Old Friendships Last Forever
By Rei Keishana

[Another story based on the series Rei discontinued. It is from the point of view of a wolf named Rex.]

I stood, waiting as the wind blew past me silently. I could hear the trees whispering, and could see the birds flying past me. They must have known what my intentions were.

In the distance, I noticed a figure approaching. I unsheathed my weapon. The figure stopped moving. I guess it must have caught a glimpse of the glare my sword reflected from the sun.

For quite a while now, I had waited to see my long lost best friend once again. Not only did he understand me, but also his sword-fighting techniques were very similar to mine, making him the only worthy opponent against me. Through great battles had we come across, but none as fearsome as disputes between the two of us. I feared now that he was none other than deceased, for I have not heard of any sign of his existence, or his family.

I watched as the heavily cloaked figure unsheathed its weapon as well.

“You must be the leader of this pack,” it said. My hopes went down to realize that it was not the voice of my best friend, yet that of a young warrior willing to challenge me for my land, like all the rest.

“You are a waste of my time,” I growled as I placed my weapon back. “Go home or die.”

“I have come to give you a message,” she said. She removed her hood and glared at me with her blaring green eyes. She was a young feline girl, preparing for combat.

“Ha!” I laughed. “A message? From whom?”

She smirked a bit, and then whipped her weapon before her. “Duel me and you will know of whom.”

I sighed and unsheathed my blade once more. “Fine, you choose to die. I accept your challenge, for you have selected an early demise, dame.”

Immediately, she approached me with such speed with her sword, almost slicing me in pieces if I didn't dodge in time.

We began to duel. I was quite surprised, she had the strength of a silverback, yet she had the speed of a hummingbird, which, for some reason, seemed to be so familiar to me. She blocked every strike I threw at her, as I defended every one of her blows. After about five minutes of this, we backed away and gasped for breath.

“Daddy,” my daughter called out from inside the hut. “What are you doing?”

“Hush you,” I barked back. “Don't disturb me in the middle of a battle.”

The stranger immediately lunged at me, and like in slow motion, my sword was knocked out of my paws. I stood in shock as I heard the sound of metal clanking against the stone walkways.

“No...” I muttered. “It can't be...”

“Yes, it is,” the cat girl replied. I stood there for quite a while, contemplating what had just happened. Nobody ever knocked my sword out of my paws but...

I suddenly darted straight towards her and hugged her. She was a bit baffled, but I was extremely happy. I backed away, with my paws on her shoulders and glared at her soft green eyes.

“Please tell me I didn't harm you any,” I said.

“You didn't, Uncle,” she giggled, and we hugged again. She was certainly the only offspring of my long missing best friend, and this was a sign that he finally returned home. She backed away from me and kneeled on one leg.

“It is my father's desire to see you, Uncle Rex,” Eris said. “He has longed to be in your presence once again, for old time's sake.”

“I want to see him,” I grunted. I looked over at my daughter, who immediately hid behind the curtains when I turned. “Come on out, Niche, it's all okay now.”

Though this feline was not related to me in any way, we all saw each other as family. My family, the wolf pack, had a great friendship between these cats, and occasionally, I saw my best friend as my brother. It was time to see him again, from after so long. Eris led my daughter and I down the stairways.