? Hey, weren't you old the last time I saw you?" The red head asked in confusion. This earned a hearty laugh from the man.
" Of course! This is the bridge to heaven, so the moment you set foot here, your return to your prime, and all of your body is healed. I've been waitin for you for years runt!" The man explained. A large dragonair flew down to the man's side and let out a loud cry of glee before practically tackling Terris.
" GAH! Jet!" He yelped, before a soft laugh escaped him. " It's been a while hasn't it girl?"
" Yeah, she missed you alot. We both did." Jake beamed.
" I...I am dead." Terris murmured in more of a statement then question.
" Yes. It was a good death." Jake added. The brown eyes man cast the other a rueful glance. " Well come on Jet...the two of us have a bridge to cross."
Terris turned his startled gaze to the other as the dragon moved to her master's side.
" What do you mean the two of you?" He asked in confusion.
" You're not ready yet...There is still someone down there who needs you. Actually quite a few someones. " The dark haired male said warmly, clapping the other on the back. " I'll see you on the other side Ter!"
The dragonair let out a squeal of farewell and she and her owner moved to a welcoming wooden bridge that spanned the river before dropping off into the sky it seemed. Terris felt a cold stab of fear wash through him and he watched the duo stride across and vanish on the other side. He turned his gaze back to the stream and noticed that the clear water didn't look so clear anymore, but rather, showed his lifeless body in it's depths. With a deep sigh he stepped forward, eyes hardening before he jumped...
______
War's eyes went wide suddenly and he jerked his head back to look down at his master's body. It seemed to glow a silvery hue, raising slowly from the ground and floating limply in the air. The glow intensified in a bright flash and for a moment, Terris' body looked to have sprouted two angelic wings. Then War got his wish. Terris opened his eyes. The young man's gaze fell onto the young girl near him and a uncharacteristic smile graced his face.
" Hello Ai. Been a while." He murmured before touching down on solid ground and the glow faded. The wings had shattered as well, leaving behind a very alive young man. His eyes then moved to his beloved partner and his smile widened.
" War!" He beamed, the beast licking his face. War let out a bark of excitement despite his wound. Terris tore the bottom half of his shirt off and gave the dog a reproachful look.
" What did I tell you about over doing it?" The young man asked, earning a snort from the other. The arcanine watched as the other fished around for something beneath the blankets. He pulled out a small box containing needle, thread, a bottle of water, and a container holding some odd orange goop. As gently as possible, he used his shirt and water to clean the dog's wound. He then began the painstaking task of sewing the wound closed. War did not make a sound. The arcanine was far too overjoyed to care about the pain. Once the wound was stitched to his likeing, Terris rubbed a generous amount of the orange stuff over it. It smelled strongly of mint for some odd reason. With practiced ease, he pulled out a large roll of bandages from the bottom of the box, wrapping it tightly around the dog's middle and tieing it tight.
" There. Now don't go ripping your stitches out." The young man stated in his typical voice that sounded like a mixture of boredom and mild annoyance. Yet another snort sounded from the dog, which earned a grin from Terris. The shirt that the young man wore, if you could call it that, now stopped just below his ribs, a rather large circle in the center that showed his perfectly healed skin below. Great. Now he would need to find a new shirt. And this was his favorite one.