A Silver Lining

[1st Stage: Enter Mana the Cat]

Four figures ran through the blood-stained desert sands, three of them in pursuit of a small, lavender, feline mobian that was fleeing from their greedy clutches. While the trio was garbed in identical crimson cloaks that looked to be very resistant to the weather’s wrath, the cat looked to be less fortunate, as her outfit seemed to be much more weathered down. Her short, cobalt sweater seemed to be torn and ripped, revealing the dirtied white shirt underneath, and her simple denim jeans mimicked it, as there were holes that revealed her cut knees, while the ends of the pants were frayed. Her shoes were dirtied- what once may have been a pristine white was now a mixture of grays and browns.

The girl’s breaths ripped through her throat in ragged gasps, showing her fatigue. Yet, despite her obvious exhaustion, there was no fear on the pre-teen’s face despite the danger of being captured by the monsters that ruined her life. No, the only emotion present on the young feline’s face was irritation.

Mana was really tired of running.

And not just physically, although the ragged breaths that tore through her throat were not helping her lungs regain the air they needed, but emotionally. For an entire year, she had been on her own after running away from her father’s high expectations. Just an immature, eleven-year-old mobian, stubbornly set on the idea that she could handle herself and that she should be free to make her own decisions in life. But now…

Now, she was on the run for the demons that murdered her family.

The Descendants of Arcana. How that name caused her blood to boil... They were monsters that claimed they provided shelter and training for those who possessed magical abilities, but really, they were only looking to steal away a magician’s abilities. Such a terrible crime would result in a magic user’s death, and yet, they didn’t care. All they wanted was power, and they would kill thousands of magic users so long as they could harness that ability.

Mana’s parents were victims of their “experiments”, along with her loving older sister, Hana. So when they found out that there was one more little girl in the family, they decided to hunt her down. For almost half a year, Mana had been fleeing from their greedy clutches, narrowly evading them time and time again, usually out of pure luck.

But Mana was tired of running. Running away was the reason that she was the only one alive in her family. If only she had stayed with her parents, like a good little girl, maybe she could’ve prevented them from being killed. After all, her mother was an excellent healer, and her father had been a master with his magic. Her sister was a protégée. Even a failure like her may have been able to help turn the tables in that fight that took her family away from this world. And even if she couldn’t have helped… At least she would have died with them…

And now, running away again? Those stupid Descendants would only keep coming after her. She might as well face them.

It was do-or-die time.

[End of 1st Stage]

[2nd Stage: Do-or-Die]

Mana skidded to a halt, turning on her heels to face her cloaked pursuers, giving them a deadly glare that described her hatred for them perfectly. Her lungs automatically took advantage of the fact she was no longer running, and tried to replenish the oxygen needed for her body, causing her ragged breaths to become deep gasps, but she continued to glare steadily at the monsters.

The trio came to a synchronized halt, no indication that they were even tired from the chase. The main one stepped forward, and Mana’s dark chocolate eyes narrowed in response, her body tensing. A beat of tense silence passed as the two held each other’s gazes, when suddenly the cloaked figure suddenly unleashed a flurry of sharp and deadly knives at Mana.

With barely any time to react, her flight-or-fight senses chose fight, and the familiar tingling sensation worked its way through Mana’s hands, her nerves buzzing with energy as electricity shot out of her hands, repelling the kunai knives from her and back at the Descendants. The Descendants dispersed, disappearing in front of Mana’s eyes, before one reappeared behind her back, a sharp metal sword in hand, swinging horizontally at her back.

Taking advantage of her small size, she quickly ducked down onto the ground, feeling the rush of air created by the sword whiz over her back, and quickly opened her palms to the ground and pushed backwards, kicking both her feet into the Descendants chest. The Descendant, caught off balance and by surprise, flew backwards some feet as Mana got back to her feet, still breathing heavily as she watched one of her chasers fall to the ground.

Suddenly, thick, heavy chains wrapped around the feline’s wrist, causing the young girl to squeak in surprise, and then in pain as the owner of the chains yanked her forward. Immediately, Mana could sense the metal atoms the chains were made of. Metals were excellent conductors of energy, and as the girl stumbled forward, she unleashed a current of electricity that found its way back to the Descendant, electrocuting the human, causing him to cry out in pain. Mana winced at the sound, not accustomed to monsters screaming in pain, but was suddenly knocked into the ground from the back.

