Took you long enough.
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Word Count » 3225! :: PP of Gemma approved prior to posting this. Also, holy shit, I'm never doing anything this long agian. Takes place between the 2nd of January and the 5th. Don't ask me where. I have no idea. Teo gets his spirit guide, who is a European Polecat (approved by Marit) named Ahiyuhi, which is Cherokee for Loyalty. Underlined is either his mother speaking to him or Ahiyuhi. And yes, ends in sexy times with Gemma. Wink


He'd returned home from his encounter with Angel not long into the early morning. He'd ridden slowly, a few minor injuries still stinging from the scuffle they'd had. Even though they'd ended off okay, he still felt battered and bruised. The coydog made a note to train harder with Light, to prevent such a terrible series of bruises and cuts for next time it happened.

Jericho rode past the fenced borders of AniWaya just as the sun began to rise over the horizon, their shadows merged as rider and mount in long stretches of darkness on orange-lit snow. They rode along in silence, the short fight still hanging heavily over the once-frightened mare and her battered rider. A Trovato never lost a fight... never even let it come to a draw.. so why had he?

Upon reaching the village, Teo dismounted, faking his strength as he forced away his limp to bring Jericho back to the stables. Once there, he cleaned her stall and put down fresh hay and water for her, giving her a small slice of dried apple as a treat before sighing and trudging off to his house.

The sun had risen by that point, though the world around him was still bathed in an orange glow.

He'd expected Gemma to greet him worriedly upon stepping inside, but the house was empty. He hadn't heard from Trinker nor Dominick in days and Gemma had been gone already by the time he'd finished his chores the day before. He'd left, thinking she'd come home later, that she was off with a friend or something.

Now that she wasn't home the next morning, fear gripped his chest like a sledgehammer crashing down on him. Gemma? He searched the entire house, top to bottom, but found no signs of her. Her scent was fading. She hadn't even been home since he'd left the day before. This was a bad, bad sign. Merda. He cursed, turning around sharply and heading back out the door to search for her.

The day had grown into noon by the time he'd finished searching the village and even the territory. He'd howled for her three times now, but no answer. No luck. She was gone. Again. God damn it, Gemma!

He'd just have to go out searching for her, then. Too tired to bother gathering up supplies, thinking that he'd find her in record time, Teo left with only his clothes on his back. Jericho would be far too tired to be ridden again so soon and it didn't matter anyway; he'd be able to search better on his own feet, rather than relying on his view from the back of a horse.

His first thought was to check the surrounding territory, but by the time he'd circled AniWaya's borders once, it was getting close to nightfall. No, I won't let her spend the night out here alone. I will find her. Determined not to lose her again, the young man set off in his lupus form, leaving his clothes tucked underneath the border's fence for when he came back. He didn't need them now.

Four legs travelled faster than two and by midnight he'd all but left AniWaya too far behind to see. Howls echoed across the land occasionally, calling out to her in hopes that she'd respond, but nothing. No answer. He felt the pull of exhaustion on his legs and his bruised and battered body refused to run anymore. Teo knew he'd have to rest soon, but where?

The sound of running water told him of a steam nearby and he trotted over to it, dipping down to take a drink. It was as he sat back up that he noticed, directly across from him, the entrance to a once-hidden den. He blinked. Surely he couldn't be so lucky as to find an old den like this?

Deciding not to question it, he approached the worn structure of dirt and tree roots and sniffed about. Any scents that might've been there were gone now, making this den at the base of a huge tree a perfect place to settle down for a night's sleep. Careful not to disturb the supporting roots that held up the roof of the den, Teo slipped into the darkness, his vision no longer working in the underground. No need, though; he'd be sleeping anyway. Who needed their eyes to sleep?

He turned to curl up in the confines of the small den, only to find his hind paw going down deeper than the rest, and no ground supporting him underneath seconds later. With a rumble and a scream, he fell into darkness, the den's floor caving into a cavern below. He must've fallen at least six feet before hitting rough ground below, a wet splash telling him how such a hallow had gotten there in the first place; an underground stream.

With a groan, he stood back up and stared up into the only lightsource given; what once had been a den was now a stream of moonlight shining into the small, dark tunnel below the tree's roots. He'd been unfortunate enough to find himself resting on top of the only space big enough for him to fall into; everything else was a tangle of roots, rock and dirt. The stream ran down into a tiny crevice, probably leading out to the ocean, and it came from a bubbling tunnel that went upwards, but was far too small to fit into. A mouse might've been able to swim its way to freedom, but Teo was stuck.

Shifting was out of the question, too. He'd run himself to the point of exhaustion and the very thought of changing into his Secui or Optime forms to climb out was making him almost sick to his stomach. No one had been around when he'd found the abandoned den. No one was around now to help him out. He was too small in his lupus form to jump out and his leg was too sore to be used for climbing at this point.

