The Chosen One (DCIG FANFICTION)

21.

"Team Green abandoned me, too." 

The calico athlete felt her throat run dry. How had an Inari been on Team Green? She scratched her head, ears flicking to and fro. If she had the gut to think of the query, she could ask it. 

"Aren't you an Inari?" Lucky mewed. Suddenly, the red mask plastered to her face appeared grave and lifeless, and the fox's fur whipping the wind looked somber.

"No. After getting kicked from my team, I left the island and returned with a mask. They know me as Runner." The vixen shook her head, gaze burning into Lucky. She felt her mood draining as another lump formed in her throat. 

"Well, what's your real name?" Lucky croaked.

"Stardust. My mother found it in my fur when I was born." Stardust blinked, grabbing the edges of her mask and holding them down.

"Are you crying?" Lucky tipped her head.

"Umm... the beech tree is over there." She pointed away, perhaps in an attempt to waver Lucky's attention. Lucky gave a final glance at the solemn fox, then strolled away, heart heavy. Stardust didn't look like she'd smiled in her life!

As Lucky approached the tree, she saw a streaked cut across the side, giving way to an entrance, like it was a room. Lucky stepped through, brushing away lichen and glaring inside. 

The room was pitch-black, not a single flare of moonlight peaking into the tree grotto. Lucky assumed it was from the night's blackness, but as she stepped in, she could feel another presence. "Hello?" Lucky called, expecting the creature to respond. Silence bubbled around her, and a shiver ran down her spine. She looked around, trying to spot an exit to the secret beach.

Lucky jumped as she heard a rip nearby, followed by muffled sounds. Peaking around the corner, Lucky saw shadowed fur sitting beside a collection of pots. A soft glow emitted from a lantern near them. Lucky shuddered against the bark of the inner trunk, managing to inhale enough air to speak.

"Who are you? Why are you in here?" The shadowy figure turned as she meowed, and then she recognized the cat around the potions. "Puddles? Why are you in here?"

"I'm preparing for a battle. I didn't want anyone to see me, so I cut the power." Puddles grumbled as if it were so simple. 

"Do you need more chill pills?" Lucky asked, wondering why he was always talking about fighting. 

"W-what? No! I'm a very shrewd person, whatever that means. Better question: Why are you here? Did you want some herb juice?" 

"I was looking for driftwood," Lucky stated, bristling. "You don't need a robe to make cures." Puddles lowered the hood on his maroon coat through gritted teeth.

"Not anymore. I have a mission for you." Puddles grabbed a bottle filled with a mysterious transparent liquid and poured it over his head. 

"Why did you―never mind, what's the mission?" Lucky sighed, facepalming.

"I need you to find the Trophy Master. You know the old crane inside the golden house? He's a faker. The real Trophy Master is missing, and that bitch has been missing for five god-damned months!" Puddles screeched, shaking his drenched robe. 

"You act like I know where she is," Lucky exclaimed silently, but Puddles must've heard her.

"The day we found out she went missing two kits―Tumble and Bounce―reported they hadn't seen her when we asked.  Then Smores interrupted and said that she was heading for the boat houses. She 'oughta be there. Hanging 'round the houses." His accent started dissolving into a vaguely southern tone.

"If I find her, can you stop talking like that?"

"Fine, I'll stop speaking lik' that. But ya better find her; I'll giv' ya the cave's key."

"Did you even hear me?"

"Ok, fine. Come with me, I'll give you the key. I locked the cave because it flooded and was accessable." Puddles groaned. Lucky followed him out, climbing the slope and entering his den. He dug through his storage until pulling out a shiny, gray key.

"This is the key to the cave. Please take care of it. If you drop this I'll throw you into the lava pools." Lucky nodded as he placed the key in her palm. She strengthed her grip around it, turning as she began to step out of the doorway. "Wait, one more thing. She might be in the Cave of Ancestors. It's the rocky cavern in the boathouse, and our ancestors live there."

"Ancestors?" Lucky gasped. "What?"

"Dead creatures. Spirits that dwell there from our island's past. They are all around you, but you can't see them." Lucky quivered in fear.

"I'll be careful," Lucky promised. "And I'll find the real Trophy Master." With those words, she began trotting away.

Author's Note:

Please don't get mad because this all I wrote two weeks. I swear that chapter 22 will be worth it. It will have it's own new intro because its so darn good! Blackened Echoes is the start of the prophecy stuff my friends!