#1 Shifters: The Iced City Of Canidae

Chapter Seventeen: Stay

(Picture above is Nora)

Days dragged by, everyone in the underground dome was buisy working, reinforcing, training or caring for the young and elderly. Nora knew it would be and hour of any day now. Otulissa and Rayla still weren't back yet which made Nora nervous and paranoid, had something happened? Are the Rabbidae people refusing help? Where they captured? Maine's voice broke her train of thought "Nora?" She tapped Nora's shoulder. Nora turned and smiled tiredly. Maine blinked and raised a brow "You really need to sleep dude." She grinned.

Nora wiped her forehead with the back of her hand "Agreed, but who can when Sepantae warriors could come and rain upon us at any second? Face it Maine, none of my plans have come together, I was to get help from Rabbidae, it's not here, I try to go to a mysterious burg, we are sent right back to where it began." Nora plopped herself down on a ice block letting her ruffled hair fall over her face. The uniform she was given by her mother hid her chin. "Im no leader, no warrior, I let my burg die." She bit her lip to stop it from trembling "Me, Main and a few others are all that's left."

Main blinked, she had never seen Nora this way before, so vulnerable, it's easy to forget that under her tough demeanor, she was still human too. "We can avenge them, none of this will be in vain if you keep trying, but if you don't, they died for no reason, the people who will probably die in the next attack, will die for nothing. Is that what you want?" Main knew she was being tough but it had to be done, her sister was not going to give up like this.

Nora kept her head down but glanced at Maine before getting up. The uniforms chins made a jingling noise as she lifted her arm to give Maine a hug. "I'm glad you came." She muttered. A loud crash sounded from outside and Nora pulled away from the hug "They are here.." she said confidently. She turned to the people in the dome "All who are willing to fight let's move!!" She turned and ran to the exit with fifteen others behind her, Mandy and the others too.

Mandy caught up with Nora 'your not leaving me behind anymore, I'm following you where ever you go.' she signed with a confident smile. Nora smiled and nodded a curt Bob, she didn't want to leave her behind anymore ether, not after how she reacted to being apart for so long, and how she had to fight and loose to Serpantae without Nora by her side. Nora peeped out of the dark tunnel onto the light. It hurt at first but then she saw a few snakes slithering around checking buildings for survivors. Nora made some hand signals that caused the group to divide and hide behind ruble. "Now!!" She called and jumped in the air shifting into her elegant wolf. She took a second to appreciate how wonderful it felt to shift without pain then leapt on a snake and ripped its head off. This seemed almost too easy, it made her nervous. It felt like deja vu, when she was bit and got her arm taken. Maine was battling three Sepantae at once, Emma no doubt regretfully, fighting two of her own people and even Din and Noras Auntie joined the battle too. Nora glanced around for Mandy's white fur, only capturing a glimpse of her fur battling two Sepantae she was small and fierce while Jade was fighting three other Sepantae. Slowly as Nora thought, more and more Sepantae came, no matter where she looked there was fighting, Nora leapt and ripped, leapt and ripped one after the other, her fur was covered in their blood, her muzzle dripped red. A burr of an engine sounded from the distance.  Maine and the others where gone now, lost in the tons of Serpantae warrors. Nora's chest thudded, heart pounded and lungs where right, her stomach flipped and a uneasy feeling washed over her, they where heavily outnumbered, the odds weren't good at all.

Nora heard a familiar mangled cry from a distance, too far to see but close enough to pinpoint the sound. Nora ran and killed any who got in her way and at the end of all the fighting a four-wheeler with Mandy tied down on the back driving off into the vast snow. Nora's heart shrank. The snakes where retreating, Maine ran up to her sister to stop her from running but it was too late, Nora was off running as fast as her four paws could take her. Her paws sounded like thunder against the snow. Nora ran and ran until her muscles burned like fire and her lungs screamed to stop, her thick pawpads split on the sharpness of the cold leaving a quickly fading trail of blood. Her eyes watered from the wind that whipped her face. Suddenly the four-wheeler was out of Nora's sight and sound. They where far gone Nora's paw buckled from under her causing her to fly threw the air and skid on her chin. Nora lay still for a moment, dazed and semi conscious. "You said. You said you would stay with me... You said you'd fight by my side..... And... And follow me wherever I go." Nora put a paw over her muzzle and sobbed. "I'd follow you... I failed you..." Nora shifted to her human self and sat upright shivering. "Why didn't you stay..." Her messy hair and baggy uniform dragged roughly in the wind. Nora's tears fell and dried just as quick. Nora blinked her remaining tears away and stared at her palms that where torn and bleeding, she curled them up into tight balls and gritted her teeth and glared into the blurred horizon "I will follow you anywhere and I will not fail you. Nora lifted her head and glared ahead, to the burg of Serpantae.