Allies and... More Allies

Author's Note: I really should update this more often.

"Wha... what happened?" I asked no one in particular, still groggy from having been unconscious/sleeping/in a coma.

"Exhaustion happened, my Monster Tamer," said Elder Rebo with hands spread wide. It was like he was praying to the gods or something. I stared.

Elder Rebo continued, "Extraterrestrials tell me that –"

"WHAT?"

"- that your, ah, predicament, has left you tired and sleep-deprived. You were simply sleeping... for the whole day. It's nighttime now."

Well... wow... "Let's go make up for all that lost time... Who knows what horrors Princess Kyoko could be undergoing?" I imagined a giant white dragon blowing tufts of fire very near to Kyoko, with the latter screaming in fear for a savior. I resolved to move faster.

So we went, trudging through the darkness over a small mountain, ever heading to the Barren Northerlands. A few events occurred on the way...

On the way up, I screamed.

"HIEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! A mountain lion!"

"You've taken down a vampire, but are still scared of a mountain lion? How pathetic...," Elder Rebo scoffed.

"D-Don't worry, Shuhan! I will protect you until my dying day!" Gokudera brandished paw and claw and sharp-ish teeth; the full moon was out today.

It/He/She leaped! I turned to run, only my left foot caught on an evil, reaching tree root of some kind, and I fell – clumsy as ever. In the same instant that the lion landed, Gokudera bounded toward it on all fours. He pounced – and the mountain lion retreated several paces.

Hey, now, I heard. What...?

Be at peace, young ones, I have not come to harm you.

It was a... voice, yet somehow I didn't hear it, not really. Like, it was a thought. In my mind. Telepathy? How preposterous...

Your Monster Tamer is correct: This is telepathy. I am, as you should know by now, a Wereleopard.

...How should we know by now?

I waited for more, no longer scared. The... voice... thoughts... telepathy... whatever, had brought with it a sense of confidence, of courage.

Bandit Werecat Gokudera was shaking, whether from fear or awe or disbelief I did not know. He stared at the place where the Wereleopard was hiding in the shadows with eyes the size of oranges.

I am the father of the one who you call Bandit Werecat Gokudera.

"F-Father..." whispered said Werecat.

"Gokudera's father?" asked Yamamoto with a strained laugh.

Yelled a certain automaton, "THIS SITUATION IS STRANGE TO THE EXTREME!"

"Stupidera's stupider papa!" Big guess to who said that.

But I am mere spirit to those in the Waking World...

The spot where the Wereleopard had been shone with an eerie white light, outlining the form of the leopard... Gokudera's father. He seemed to rise up on his hind legs, and the light faded to reveal a human with leopard ears, tail, paws, claws, and some fur – just like Bandit Werecat Gokudera. But he was taller, aged, and looked slightly transparent – like a ghost. I quivered, while Gokudera stared in awe.

"Wasn't... Father... wasn't the White Frost Dragon, Byakuran, your... killer?" Gokudera's face twisted into a scowl as he said that last word, surely hating Byakuran.

I... will do my best... to protect you all... on your journey... Because... the White Frost Dragon... is more powerful... than you have... ever imagined... Farewell for now!

"Che!" spat the Bandit Werecat when his father had disappeared. "No good, lousy, lazy, I wonder how he really will 'protect us all our our journey'..." Gokudera kicked a rock, only to pay the price with a stubbed toe/paw.

After much calming down of nerves and gulping of food(the whole food thing wasn't as bad as I thought it would be!), we set out... again. Going down the little mountain wasn't as terrifying... to some. For me, it was a very painful experience of tripping at least ten times. I stumbled and cartwheeled and bounced and rolled all the way down, with a four-footed Bandit Werecat hurriedly running after me and trying to help me as best as he could.

"'Protect us all', hah! Your dad can't protect me from falling down a cliff..." I muttered to Gokudera as we set up camp.