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OHMYGOD this is my story. hope you all like it! blaugh



























"Come on, Zan! We're going to miss it!"
Filled with excitement, Zan ducked under a tree branch and shouted "I’m coming, Lynn!" as he ran after his little sister, with the rest of his family close behind him. It was Zan’s first time going to Noritsama Kenhenshi, the night the spirits touch the earth, and he didn’t want to miss it. It only happened once every eight years, and what’s more, is that this was his seventh birthday, which only added to his excitement.
"Slow down, you two!" called Ahreth, his father, trying to keep up.
"Father," said Zan's older sister, Riyani. "You really shouldn't push yourself."
"Yeah, dad, she's right." said Zan's older brother, Xrett.
"Bah," said Ahreth, leaning down and putting his hands on his knees. "This is nothing. You should have seen me when I was your age" and he took off after his two younger children. The older siblings followed. They dodged through branches, bushes, and trees, until they finally emerged from the dense woods at the edge of a cliff. Zan and his little sister were already staring out into the horizon, where a vast spread of beautiful lights were dancing across the sky. Ahreth, Xrett, and Riyani joined them at their side.
“Woooow…” said Zan, alighted with joy. “It’s beautiful.” He sat down and gazed at the enchanting lights. The light breeze and cool air felt good for a change from the sweltering humidity during the day.
They all settled at the edge of the ridge, and set their eyes on the brightly colored horizon, illuminated by the light of the full moon.
Zan perked up his catlike ears. He tugged on his brother's cape and said, "Big brother, I heard something coming from back in the woods."
"Don't be so paranoid, Zan." said Xrett, staring into the distance. "It was probably just a small creature, or the wind." Zan forced himself to agree, and turned back to the colorful night sky. Another rustle came from the bushes, and this time, his father heard it too, and turned.
“What is it, father?” asked Riyani.
“Listen…” he pointed to the forest. Everyone looked back to the trees, and they saw a slight disturbance in the leaves.
“Show yourself.” Ahreth said in a low, solid tone. A loud roar pierced the sky and a bright green dragon, scales glistening in the moonlight, burst through the trees. A rider covered in black armor, whose eyes seemed to drill into your mind, was perched on top of the dragon.
“You...” Ahreth said quietly. “Zan! Lynn! Flee to the forest! We’ll take care of him.” He crouched on the ground, and light brown fur started emerging from his face, his hands, and then, a blinding light consumed him. When the light dimmed, in his place stood a giant cat with enormous fangs and sharp claws, ready to pounce.
“Hey, Zan!” Xrett tore off his cape and ran to his younger siblings. “Take my cape. It will hide you from the sight of the dragon and its rider. Now go with Lynn and get back to the trees. Riyani and I will help father.” Xrett handed his cape to Zan and Lynn and started to run back to Ahreth.
“Daddy! Brother! Sister!” called Lynn, running after him.
“Don’t disobey father. Go!” Xrett called as he ran back to his father’s side where Riyani had already transformed into a powerful, golden feline.
“But —”
“Come on, Lynn!” Zan grabbed his little sister and pushed her under the cape and into the forest, with their father, brother, and sister behind them, fighting the dragon rider. The two of them reached the trees and turned around just in time to see Xrett engulfed in a bright light, and replaced by a large green cat, equally as powerful looking as the other two.
Their father roared and lunged at the rider and his dragon. He slashed the giant lizard’s wing. The dragon roared in agony. While its guard was down, Xrett and Riyani charged at the beast and pushed it off the cliff, along with the man on its back. As a last attempt to vanquish its foes, the dragon lashed its tail, sweeping Ahreth, Xrett, and Riyani off the side of the cliff with it, into the river below. Zan sprung out of the forest and ran to the edge of the cliff reaching out and yelling, “Daddy! Xrett! Riyani!” Lynn ran after Zan and stood behind him. They were too stunned in disbelief to notice the sound of horse hooves coming near them.
“Zan! Help me!” Zan turned around to see that his younger sister was being taken by a man on a white stallion.
“Lynn!” he ran towards them, but he tripped on a root and they got farther away. “Lynn!” he shouted again, getting up, but only to trip again.
“Zan!” Lynn shouted, getting farther away by the second, disappearing into the darkness. The steady beat of the horse’s hooves faded away, until all was silent, except for the sobbing of a small child. Zan curled helplessly into a ball, overwhelmed with grief. Tears trickled down his face. “Lynn… Xrett… Riyani… father…” He was left there, all alone.
