...I'll sleep down here until morning, then I'll shift and climb out of here once the sun's up. It's too dark to tell root from rock, anyway. I'd sooner collapse the place trying to get out now. With a deep throated rumble, Teo scooted backwards until his paws were on moist ground, out of the narrow but deep stream of water that cut through the center of the opening.

Four feet on either side. Six or seven feet of ceiling space. He'd be able to rest here safely, as long as nothing else happened to cave it in anymore than it already was. The battered and tired coydog circled a spot of dried bedding from the den and settled down, curled up and ready to just let exhaustion claim him.

In mere minutes, the boy fell asleep.

His dreams haunted him. Exhausted mind swerved down dark paths that led him into nightmarish visions of bloodied teeth and savage eyes of both brown and blue. As if running through an underground maze, Teo's dream self, an unshifted albino pup, ran as fast as his tiny legs would carry him. He felt the hot breath of his persurer on his heels, the sound of snapping teeth and vicious snarls echoing off the dirt walls around him. So tired, so sore, so much blood. And then, he couldn't run anymore. He tripped seemingly on air and fell head over heels into the dirt, down a slope and into a shallow underground river. With a gasp and a sputter, he surfaced from the shallow water and turned to face his attacker.

Except, there was no one there. No tunnels, no more dirt walls. He was in a rocky cave, the mouth of it gaping behind him, casting shadows onto the wall that he stared at with wide eyes. He was in a pool of cold water, the feeling of it pulling at his fur, urging him to go under.

With a confused shriek, he struggled out of the water and onto the edge of rock that seperated the wall from the pool. He stared at the ripples he'd made with fear in his eyes, and then, slowly, it settled into stillness, a perfectly mirrored reflection casting light onto him, but there was no blinding sensation to blink from.

He approached with youthful curiousity, his previous fear leaving him as he approached the pool of water, suddenly feet away from him instead of inches as it'd been before. Slowly, he leaned over to look into the pool's reflective surface and found a pair of blue and pink eyes staring back at him. His eyes. His face. Except, this wasn't him. This was an older man with scars and torn ears, eyes older than he was and an expression of cold hate.

The young pup gasped sadly at the older reflection. Is that... me? He murmured, taking a closer look. The man in the pool lifted his lip to bare his fangs, but there was no sound of a snarl nor true anger in his expression. Instead, young Matteo saw regret and sorrow. ...why am I so sad?

Another face appeared in the pool, across from him. With a start, he looked up to find a familiar face staring back at him. The young features were what threw him off at first, the the puppy across from him was obviously pure in her coyote heritage. Soft green-blue eyes smiled at him lovingly, innocently, but when Teo looked into the water, he saw a horrible thing.

The woman in the girl's reflection was sad and old, worn by age and abuse. She wore an expression that tugged at his heart, that made him want to cry out for her. Not liking this image or his own, he looked up at the girl across from him, young and friendly to the eyes.

Why are we so old in the water?

"Because that is who we are in life. This, our younger selves... this is who we are deep down inside. You see, when we were truely happy, we were young. But this is just an illusion now. Life is not as you see it now."

...why can't it be?

"Because we have strayed, Matteo."

Strayed? Strayed from what?

"Ourselves."

And then, in a flash of blinding light, she was gone, her voice echoed through the cave like birdsong, leaving Teo alone and confused yet again. ...ourselves? He jumped to his feet, eyes wide. What do you mean by that!? Who are you!? Come back! But only his own voice echoed off the walls this time. He was alone. There was no one else in the cave with him and when he looked into the water, all he saw was rippled wet and a blur of white color for his reflection.

Confused and upset, Teo edged his way around the pool and headed for the mouth of the cave. Bright light blinded him from seeing outside of it, but he felt the warmth of the sun caressing his pelt as he left the dark rocks behind.

But he never made it outside. Just before he stepped a paw out into the bright world beyond the cave, the sound of snarling anger roared in his ears and he whirled around, just in time to watch as a set of bloodied teeth came down on his throat and snapped shut there.

Before he could see his attacker, he felt the world around him swirl into darkness and with a frightened yelp, he woke from his dreaming.

The real world.

Matteo looked around him with frightened, wide eyes and teeth bared, ready for an attack. Nothing came, but he felt a tightening around his neck and lept back up, snarling in defense. A root fell from his fur, dead and old, but twisted in such a way that it must've looped around him in his sleep. He calmed down after that and his sleep-heavy mind cleared into drozy wakefulness.

After a moment of looking around, Matteo realized where he was. ...that's right, the den collapsed underneath me last night. Looking up, he found that the sun had risen well enough that the light filtering in was green from the grassy, mossy growth around the mouth of the den. Mid-day, he guessed.

Still sore and tired, Teo shifted around in his spot to get a better look at what he'd be dealing with...

...except, as he looked up at the opening again, something caught his eye. There, looking over the edge of the drop off, sat a fluffy ferrety thing with bright eyes and transculent fur. It smiled down at him almost mockingly and he stared back in confusion. What the hell was that thing?

