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DISCLAIMER - This chapter contains mild references to homosexuality and 
love between a sentient, intelligent wolf-man and a human.  Any who 
would be insulted by this, or any children under 18 years of age (or 21 
in certain areas) should NOT read this story, and by reading past this 
point, you afirm that you are legally mature and able to handle the 
subjects mentioned above.  Also, the writer is not responsible for any 
problems which arise by not complying with this warning.  Thank you for 
your patience, and I hope you enjoy.
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			Chapter 3  -  Education

	I wake up cold, opressively so, my skin frozen down to the 
bone.  How fortunate Crvesh is to have his own furry blanket.  It's 
about then that I realize that Crvesh is nowhere in sight... nor is the 
cave I had been in.  I sit in shock a moment, before getting up to 
explore my surroundings.
	It's dark, not a single ray of light coming from anywhere, and 
all I feel is the ground beneath my feet.  I stumble around a bit 
before I hear something in the distance, so very faint, yet I have no 
doubts as to what my ears are hearing.  It's a battlecry.  Definitely 
human.
	I strain to listen to the sounds, as they seem to get closer 
and closer, the volume of the horrible shouting growing until I am 
forced to cover my ears or go deaf.  All in an instant, it stops, and I 
am again alone in the darkness.  Perhaps even that horrible yelling 
would have been preferable to the lightless, soundless expance around 
me.  I sit down, hoping for this dead silence to be broken, when I feel 
a soft flow of wind past my ear.  "It is alright, my love.  You are 
safe."
	Quickly, my head spins toward the voice, looking upon the face 
of Crvesh, which looks oddly radiant within this eternal darkness.  I 
turn around and stand up, his face following me up, as the rest of his 
body slowly becomes visible, apparantly by the light given off by his 
face alone.  My heart leaps into my throat as he quickly moves forward 
and traps me in a kiss; his warm, soft lips press to mine, the 
feeling new, and yet, even though our lips are completely different in 
shape, perfect, as though the two were meant to meet like this.  As the 
kiss continues, my arms slip around his back, and his naturally wider 
stance allows his arms to engulf me fully, holding my body close to 
his.  I notice a thickness pressed to my front, and feel the soft fur 
brushing against my own growning maleness.  The arousal filling both of 
us seems to overflow as his arms lift me, and he ends the kiss, our 
eyes meeting once again.
	I open my lips to say something, but suddenly, the look on his 
face changes... to one of pain.  I am about to ask what has happened, 
when I feel something sticking out of his back.  He drops me to the 
ground, and I side-step as he collapses forward, the shaft of an arrow 
pointing directly to his heart.  I look to my side, and see one of his 
own kind holding a bowgun!  Rage and sadness fill my being, but the 
figure seems to disappear just moments after I see it.  Instead of 
charging after the fleeting ghost, I kneel beside Crvesh... something 
inside me knows he's dead, knows that I'll never see him again... and 
the pain drives me over the edge, I scream at the top of my lungs, into 
the seamless black, the endless void...

	And suddenly I sit up, panting heavily and in a cold sweat.  My 
eyes are filled with tears... I had actually been crying in my sleep.  
The dream, it had seemed so realistic.  I could still remember the cry 
of a human army, the soft whispering in my ear, the kiss that brought 
warmth back to me, and the final moments of agony.  I begin to cry 
again, looking around me for the first time since I had woken up.  I'm 
in the same cave, no eerie darkness or unending void, and the skins 
under me feel warm to the touch.
	And yet, one thing is still wrong.  Crvesh is nowhere to be 
found.  I jump up from bed, and begin to run from the small torch-lit 
room, when I run into a wall of fur and fall onto my backside, gasping 
as the hard floor stings against my tailbone.  I wince in pain, then 
all too quickly I'm lifted up off the ground and set down on the soft 
bed of skins.  A soft voice comes from the Mazuku in front of me.  "Are 
you alright?"
	I look up at the face, easily recognizing Crvesh, feeling his 
soft hand/paw upon my shoulder, steadying me.  I rest for a moment, 
watching him perhaps a bit too intently, before blushing and looking 
away.  "Um, yes, I'm fine.  I'm sorry I ran into you."
	He almost laughs at my remark, "No, no, it is I who must be 
sorry."  He runs one of his paws (decidedly paws) down along my back, 
feeling his way down my spine.  "I just hope you are not harmed too 
greatly."
	I'd be lying if I said the feel of his paw on my skin like that 
didn't arouse me.  I wish I could have just leaned forward and kissed 
him, but I'm not known for bravery like that.  I just let him feel his 
way down, and as his paw brushes past my tailbone, I hiss in pain, 
clutching at his arm a bit as I let the moment of pain pass.  He sits 
upon the skins with me.
