Dark Realizations

                            By:

                         Fox Cutter

    Chapter 4

It was still hard to believe actually. Here I was, with
Marn, going to kill someone who's name I didn't even know.
On the whole it had a overly surreal quality about all of
it. Or at least it would have, if we hadn't already been
attacked twice.

I was starting to feel the same shaking that I had gotten
back on the base. It was starting right at the base of my
tail, and was trying to work it's way up my back.

I held it back as much as I could, but still felt my paws
shaking where I had them balled up into fits and stuffed
into the pockets of my coat.

I really wasn't sure what was getting to me more though, the
fact that I was walking towards being part of a murder, or
what I had seen on the guards paws.

The gems, it was strange to see them anywhere except in
illustrations, but I was sure I saw them. The same patter of
rubies where support to cover Thryn's paws. It was a large
part of the early chapters of The Book of Thryn. The origin
of the gems where a mystery, but where well document. It was
accept to the point that every once and again one of the ten
high priest would have the patter tattooed onto there paws.

I had yet to come accost anything in the Book about seeing
the gems on someone's paws and I wasn't sure of the meaning
behind it. Though I hoped saving the Guards live covered
that meaning as well as it could at the time.

Marn stopped in front a pair of large doors. Running his
paws over the wood, he nodded. "This is it." He announced,
the gun once again in his paws.

Slowly he pushed open the door, sticking his head inside the
room. After a second he just side inside. "No one's home."
He said, holding the door open.

I steeped inside the room and found myself in a well
appointed office. Most of the room was made up of leather
chairs, and a dozen different paintings. Some hanging,
others sitting of stands around the room.

Marn walked around behind the large wooden desk that
dominated one wall. Behind him a full floor to ceiling
window filled the room with sunlight.

Sitting down in a huge leather chair, he pulled up behind
the desk. "Expensive tastes." He said, running his paws over
the desktop. Then he turned and addressed me. "Close and
lock the door, then sit in the corner, out of the way."

I nodded and closed the doors, locking them five different
times. I then moved a chair into one corner and sat down in
it.

Marn was already making himself at home at the desk. Already
having going through the drawers, he was continually loading
and unloading the gun.

"You're not much for waiting." I said.

He nodded. "It's not pleasant in my line of work. You can
get distracted easily."

I shrugged, looking down at my paws, flexing them slowly, my
claws siding in and out as I went.

"You're mad at me." He said, his voice emotionless.

It really hit me right then. "Yes, I'm very mad at you." I
said in the same type of voice, my eyes still on my paws.

He sighed. "I'm really sorry I brought you into this."

"You didn't have a choice, I force the issue by insisting on
digging into your past." As I said it, I understood how true
it was. It was my fault I was in this situation, not Marn's
or anyone else. It was souly my fault.

"There was still a choice--" He started, but shut up at the
same time I heard a door open in the room.

Looking up I saw that one of the bookcases was actually a
door, and had just been opened. The target walked out,
dressed in the same kind of suit he had been wearing in the
picture I had seen back on the base. He looked the same
expect for the white in his fur was a bit thicker.

Marn was suddenly relaxed at the desk, leaning back with his
feet (which I noticed where in boots) resting on the
desktop. The gun was in his paws and he had it resting on
one knee, though still pointed at the target.

The ferret looked over both Marn and I, then walked into the
room, closing the door behind him. He steeped lightly over
until he was in front of the desk, his back towards me.

He started up a conversation with Marn, totally ignoring me.
There conversation went back and fourth, the ferret talking
a lot with his hands, his voice bouncing up and down as he
emphasized some point.

Finally the conversation seemed to come to an end, as the
ferret seamed to make some final point. Marn gave a short
reply, smiling some and raised the gun.

I looked away, not wanting to see what was to come next.
Thusly I missed what did come next.

What I heard was a gun shot, a yell Marn, and a crash of
something large hitting the floor.

Looking back to them pair I didn't see either of them.
Getting onto my feet, I moving so I could see behind the
desk. Marn and the ferret were tangled together. They where
both fighting each other, with blood already on both of
there faces.

The ferret got a slight advantage as he plowed his fist into
Marn's stomach. As Marn buckled over, the ferret got to his
feet and ran past me, giving me a shove, and over to one of
the bookcases.

Ripping a book of the shelf, he opened it and pulled out a
knife about four inches long with an inch of hilt. Throwing
the book on the floor he started walked back towards the
desk.

I back into another corner, trying to keep out of this
fight. The ferret noticed this and smiled at me, saying
something. Then holding the knife in some kind of fighting
position, started around the desk.