The sun was beating down on Zan’s face as he wandered through town, sifting through goods that the shops had to sell.
“Fresh meat!” called a butcher from his stall. “Get your fresh meat here!!” Zan passed by him, and continued on through town.
“You there!” Zan turned and listened for where the voice had come from. A shopkeeper stared at him and said “Yes, you. You look like a young man that would be interested in this fine jewelry.” Zan slowly started to walk toward the table covered in silver necklaces and golden rings embedded with sparkling gemstones. He started to feel around in the piles of priceless little trinkets.
“But, uhm... Are you sure you can see the jewelry with that blindfold on your face, boy?” said the shopkeeper.
“I have no need to see them,” said Zan as he placed all but one of the items he had in his hand back on the table, and slipping the other into his pocket. “I can feel them.” The shopkeeper looked at him suspiciously, and then said, “All right then.” Zan turned and walked away from the shop. The shopkeeper looked down at his wares, and noticed something wasn’t right. Then he looked back at the boy who had just examined them. “Thief! Catch the thief!” shouted the shopkeeper, pointing with a sausage finger at Zan. “Don’t let him get away!”
Zan halted, and turned slightly, “Heh… Here we go again,” he said, grabbing a loaf of bread from a bakery stall, and running into the forest at the edge of town. The soldiers patrolling the town took off after him, bringing swords and spears, cursing under their breaths.
Zan tore off his blindfold and raced through the trees. He ran with inhuman speed, easily losing the soldiers behind him. Zan quickly climbed up a thick tree and waited. No one came, but from experience, he knew it wasn’t smart to show yourself if your pursuer was still behind you. He waited longer, and sure enough, the soldiers passed by noisily in their steel armor, not even noticing him.
“Ha! Idiots! They’ll be searching out there for days and never find me. Nyaa!” he stuck his tongue out at them and jumped off the other side of the tree, into a clearing that was large and spacious, flourishing with trees and shrubs. Only a few patches of light made it through the thick layer of leaves blocking the sky. At the other side of the clearing, there was a tree that had many items in it, from fine jewelry to old, tattered clothes, and half a dozen fish were hanging from it. The trees were so dense around the clearing, one could not enter it unless they climbed or flew over them. Near the center of the clearing, there was a small spot charred by fire, and sitting next to it was a girl with hair as black as the night sky, attempting to start a fire.
How’d she get in here? Zan thought as he recoiled into the trees behind him. He watched the girl carefully, seeing if she would do anything reckless, or if she was a guard who may have found this place, but the girl just sat there, continuing to rub the two sticks together.
CRRRAACK!!
The branch Zan was sitting on gave way and he fell to the ground with a loud THUD! The girl jumped up at the sudden sound.
“Oowww…” Zan groaned, sitting up and rubbing his backside. The girl backed away slowly, her eyes glued on Zan. Zan looked at the girl and noticed her fearful expression and said “Uh, hey, I’m not going to hurt you.” He stood up, swayed a bit, walked over to the pile of sticks and logs on the ground, and sat down again. “Lemme’ help you with this.” He waved his left hand over the logs. They sputtered, and started glowing red. The logs suddenly burst into flames, then simmered down to a nice fire. The girl crouched down and crawled over to the blaze, opposite to where Zan was sitting. She began to warm her hands on the fire without looking up at him.
Zan waited a while before asking, “So... what are you doing in here? And how did you get in?” he said, gazing into the crackling fire. The girl looked up at him, Zan looked up at her.
“I... I was wandering in the forest... I needed a place to stay.” the girl said quietly, clearly still afraid of the boy.
“And how did you get in here?” Zan asked curiously.
“Uh... uhm...” The girl looked down nervously.
“Ah, a secret.” said Zan. “We all have our own secrets. I’ll let you keep yours.” Zan leaned back and gazed into the fire once more. after a long pause, he asked, “So... What’s your name?” He looked up at the girl, and her eyes seemed to glow softly. For the first time, Zan noticed that the color of her eyes was unnatural. They seemed to shift between a deep violet and dark red.
“... Akira.”
“... wha?” said Zan, breaking out of the trance of her eyes.
“M-my name... I’m Akira.” the girl repeated. “W-...what’s your name...?” she asked.
“... I’m Zan.” He replied.
“Uh... N-nice to meet you Zan” said Akira, and went back to warming her hands on the fire.








“I’ve never known a human before.” said Zan, sitting in a tree and placing the necklace he had stolen on a small branch. Akira looked at him like he was crazy, and then said, “Well, I’ve never known someone of the Siael race.” She turned the fish she was cooking over the fire, “I thought they were all extinct.”
Zan nearly fell out of the tree, “Extinct?!”
“Yes.” Akira said. “I think it was announced in a town meeting about a year or ago. One of the king’s knights came to our village and told everyone that the Siael race was extinct. They had been searching for them since a year after the last Noritsama Kenhenshi, when the great Tiger King disappeared, but never found a single one.” Zan flinched when she spoke of this event. Akira continued, “They gave up hope after five years of searching, and assumed them all dead.” Zan stared at her in disbelief, not knowing if she was telling the truth or not, but he decided that he could trust her. She seemed harmless enough.
Akira pulled the fish off the stick and bit into it hungrily. “Hey, you’re a Tiger, aren’t you?” said Akira after she swallowed. “You must have seen at least one Noritsama Kenhenshi. What was it like? I’ll bet it was beautiful.” Zan’s eyes filled with grief as he thought of his family. He didn’t want to reveal much about his past to Akira, so he brightened his mood and replied gleefully, “Yeah. It’s pretty awesome.” He leaned back and ripped a piece off the loaf of bread he had taken from the bakery stall. “Maybe you might see one some day,” he said after he swallowed the bread. “Y’know, one’s coming up soon.”
“Really?” Akira asked excitedly. “Oh I hope I will get to see it. I’ve always wanted to see one.”






that's all I have so far. I think I might stop posting stuff after chapter 3. i don't want people stealing my story scream but I'm sure you're all nice people and wouldn't even THINK of doing THAT... right...? eek well anyways... please comment and tell me what you would rate my story on a scale of 1 to 10, and tell me what i could do to make it better! blaugh