Rise of Kings

Chapitre Deux

A gleaming cave stretched before his eyes, a surreal orange glow emanating from a giant pool of magma spreading throughout half of the vast cavern. He stared in awe of the bubbling lava for several minutes until something seemingly out of place caught his attention. He padded forward to the object, then, to his horror, he made out that the shape was that of a wolf. It was lying on the ground, it's legs twisted at unnatural angles and appeared to be dead. He tried to walk forward, but his paws were immobilized on the cold cave floor. The vision suddenly faded just as soon as it had come.

Skrilliant awoke with a jolt from his bed. He rubbed his eyes with his left paw and sat up with a groan. He let his mind drift into space for a second before he remembered,

Memorian!

He rushed downstairs, unsure whether the old wolf had been a figment of his imagination or not. He looked around the living room and spotted the scarred old wolf asleep on his couch. His right paw dangled over the cushion and his tail twitched slightly as he slept.

Skrilliant sighed and entered the kitchen to make some breakfast, which he usually didn't do. He noted the absence of his advisor, Dewdrop, who usually made his meals for him. He put some eggs on a low heat on the frying pan, and after a minute, they started to sizzle. The scent must have awoken Memorian, as he stirred on the couch and sat up. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and looked around with a mild air of confusion. The eggs frying in the kitchen drew Memorian's eyes toward Skrilliant, who stood in the kitchen. He sat up and padded over with a yawn. He blinked his eyes a few times and said groggily,

"G'morning." Skrilliant nodded in reply. Memorian turned to the refrigerator and opened it with magic. He looked at the measly contents and grunted,
"I'd have thought the king of the phantoms 'd have more options than this." He motioned to the fridge. Skrilliant looked over his shoulder and glared at the last jar of mayo and a half-empty bowl of carrots and grapes. He turned back to his cooking scrambled eggs, the undersides of which were starting to blacken. Skrilliant swore under his breath and lifted the eggs from the frying pan and onto a plate. Memorian chuckled at Skrilliant's mistake and closed the fridge. He padded back to the couch, Skrilliant in tow with two plates of scrambled eggs suspended in the air by magic. He set them down on the coffee table and sat on the floor across from Memorian.

"What were you discussing with Shara yesterday?" Skrilliant asked. Memorian smiled and took a large forkful of scrambled eggs. He replied with his mouth full,

"Tha's none o' your business, is it kid?" Skrilliant scowled in annoyance.

"Well, it is my business. You were discussing my plans last night, and I have a right to know what is to be done about them," Skrilliant stated indignantly. Memorian rolled his eyes and took another bite of his scrambled eggs. Skrilliant's fur bristled and he looked at his plate, not feeling very hungry at the moment. He stood up with an exasperated sigh and walked to the window.

He saw that the window held droplets of rain clinging to the glass, and the ground outside his small cave-house was covered in puddles and darkened by the night's rain. The sun was shining through the yellow-tinted clouds, casting a mid morning shadow on everything below. A grey squirrel leaped from its pine tree home and scurried back into the underbrush, Skrilliant watching as it left. He turned away from the window and took a long look at Memorian, who was still eating forkfuls of scrambled eggs.

"You never explained exactly who you are, nor how you got here," Skrilliant said. Memorian put his fork back onto his empty plate and replied with his back turned,

"Skrilliant, there are some things about me that you'd rather not know. As for how I got here, that's easy. I tracked you and your advisor here, then I waited a couple days to find out when that silly phantom would leave," Memorian said. Skrilliant shook his head and asked once more,