	"You will be alright.  Nothing is broken."  He smiles to me, at 
least, I think he does.  It's hard to tell with his face being like it 
is.  Truly, I judge more by his eyes than by his lips.  "But you should 
rest here, for today, and let yourself heal."  I nod to him, briefly, 
and lay down, adjusting myself on the skins so that my lower back has 
less pressure placed upon it.  He smiles and lays down beside me, "Be 
glad you do not have a tail.  It would surely be broken."
	I think about his statement for a while, first seriously, then 
slowly changing to the comical sound of his statement.  I find myself 
shifting to my side as I burst out in laughter, and for quite a while 
afterward, I can't stop laughing.  Everytime I come close, I think of 
it again, and the humor returns to my mind.  I wonder for a moment, as 
I regain my composure, what he must think of me, then gasp as he 
startles me, laying on his side and staring at me.  I blush a bit and 
look down, but the sight of his sheath quickly brings my eyes back up, 
as I hope not to let it affect me.
	His eyes catch mine for a time, before he smiles and looks away 
slightly.  "Tell me, why were you running this morning?"
	I think for a moment of what to say, afraid to tell the truth, 
'I was desperately searching for you...'  The truth probably would have 
gotten me thrown out on my already sore butt.  I decide to simply hide 
some of the truth.  "I... had a nightmare."
	"Night... mare?"  He seems rather perplexed.  "A horse?"
	No wonder, I keep forgetting his limited vocabulary.  "Oh, no. 
I mean, a dream.  A frightening dream."  My voice becomes lighter as I 
speak the last part.  I really don't look forward to telling him about 
it.
	He, however, doesn't pry.  He just lays there, then rolls back 
onto his back.  "In this village, the only dreams are ones of 
preminition.  I will not ask you to explain your dream, just know that 
what you saw will play a vital role in your life, in some way.
	I feel more drawn than ever to tell him now... to warn him of 
the death I viewed, but how could that be explained?  I find myself 
longing to tell him about the rest of the dream too... but I know that 
would probably insult him.  My thoughts drift back to what he said 
about magic, and I decide now is as good a time as any to ask him about 
it.  "Crvesh, you said before that... I could use magic?  Like your 
kind?"
	He turns to me, a bit of a smile on his face, at least as much 
as I can tell.  "Yes, humans could always use magic if they wanted to. 
Of course, magic comes from the earth, and humans have opposed the 
planet with their course of life.  You seem different from them, which 
is why I suggest that you attempt to learn of our magic.
	"The place you are in now, my home, and all the forest outside, 
is all magically made, and used by us as a place to be here, away from 
the human race that nearly destroyed us so long ago.  Being that you 
are here, the magic you are able to control while here will be greater 
than in the real world.  The planet has lost much of it's original 
power, during it's struggle to keep up with the human race."
	I find myself surprised, that even though he speaks of the 
humans, my people, in such a way, I take no offense at all.  In fact, 
I'm a bit relieved that he refers to me separately from all of them.  
In a way, I suppose I am different.
	"I can teach you only basic things at first.  The magic of the 
planet is strong, but dangerous if not properly harnessed.  The first 
thing you should learn is how to use the entrance to this place.  Come 
with me."  He stands, and holds a paw down to me, which I gratefully 
take as he lifts me up, and I follow him out of the cave.  Once we 
exit, I see the open forest all around us, and, looking back, I notice 
that there isn't a cave there anymore.  I turn around once, confused, 
and he stops me.
	"Do not worry, the cave is still there.  It is just hidden from 
normal view.  Without the proper magic, none can enter."  He looks up, 
and before my eyes, the cave entrance appears.  Then, just as quickly, 
it disappears.  "Let me explain this to you.  Our magic comes simply 
from our thoughts.  We think something, and it becomes reality.  Of 
course, the magic only works when we actively assert it.  Not all of 
our thoughts come true."
	He turns to face me, at the same time turning me with his paws 
on my shoulders, looking so deeply into my eyes that I feel I may be 
burned up on the spot.  "Now this part is important.  Up until now, it 
would seem as though anyone could do magic, does it not?"  I nod 
silently to him, listening intently.  "Well, this is not the case.  
Most of my kind have a great ability to use magic, but that ability 
comes directly from the will of the planet.  That is where we get this 
power we have.  I do not yet know if you have the ability to use magic 
yet, however, the planet would not reject you simply because of your 
race."
	His eyes seem to smile, and he turns his back to me, looking 
into the forest.  "The planet seems not only to react to your heart, 
but also to your path.  I know that is a vague reference, but those who 
have a greater purpose in life often seem to control the power to a 
greater degree.  I, myself, as prince of my people, have a greater 
power."