I'm a polecat. It stated simply, turning out to be female despite Teo not being able to smell anything. He blinked again in utter bewilderment; was it just him, or had the creature's mouth not move at all!?

...You're a ghost! He stated suddenly, brows pinched together and eyes wide in realization. This creature, this Polecat, was a spirit! Had he invaded her den or something?

I prefer the term, Mortally Challanged... but yes, I'm a 'ghost'. She correctly plainly before jumping down and into the pit with him. She sat down daintily and smiled, looking around. Jeeze. I've been trying to wake you up for the last twelve hours, Matteo. You sleep like a log.

Teo glared at the polecat and took a step back away from her, ears pinning back. Terribly sorry, but I-- Wait. He blinked, realization dawning on him again. TWELVE HOURS!? How long have I been down here!? He felt dread course through his pelt and he looked up again at the opening. Mid-day. But Twelve hours... He'd fallen asleep a good amount of time past midnight! That would make it later into the evening by now, wouldn't it?

...that meant, he'd had to have slept for...

You've been down here a good twenty-four hours or so, actually. Longer, since it's daytime now. Whatever tired you out kept you out cold for quite some time. She stated simply, examining her paw without any signs of worry or surprise. Teo, on the other hand, was freaking out.

Shit! Ulilohi's gonna kill me! I've been gone for.. I won't get back until late tonight at this rate! I didn't mean to be gone this long! I- Then, another moment of realization. He looked down at the polecat with a suspicious stare. Wait, you've been watching me sleep all this time? Who are you? Why are you here?

She smiled up at him and swished her tail to the side. About time you asked me that, Matteo.

How do you know my na-

She cut him off. My name is Ahiyuhi. I've been keeping an eye on you for some time now, actually. It's my job, afterall, as your Spirit Guide. She couldn't have put it more bluntly. Teo's jaw slacked at the notion; he'd just met his spirit guide!?

...Wait, I have a spirit guide!? He uttered stupidly. What for? I haven't been in the tribe that long... and I've hardly done anything to deserve one...

She looked up at him with a stern glare and he shut his maw, looking a bit caught off guard at the sudden intensity of Ahiyuhi's stare. You're right. You haven't done anything to deserve my guidance. But you've done plenty to deserve a good slap upside the head, you stupid boy. I'm here to make sure you don't keep messing up, like you have been since you came to the tribe. Now, if you don't mind, this place is filthy and you need a good grooming. Let's go home.

He watched her jump up and out of the cave easily and then moved to follow her, shifting into his secui form with little trouble and hauling himself up and out of the den and into the sunlight again. Despite his damp fur, the day was warm and the sun warmed his pelt nicely, as muddy as it was now.

And without a word, the pair started off towards AniWaya. It was minutes before Teo could pull words out of himself and when he did, they were more questions. So... you're my spirit guide, huh? Why a polecat?

That's what I was in life.

Okay... so your name is Ahiyuhi? What's it mean?

Loyalty. She shot him a pointed glare and he shut up after that. Silence overcame them, heavier than before, as Matteo thought over the name carefully. Loyalty.

...Fuck. With a groan, he realized what that meant and trudged along the rest of the way, head in line with his shoulders and ears flat on his head. At some point or another, the pair struck up idle conversation, and the unease of the situation quickly flitted away into a comfortable mildness.

By the time Matteo found his clothes at the border, they were half-buried and in need of some seriously cleaning. His trip back had consisted of chatter and pausing to groom once or twice. He'd discovered that Ahiyuhi preferred the nickname Ahi, and that she much preferred being visable despite having the ability to become unseen by mortals. She liked the idea of being alive again, but was happy to live her afterlife as a guide if it meant she could socialize better than most spirits. She admired him for his weaving skills but thought his habits to be absolutely stupid, though she never brought up his trips to Inferni.

When he got home, Gemma was there waiting for him, angry that he'd left but excited to meet the polecat he'd brought home. She introduced him to Taima Waki, a white buffalo that turned out to be her own spirit guide (which Teo found endlessly amusing, that they'd have found their guides during the same time). Then, after some excited, childish babbling between the two, Teo decided it to be a good time to get some rest. It was the middle of the night, afterall, and he was tired from his trip home.

He pulled Gemma up to the bedroom with him and shut the door behind them. Tired, yes, but that didn't mean the pair couldn't celebrate their good fortune, right? He was glad to learn that even Spirit Guides had a sense of decency and he didn't hear much from Ahiyuhi for the rest of the night. As he nodded off to sleep, a tired and spent Gemma curled up in his arms, he stared across the the dresser in their bedroom and at the outline of a polecat, smiling at him. He smiled as well, and closed his eyes. ...I guess it wouldn't hurt to show a little more faith.

For once in his life, despite everything bad around him, Matteo Trovato finally felt as if he'd found the perfect place to call Home.

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