With a scream Marn leaped out from behind the desk and
crashed into the ferret, his shoulder going into his chest.
As the ferret staggered back Marn produced his knife again,
once again almost as if from no where.

He walked toward where the ferret was staggering to his
feet. Marn was saying something long and complex that had
some natural rhythm to it. I guessed it was probably poetry,
but couldn't be sure.

The ferret nodded a bit when he was done, then gave some
kind of retort. He then jumped at Marn, swinging his knife.

Marn simply dogged, bringing his own knife out, slashing the
side of the ferret's suit, while the ferret's attacked
missed by inches.

The ferret turned and looked at Marn, bobbing slightly.
Glancing down at the cut in his suit he saw the slight
trickle of blood running from the cut.

With the scream his lunged and Marn again. This time Marn
jumped out of the way, grabbed the back of the ferret's
neck, and sliced the other side of his suit. Then threw the
ferret down beside him.

The ferret slowly rose again, then turned to look at Marn.
He snarled, his eyes glowing in anger. He spat something
out, then lunged at Marn again.

Marn moved again reaching for the ferret's neck, but as he
moved so did the ferret. He grabbed Marn's right wrist and
twisted it hard. Marn gasped, his paw opening, and his knife
sliding out and hitting the floor, sliding a bit towards me.

At the same time the ferret twisted his own body, throwing
Marn against the floor. He landed on his back and seamed
stunned for a second.

The ferret took advantage of this, jumping onto him, his
knee in his chest. His knife falling towards Marn's neck.

Marn seamed to recover some what, grabbed the ferret's arm
just in time to force it up and away from his neck. I could
see a speck of blood flowering on the white fur of his neck,
growing from a small nick.

Marn continued to struggle with the ferret, who was forcing
the knife down against Marn's neck once again, using both
arms and the weight of his upper body. Marn had just his one
arm to try and force him away, his other pinned my the
ferret's left knee.

Marn twisted his head a bit in his struggle and yelled out.
"Oriana HELP!"

His yell brought me to most of my sense. I scanned around
the floor, looking for the gun. I couldn't find it, but did
see Marn's knife a few feet away from me.

Running a bit, I picked the knife up in my paw, then ran
behind where the pair were fighting. Standing behind the
ferret, I held the knife if both paws and raised it up about
level with my chest.

Then saying a prayer to my own salvation, I closed my eyes,
and thrust the knife down into his back. That is, I was
aiming for his back, but he must of seen something in Marn's
face and tried to move out of the way. For, when I opened my
eyes I found the knife was buried in the back of the
ferret's neck.

It had twisted a bit and blood was spurting out of the
wound, covering the handle of the knife. My mind finally
clicked on that I still hand my paws wrapped around the
handle still, and they where covered with his blood. In fact
there was blood over most of my lower arms, more covering it
with each second.

I let go of the knife and slowly backed away, my eyes
focused on my paws. I still saw, barely, Marn pulling his
way out from under the ferret, then check his pulse. Finally
he stood pulling something out of his jacket, which he threw
into the air.

It flashed quickly, then flew back into his paw. He replaced
it, then threw one of the small disks onto the floor of the
room.

My vision started to blur after that, my focus souly on my
paws. I could feel the ferret's blood starting to dry in my
fur, it discussed me more then I can ever say. What blurred
my vision even more was the fact that I had physically
killed him. Not Marn, nor anyone else, I had done it, I was
a murderess, an assassin.

I heard Marn whispering into my ear. I looked up at him, my
vision coming back into focus. The scenery had changed. We
where no longer in the office, instead it looked like one of
the hallways in Mydisia Base.

"Are you alright?" Marn asked me, holding my shoulders
tightly.

I looked at him, then shook my head. I could see darkness
creeping into my vision.

He started to pull me, "come on," he said, "lets get you
cleaned up."

My vision started to blur again. I didn't want to go with
Marn, or even see him again. I needed to get someplace safe.

I pulled out his grip, feeling dizzy. He watched me for a
few seconds, then reaching for me again.

I moved away from him, my paw digging into my pocket for my
portal controller. Opening it, I saw that it had blood from
my paws smeared over it. I couldn't see the buttons on it
though, my vision to blurry. I punched in one of the few I
knew, hoping to get it in right.

Light flared behind me as the portal opened. Turning, I
stumbled through, closing as soon as I was on the other
side. Looking around I saw that I was where I wanted to be
at.

Dropping the controller of the floor, I stumbled down the
hallway, pulling my way along as my vision finally turned
all to black.