	My jaw drops in disbelief.  A prince?!  I had no idea I was 
rescuing someone of his high standing!  He looks just like the rest of 
them!  Ok, I suppose to his own kind, he is very unique, but to my 
untrained eyes, many of them look very similar.  He must have realized 
I'd have trouble reasoning all this out, so he stands still for a 
couple minutes, allowing my brain to soak up all the information it's 
been given.  Finally past the shock, I speak, "I had no idea you were a 
prince... no offense, but you look much like everyone else here."
	He turns, and his eyes still seem to be smiling at me.  He 
probably understands what I mean more than I realize.  "It is 
understandable.  We are unique to each other, but I admitedly find many 
humans similar in appearance, similar to how you must see us."  I 
smile, and nod.  He turns again, this time to face where the cave 
should be.  "Now, I suppose we will see what the planet thinks of you 
in a moment.  First I must teach you how to assert your powers."
	His eyes close, as I watch him, turning slightly toward the 
missing cave entrance.  I search, for a moment, for something to say, 
but not quickly enough before he is ready to speak.  "In order to 
summon the powers of the earth, you must focus your mind.  Think of 
nothing but the radiance of the earth.  If you need help, think of just 
one thing, something you find beautiful, or enchanting, and focus on 
it."
	I listen to his words, then begin to put them into practice.  I 
first attempt to think of nothing.  This is, of course, much more 
difficult than I'd originially thought.  My mind can't seem to blank 
out everything at once.  So I try his second suggestion, and think of 
something beautiful.  I think of the forest around us... that's 
certainly a beautiful image.  But... something about it isn't beautiful 
enough.  It's breath-taking, just not perfect.  My mind doesn't seem to 
want to hold the thought long enough, so I figure I'll need another 
thought.
	Crvesh must notice my effort, because he sets a paw on my 
shoulder, and speaks softly.  "You will feel the earth's power when you 
have accomplished what I have told you about.  Just relax, it often 
takes some time to perfect."
	His words comfort me, and I do relax.  Thinking more, something 
else beautiful to me... the image of my childhood, sitting up on that 
one hill and watching the sunset, then laying back to view the stars as 
they sparkle across the night sky... that image has always been 
something of great importance to me.  Not only has it calmed me in many 
times of sorrow, but the hill itself was a place of solitude and 
thought after my mother died.
	But even with these thoughts, my mind is too jumbled.  I can't 
just think of the hill, I have to think of everything else, too.  The 
sunset, the stars, my mother, everything is too much.  I need something 
else to focus on.  My eyes open, and I look at Crvesh.
	His face seems perfect to me.  I hadn't really looked at it 
yet, in the full sunlight, at least not with him looking back at me.  
During our trip here, he was always wary, always cautious, but now, he 
seems to be focused solely on me.  I close my eyes again, and the 
thought of him standing there, in front of me, is the only thing on my 
mind.  I open my eyes again, and look into his.  That's it, he can be 
my thought!  Why not, I wonder?  He's certainly beautiful, and nothing 
could make my mind so one-tracked as to think of him.  I close my eyes 
once more, and think of him, not hard, just fleetingly, and soon, I 
feel what is like a typhoon swirling around me.
	"STOP!"  I hear, and open my eyes quickly, confused to hear 
Crvesh speak like that.  I see him nearly twenty feet away, leaning 
against a tree, clutching his shoulder.  I rush to his side and kneel 
next to him, placing a hand softly on his shoulder, and quickly 
removing it as he hisses in pain.
	"What happened?"  I ask, totally confused by the whole thing.  
His eyes seem to be in great pain, and I notice a bit of blood running 
down the tree.
	"Just... a moment."  He groans out, quite gutterally.  I watch 
as his eyes close, and even the pain I had seen on his face moments 
before seems to go away.  He stands up, and I see the large gash in his 
shoulder, and the pointed nub on the tree that gave it to him.  There 
was a lot of blood loss in that little time, and I begin to worry for 
his health, but as I look back at his shoulder, I'm completely shocked.
	The wound has completely covered over.  There is still a great 
deal of blood running down his back, but the source is completely dried 
up, even the fur that should have been gnarled by the injury has 
regrown perfectly.  His eyes open again, and he turns to me.  "Are you 
alright?"  He asks.
	I've got tears in my eyes, I just can't help it.  I'm confused 
beyond belief, as this Mazuku who's supposed to have a serious injury 
turns around, perfectly fine, and asks if I'm alright!  "What just 
happened?!"