She fell with an audible “oof!”, but acted quickly. Mana undid the chains around her wrist, glancing backwards just in time to see the Descendant behind her ready to impale her with a spear. Reacting without thought, she rolled to the left, dodging the spear just in time, and got onto her knees.

That could’ve killed her… And that knowledge caused the young mobian to seethe with anger until her vision turned red. She raised her hands up to the blood-red sky, feeling the static electricity charge between the sky and the Descendants’ locations.

Gritting her teeth out of anger and concentration, she yelled out at them, “Leave me alone!” Lightning rained from the skies, electrocuting all three Descendants thoroughly.

Mana fell to her knees, panting with her eyes closed, exhausted from the accumulation of pushing herself too hard. All that running and fighting left her tired, but the magic she put into that last attack made her feel like she was ready to drop dead. The fact that the adrenaline was leaving her system didn’t help either. She reopened her eyes and glanced back at her opponents, satisfied to see them unconscious and smoking. They’d leave her alone now.

She got to her feet shakily, and spotted a nearby rock formation in the desert. Narrowing her eyes, she could make out a small opening, possibly a cave. Overjoyed by her luck, she started running, glad that she could rest for the night before taking off again.

A change in air pressure and a twitch of her ear notified her of incoming danger; however, she was only able to glance back and turn slightly before a sharp arrow pierced through her sweater and grazed her right arm. Pain erupted in her arm, and the sheer surprise and discomfort caused Mana to cry out in pain before falling to the ground face first. The fire in her arm blazed hotly, and tears formed in the corners of her tightly shut eyes as she clutched the wound tightly, a whimper escaping her throat. She opened one eye, and was alarmed by the bright crimson blood that was flowing out of the deep cut.

The young girl glanced back at the men she thought were unconscious, and saw a Descendant hold a bow in one hand. However, he didn’t make any move to get up or chase after her, so he must have fallen unconscious for real this time.

Whimpering as she clutched the wound tightly, Mana got to her feet again, the pain so distracting that she could hardly focus on her surroundings. The cave. If she could just get to the cave…

The young mobian put one foot in front of the other, determined to get to the cave, but half-blinded by the agony in her arm, eventually made the torturous trek all the way to the cave. She stumbled onto the ground, the darkness of the cave almost comforting despite the fact she hated the dark. The Descendants wouldn’t find her easily here, hopefully.

Mana removed her left hand, warm from the blood that was flowing from the wound. Her head felt light and her consciousness was slipping, but she knew she couldn’t just let her wound bleed while she was asleep, or else she might never wake up. It took great effort, but she pulled the backpack off her back and pulled out gauze. With much difficulty, considering the fact she was wrapping the wound with her left hand in the dark and was ready to faint, she somehow managed the task, finally tying the gauze completely around her arm. Yeah, it was a crappy job, but she didn’t care. She felt her eyes close and her form slump onto the surprisingly soft ground of the cave, and her mind flew away into the land of rest.

[End of 2nd Stage]

[3rd Stage: Enter Whip the Rabbit]

…Someone was in his cave.

The twelve-year-old rabbit’s eyes narrowed, sensing the possible danger that lay in his cave, and he readied his bokken in preparation for a fight. He hadn’t met anyone in the Wastelands area for almost a year, so it was surprising that there was actually someone in his cave. Nonetheless. If they proved to be a threat, he would make sure he’d take care of them quickly.

The male mobian silently made his way towards the entrance of his cave, careful to not alert whatever was in the cave. The faint moonlight streamed through the darkness of his cave, giving him a dim visual of any threat inside his home.

So you could imagine Whip the Rabbit’s surprise when he found a young, female cat around his age slumped onto the ground of his cave.

‘…What?’ A crease between his two eyes formed to show his confusion at the arrival of a new guest. He’d been expecting some dangerous and huge threat to be in his cave, ready to attack him. But… a tiny cat? Where in the world did she come from? He glanced over her unconscious form, noting the scratches on her knees, and the damage to her clothes. Obviously, she had been through a lot, but given the terrain, that was understandable. The desert was Hell, so it made sense that she looked like Hell too. His eyes focused on the poor wrapping of gauze around her arm, and the red splotch that stood out fiercely against the white bandaging.

