A Wolf's Spirit

Force Of Action

          Shards of pristine glass gleamed from the sizzling inferno inside the chapped wooden cove. Luminescent glows pulled shadows to life as furniture flew across the room in a fit of furious rage. Limbs of wood shattered in tiny splinters; antique vases destroyed beyond repair against the dirty wooden floorboards, furniture flipped in complete disorder, and chaos descending into madness whilst Ray bellowed in outrage.

          Kai cowered to avoid having himself fully decapitated within the next few minutes, and he backed up to shield Ember from the worst of the trouble. The stench of his father's parched breath put him in a cold sweat, leaving him painfully unsettled. It was not long before he was pinned near a corner, blocked underneath a towering nightmare.

          "WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING OUT THERE?" he thundered angrily, blinded from boiling rage, just about ready to tip over and singe his son's already burned skin. "YOU MADMAN! YOU IMBECILE! YOU IMPETUOUS, THOUGHTLESS... FOOL!"

          Ember curled in on herself and released a piteous whine. Kai reached for her to gently stroke her scales, but Ray lashed out an arm to stop him.

          "No. You will not." he ground out firmly. "Get your hands off her. I'm talking to you; do you understand me?"

          Kai went for it.

          "Dad! Listen to me—"

          "DON'T YOU START!" his father seethed. His breathing was erratic—Kai could tell he was trying to calm down, but there was no chance of that happening anytime soon. "You leave the house when I give you direct orders to stay... then you go ahead and get yourself in a street fight?"

          His fingers curled into tight fists, slightly unclenching, and locking back. He had tried so hard to keep his composure over the protection of his only son. He already knew Kai felt like a caged animal staying inside, but stakes were exceedingly high with the wolves attacking anyone nearing the outskirts of the forest. And in the name of the First Spinjitzu Master, it wouldn't be long before he received a heart attack from Kai's impulsive foolishness.

          "The fight with those morons were completely different! They were treating Nya like an animal, trapping her in a crate in an alleyway!" Kai yelled angrily. "They're the ones who're mad! I'm just trying to do some good around here!"

          The young brunet was speaking the truth, but Ray could not bring himself to vocally agree with him. His fury had not yet sufficed, and there was much more to allude to.

          "Not to mention," Ray continued, "that you left the grounds to follow me without my knowledge? You brought your dragon along, and look where it led her? I have absolutely no idea how you've managed to heal her, but she's faced yet another injury because of what you're getting yourself into!"

          Kai shuffled his feet together and carefully leaned back. It truly hurt to hear those words coming from his father. He was, at some par, aware of the consequences of his reckless actions, but he was not expecting something like this to happen so soon. He was so caught up in everything that had happened to him thus far; leaving the town and exploring the interior depths of the woods, discovering newfound powers, interacting with Nature Dragons, separating from Nya, surviving an encounter with wolves, finding a home like he had never seen before... meeting Cole... a true Wolfwalker.

          It all felt like an unbridled curse and a miracle that suddenly crashed into his life. Despite all the things he kind of liked about his current adventures, it tired him out fast. He knew it exhausted Ember as well, and he never meant any harm towards her. The constrictive feelings abused him, his thoughts, his decisions. And his father's shouting was not helping matters. It was starting to get to him. It was frightening him.