	"Do not worry, I am unharmed.  I will explain to you if you are 
able to enter my home.  I will be inside waiting.  Just remember, you 
only need a small amount of the earth's magic to open the door."  He 
walks up beside me, and whispers into my ear.  "It is simple.  Think of 
the entrance in front of you, and there it will be."  He turns, the 
cave appearing for just enough time for him to walk through, then 
vanishing from sight.  Now I'm left alone out here.
	I try to do as he says, thinking of the cave appearing in front 
of me.  It doesn't seem to work.  I close my eyes and concentrate on 
the image of the cave, but my thoughts are still too jumbled.  There's 
so much going on inside my head that I'd never even realized was there! 
Then I remember what he'd originally taught me.  That's why I need to 
clear my thoughts.  So I think of him, standing in front of me, that 
soft glimmer of a smile in his eyes.  From this peaceful image, I walk 
forward, envisioning him standing inside the entrance to his cave.  I 
walk toward this image, finding it coming closer to me, seeing his face 
nearing mine... my thoughts shift to myself kissing him as I near him, 
and I nearly fall backward as I bump into a furry chest, and feel arms 
encircle me just moments before I feel my equilibrium give out.  I open 
my eyes suddenly, the image of him fading, instead replaced by the 
true, physical form of Crvesh...
	I breath deeply a moment, not realizing how much energy I had 
just exherted.  Even without knowledge of his kind's expressions, I can 
recognize the smile on his face.  I quickly stand by myself again, 
finally catching my breath and looking at him.  "How... did I do that?"
	He places a paw on my shoulder and leads me down the stairs to 
his home.  "You seem rather gifted in the magical arts.  Not just the 
speed with which you learn, I am willing to profess."
	He stops just a short way into the large room, and I stand in 
front of him.  "What happened to you, before?"  I ask, curious as to 
what has flung him so far, and caused such a wound.
	"Do not be alarmed when I tell you this, but it was you."  
Well, I'm obviously more than alarmed, and he places a paw on my 
shoulder to calm me as my mouth hangs open.  "Do not be afraid.  This 
is the kind of power you have.  That was the first time you have ever 
used it, so it suddenly acted out.  From now on, you must be careful 
with this power of yours.  I had no idea it would be so strong."
	I nod slowly, suddenly realizing all that he's telling me.  
He'd said before that only those with a great destiny have powerful 
magic... did that mean me?  I was to have some great cause in the 
world?  Of course, I can't even begin to fathom the kind of power that 
sleeps inside me.  I may never know it's extent, and in some ways, I 
fell I'd rather not know.  But still, what makes me so much different, 
so much more special than others?  Even a prince!
	He walks across the room, and sits in front of the fire, 
speaking to me softly, though in the quiet of the cave, I can hear him 
perfectly.  "Your power is beyond any of my people.  I had never 
expected to find a human so gifted.  Within time you will learn to 
focus your mind, so you will no longer have to think of m... of some 
other peaceful image to calm your mind.  But the door was easy.  It 
will take much deeper concentration to make some other things happen."
	I walk over beside him, still a bit in shock.  How is magic 
like this possible?  I had always thought that the most powerful things 
were machines, capable of producing their own kind of magic.  This, 
however, is completely different.
	He stands beside me, and slowly turns to me.  "There are a few 
things you can do to practice working with this magical energy.  Each 
of us has an element of nature to work with..."  Crvesh lifts his paw 
up, and in no time at all, a small ball of fire lights a small distance 
above his palm, generating heat, but nothing too much even at this 
closeness.  "I am of fire.  There are others here, of my race, who can 
call upon water, air, and earth.  None are able to summon up more than 
one of these elements."  He pauses for a moment after saying this.  
"There is one different.  He owns no elements... but it doesn't matter. 
He does not have much power."  An image plays across my eyes, of a 
Mazuku's face... but I can't make it out clearly.  "Nevermind, I can 
help you find the element you control, though I believe I know 
already."
	He walks up to me, and places my hand as his paw was, with the 
palm facing up, his resting just beneath it.  "Focus.  Use whatever 
means you have within you to force some small kind of distortion in the 
space just above your hand.  That distortion will define your element."
	I focus a moment.  Distortion?  What did he mean?  I guess I 
should go through the elements he spoke of... I think of him, my mind 
blanking out... no, I should try to clear my thoughts fully.  I can't 
always rely on this image to calm me.  I start at his face, just seeing 
his eyes staring back at me, and slowly let it fade.  I can feel the 
powers of the earth filling me as I do, my mind pulling in all my will, 
which I have yet to learn to fully control.