An injury. A painful one, most likely, judging from the twisted expression on her face and the stream of tears that fell across her ivory muzzle. She had been seeking refuge then. Hmph, well, she might as well explain herself now. He was in no mood to wait for some stranger who barged in into his home to wake up from a beauty nap. He shook her slightly, expecting her to awaken immediately. After all, she was a cat. She should’ve woken up the moment he stepped into the cave.

…And yet, despite the fact he was shaking her, she didn’t wake up.

A bit annoyed, he shook her a little more strongly, and yet, no response. “Hey,” Whip murmured, continuing to shake her. The young girl started to stir, but she refused to open her eyes. He shook her harder. “Hey!”

A gasp tore through her lips and her eyes shot open. Whip was taken back from the suddenness of her awakening, as well as the wild look in her almost obsidian eyes. A scream tore through her throat, one that was almost painful to his sense of hearing.

However, the jolt of electricity that shot through his stomach was a lot more painful than her scream.

He stumbled backwards, biting back the yell that tried to make its way out of his lips, and he vaguely heard the intruder gasp again over the burning in his stomach. He looked down and was surprised to see his black shirt smoking and that his stomach was visible from the point where she had attacked him. His fur, what once was a bright orange color, was burnt black and the angry looking red mark underneath it all matched the pain that was coursing through his lower abdomen. He clutched his side tightly, hoping that it somehow soothe the pain even slightly, but was disappointed to find that it only made his nerves scream out in pain.

Despite the pain, his senses were functioning normally, and he heard the intruder take a step forward. In the blink of an eye, the rabbit held his bokken, a Japanese wooden sword, right at the girl’s neck, and he appraised her surprised and guilty expression critically.

“Get back,” he warned, a dangerous note in his voice, as he narrowed his eyes at her. Despite the fact the feline was in a bad position, she held up her hands defensively and almost seemed nervous as she stumbled over her words.

“W-Wait!” she stammered. If she hadn’t just tried to kill him and wasn’t an intruder in his home, he might of found her blubbering cute. Too bad that wasn’t the case. “I’m sorry!” she continued, and she tried to move the wooden sword away from her neck. “I didn’t mean to-”

The lavender cat had taken another step towards him, and he repositioned his sword again as he interrupted her, “I’m warning you cat,” he spit out distastefully, “One more step and I will come at you with everything I have.”

The girl froze and her ears laid flat against her head, showing her fear. Her lips quivered, but she turned around and reached for her bag. “No, hold on… I have medical cream and-”

She pulled out something from her bag, and immediately, without paying heed to her words, Whip reacted instantly, dashing behind her and hitting his sword against her back with a good amount of momentum. He saw the girl’s eyes widen before she was sent flying into the ground with a cry of pain. His eye ridge rose slightly, showing his surprise. She went down so easily…? After her attack, he had expected a little more resistance than that… A sharp whine filled the air, and he blinked in surprise. Was she whimpering?

Mana’s hands grasped at the dirt on the floor tightly, as if they had nerve sensors too and could share her pain. With great effort, she resisted the urge to sob, but that didn’t stop the tears that were streaming down her face. How was that rabbit so fast? She hadn’t even seen him move, and suddenly the bruise she had received from her earlier battle had flared back to life as she flew through the air. The throbbing pain in her back as well as the fire in her arm caused her to let out a moan of pain, but she quickly shut herself up. That was enough of that. She was tough. She could handle this…

With a shaky breath, she sat up weakly, her frame trembling from the effort and pain that was shooting through her senses. She glanced back at the boy, somewhat surprised to see he was looking at her with an almost guilty look. She held up the little container in her hand. “I…” she began weakly, ignoring the fire in her body. “I have medicine cream… I… I didn’t mean to hurt you like that…”

Honestly, she hadn’t. Mana didn’t expect anyone to live in the cave she found refuge in. She hadn’t met anyone in months. The last time she had made social interaction was in that one town she had stumbled across so long ago. She hadn’t stayed long; the Descendants were always after her, and anyone she grew close to became an obstacle to the Descendants. She couldn’t bring anyone into this chase. So when someone was shaking her awake, in a cave where she had believed herself to be alone in, she had automatically assumed he was a Descendant and lashed out blindly. Big mistake on her part… She could at least apologize.