	I imagine the small ball of fire floating in my hand.  I feel 
no heat, but I can tell I've managed to do it.  Well, that must decide 
that... but... I let the image of the fireball fade, and slowly 
envision a sphere of rock forming above my palm.  I hear a soft gasp as 
it occurs, as I quickly learn to control this new power.  I let the 
stone fade out of existance, and focus instead on a ball of water.  
It's quite odd, imagining a perfect sphere of water floating above my 
palm.  It must have been even more odd to see.  I let this image fade, 
and wonder what to do for air?  A whirlwind?  No, that could get out of 
hand.  A small breeze should be enough.  Even as I imagine this, I feel 
the wind whip around my body, and I quickly end that thought.  At least 
I know I can use that too.  But hadn't he said I shouldn't have control 
of more than one element?
	I hear a sudden whispering in my ear, and my mind instantly 
envisions the face of Crvesh.  "I want you to think of a point of 
absolute darkness above your palm.  I know it seems like an odd idea, 
but attempt it for me."
	I listen to him, clearing my thoughts much more quickly than 
before, and picturing the point of darkness above my hand.  I can tell, 
even thought my eyes are not open, that I am not doing what I wish to. 
However, I get a new thought in my head, if not darkness, what about 
light?  I see the point of light, bright and yet soft, shining above my 
palm.  In no time, I can see the brightness upon my closed eyelids.  I 
open my eyes, and the point of light disappears.
	"This is incredible..."  He whispers.  And slowly lifts his 
other paw, never removing the original from my hand.  His eyes don't 
even close as he brings back the ball of fire, showing me the true 
prowess with the magic I should eventually try to find.  Suddenly, the 
fire changes to a deep blue water, right in front of my eyes.  His paw 
lets my own go, as a look of slight shock appears on his face.  The 
water splashes against his paw as he loses his concentration among the 
shock.  "But..."  He stands up, and heads toward the cave's foodstores. 
He turns to me.  "I will be back soon with some food... practice what 
you know."
	I nod to him, and close my eyes.  As I focus on the elements... 
fire... nothing happens... ok, maybe I just need to focus harder.  I 
concentrate, and clear my mind, thinking of the ball of water from 
before... only now, I get nothing.  I open my eyes, a bit frustrated, 
and focus on that gleaming light from before, letting out a soft yell 
as I'm suddenly blinded by the brightness of it appearing in my hand.
	Crvesh rushes into the room, surprised.  "Are you hurt?"  He 
asks.  I open my eyes slowly as I get used to the darkness again, glad 
I wasn't blinded permanently.
	I shake my head, looking down a moment, and wondering what to 
tell him.  "It... doesn't work anymore."  I look down a bit.
	He looks a bit confused.  "It?  Your magic?"  I nod.  "That 
should not happen..."  He picks up my hand, turns it to face upward, 
and nods, "Show me fire."
	I'm about to tell him that I can't, that it won't work, but I 
just decide to show him the same.  I focus on the fire, closing my eyes 
methodically and clearing my mind, then bringing back the ball of fire 
into my field of vision, suddenly feeling the soft warmth upon my hand. 
I continue to hold the vision, and the fireball, until a great loss is 
felt within my mind.  His hand falls from mine, and in that instant the 
fireball fades completely.
	I open my eyes, and he seems to be in deep thought.  "Crvesh... 
what..."
	He stops me short.  "Does anything still work?"
	I think back.  So far as I know, I could only create the light, 
as I had before.  I hadn't tried air or earth.  I close my eyes, and 
attempt to create either of these, to no success.  But when I think of 
light, a bright beam opens up in my palm.  I quickly halt the thought, 
opening my eyes to make sure I hadn't blinded him.  He seems alright, 
and I relax.  "I can only create light, now."
	He turns around, as though he's trying so hard to process 
everything.  I stand behind him, sometimes glancing down at his tail as 
it slowly sways back and forth over his muscular rump... he turns 
around, and I return my gaze to his eyes.  "We must talk about this.  I 
may know what is going on.  Stay here, I will finish making our 
meal..."  Crvesh walks back into the foodstores, and I sit on the 
skins, still thinking.  What IS happening, I wonder?

copyright 2002 - Neiko Mitaki
	Feel free to e-mail me with any comments you might have, I 
would love to hear from anyone at all.  Send comments to 
neikolion@catlover.com  Again, comments and criticisms are graciously 
accepted.  Flames will be ignored.  
	So far, so good.  I'm still writing strong.  I only decided to 
end this chapter here because it was looking to be the longest chapter 
already, and I have so many more ideas.  Most likely, the next chapter 
will continue directly from this one.  I hope you're still interested, 
there's probably a lot more to go.  I've got some good feelings about 
this one.