Whip took in her guilty and humble expression and a painful sensation gripped his heart. An image of an ebony rabbit with bright and innocent aquamarine eyes flashed through his mind as he stared at the young girl in front of him. “I…” Whip locked away the image into the corner of his mind and his expression hardened. This girl... As far as he knew, she was nothing like his sister. “Who are you?”

The feline rubbed her back, as if trying to caress the pain out of it, and her eyes were still tightly shut, as if trying to avoid eye contact. “My… My name is Mana…” she breathed, the tear streaks on her muzzle starting to dry.

Whip’s questions didn’t relent. “And what are you doing in this cave?”

“I was running away…” Mana finally opened her eyes, brown meeting brown, and she stared at him with a steady gaze. For someone who was whimpering in pain mere moments ago, she sure hid it quickly. “And I got hurt. I saw this cave and…” She trailed off, the obviousness of her statement rung through the air.

The orange rabbit returned his bokken into its sheath, now simply ignoring the pain in his stomach. She was in no condition to fight, and even if she tried, judging by how she handled his blow only moments ago, he was confident he could easily take her. Wounded or not. Crossing his arms, he asked, frowning, “And you just barged right in, even though it could have belonged to someone?”

Mana released an exasperated sigh. Now she was just getting pissed off at his behavior and ridiculous questions. Sheathing his sword? Did he really think she was that weak, just because she was caught off guard by one blow? Excuse her for trying to apologize and act like a civil person. The skies turn red, and suddenly, manners were considered ridiculous and old-fashioned. “I didn’t know you could own caves,” she hissed back at him.

His frown deepened. “…I concede the point. If you want a better question, how did you get hurt?”

Mana frowned, unsure of what to tell him. “I…” she trailed off, seeking for an explanation. But gaze lowered to his stomach, and saw the smoking wound she had inflicted on him, and winced. “I think we really should get that checked first.”

The boy blinked, before glancing down at his wound. He appraised his wound quickly, before looking back at Mana. “I’m fine.”

“Don’t be stupid,” she replied, scowling now. ‘Don’t even try to pretend like that didn’t hurt,’ she added mentally. She got onto her feet, ignoring the throbbing pain in her back that increased as she stood, and stepped towards him, half tense in the case he decided to assault her for moving again. “You should put medicine cream on it.” Mana opened the ointment case and reached for his wound, only to be irritated when he took another step back.

“I heal quickly,” he stated coolly. “Don’t concern yourself with such a minor injury.”

Mana glared at him. “Minor injury? That’s a load of crap. You’d heal better if you just stop being so stubborn and take the cream.” She huffed, suddenly understanding that if he was being stubborn, the best way to deal with it was being humble. It worked on her whenever Hana… She stopped that train of thought immediately, hiding her grimace of emotional pain with a scowl that seemed to show she was ashamed to admit herself to him. “It’s the least I should do. I just electrocuted you, not to mention, I apparently ‘barged into’ your cave,” she stated, using air quotes to show just what she thought about that idea. Sadly, it wasn’t as effective because the movement in her arm caused her to wince once again, but she continued on. “So I owe you regardless.”

He shook his head, apparently not affected by Mana’s humble words. “I told you, I’m fine.” Whip didn’t need the ointment. He’d dealt with worse pain.

But Mana wasn’t having any of it. “And I’m telling you,” she growled dangerously, shoving the ointment case at him, “just take the damn cream!”

Whip sighed, realizing she wouldn’t let it drop until he obeyed her. Rolling his eyes, he relented, taking the cream and applied it to his wound. It smarted slightly, but nothing he couldn’t handle. Not to mention, it did start to relive the ache of the wound.

Mana nodded approvingly. “See? Was that so hard?”

Yes. “No,” the rabbit retorted, shoving the cream back at her, “but I didn’t need it.” Showing weakness would never get him anywhere. That was one lesson he wished he hadn’t needed to learn the hard way.

She stuck her tongue out at him. “Well deal with it.”

He resisted the urge to roll his eyes again. “You haven’t answered my question,” Whip persisted. “Where did you get that injury?” Sarcasm entered his tone. “Apparently it’s minor enough that you don’t take your own advice and treat it well.”

Mana’s eyes narrowed at him, obviously irritated by his behavior. Which was rich, considering she was the one who started with the smart-Donkey remarks. “Shut it. The pain was bad, I used my left hand, and it’s dark,” the feline replied, listing her reasoning for her poor bandaging.

Whip closed his eyes, smirking slightly. “All I hear are excuses, rather than the answer to my question.”

The girl groaned as her face met her palm. This rabbit was ridiculous! She sighed, before looking up again at him. As irritating as he was, she supposed he deserved the truth. Besides. Something told her he’d detect her lie easily, not to mention as soon as she was healed, she was hightailing it out of this cave. Apparently it belonged to an irritating bunny, and she had no interest in staying with him if constant questions and occasional beatings were to be expected. “There’s this organization called the Descendants of Arcana,” she spit out distastefully. The hatred Mana felt for them rendered her speechless for a moment before she continued. “They’re after me because of my magic.”

The male mobian reopened his eyes, a faint hint of surprise on his features. “Magic?” he asked, poorly hidden shock coloring his tone.

Mana smirked triumphantly, glad to have caught him off guard. “What, you think I had a Taser in my hand or something?” To prove her point, the girl lifted her left hand into the air and allowed energy to travel through her veins until her hand lit up her hand up with crackling blue electricity. “I’m a magician.”

Whip was rendered silent for a moment as he processed the information. Magic. Like his sister, she could use magic. She could create electricity by pure imagination, and some bastards were after her just because of that? They were so greedy that they would harm a girl who couldn’t be more than twelve just for the idea of power. His hands clenched tightly out of the anger from the sick idea. She may have been the one being chased down, but two years ago… That could’ve been Sugar. And even if this girl wasn’t his sister, there was no way in Hell he could just let her deal with those bastards alone.

“…I see,” he finally replied. His voice sounded steady, but it also sounded like there was a hint of thinly veiled righteous anger behind his voice. He held out his hand. “Give me your gauze.”

Dark chocolate eyes widened, and Mana blinked in shocked. “Wha…?” was all she could manage from the surprise of his statement.

“You did a terrible job of wrapping your wound. Let me do it.”

Her mouth agape, she just stared at him uncomprehendingly for a few moments. She was completely shocked by his sudden one-eighty degrees in his personality. One moment, he was ready to kill her and was throwing sarcastic remarks at her, and the next he was offering to treat her wound with a blazing expression that made him look… well… likable. “I… Uhm… Okay…” she finally spit out, giving him her gauze in a daze.

They both kneeled down onto the ground, and Mana sat awkwardly as he treated her wound, wincing slightly at the smarting of the medicine, but felt overall better once rabbit finished bandaging her injury. She moved her arm gently, glad for the lack of pain that shot through it when it moved. She looked up shyly at the boy across from her, not at all used to someone taking care of her. “Thanks… Um…” She cursed mentally. She didn’t even ask for his name. But luckily, he seemed to guess her hesitation.

“My name is Whip. Whip the Rabbit,” he replied, nodding at her.

“Whip, huh?” A small smile quirked at the corner of her mouth. “It’s… nice to meet you, I guess.” Maybe he wasn’t such a bad guy after all…

The orange rabbit smirked, and his eyes closed as he played with his bangs. “Tell that to my injury.”

Or not.

“I gave you cream!” she snapped back at him.

Whip chuckled at her spinning emotions. Wasn’t she a fiery one? He gestured to a nearby cot. “Just get some rest, Mana.”

She huffed in irritation. Normally, she would have disagreed and suggested to him—or forced him—to take his bed. (Cot, thing, whatever!) But after his behavior, and because her back was sore thanks to certain someone, she didn’t even try to fight his command. She grumbled as she retreated to the cot, too tired to even ask why there was a cot, and simply fell back into dreamland.

The orange rabbit watch the girl retreat into his cot and a small smirk played at the corners of the mouth. Well. This was going to be an interesting few days.

[End of 3rd Stage]