Trapped: Strife, Wolf, and Alex

"How long is it needed for?" Wolf asked, because that was the more important question.

"I actually don't know," Strife said. "It's a bound fiend. He'll need protection until he is no longer bound. That could take years. If you're not committed to that long, I'm fine with that. I just need a head's up on how much time you can give me so that I can find a replacement in time. And I can do that. But for now, all I have is you."

"All right," Wolf said, he didn't even think on it. He owed the guy a favour, he would have been stuck in that forest for years and years if he hadn't helped them out. He totally knew that Strife had tricked him into a deal as well, but he couldn't blame him. People didn't know that he was a good Master right off the bat, it was something that came with time. He needed that to make himself feel safe. He totally got it. "When do I start?"

"Let's see how well you get along with him first," Strife said. "I'm taking him a care package today. Come with me, meet him, and see if you're up to it. He's not exceptionally difficult. He'd just a little odd and not very good at being a human."

"I can show him." Wolf said, but he stood up then, he motioned to the lady behind the bar. She'd clean up his stuff.

"Well, I'll be around more to help you out. It's not that I don't trust you...it's just that I don't trust you," Strife said with a grin. He paused. "I don't exactly own a human vehicle and my way of traveling might be unsettling for you. Do you have a car or something?"

"Nah, do your thing. I've had fiend swallow me up and poop me out hole. Does it feel worse than that?" Wolf grinned.

Strife made a face. "No... Is it possible for anything to feel worse than that. He stepped outside but then hesitated again. "Are you afraid of heights? Because if you panic or vomit on me...I will be pissed."

"I'm afraid of the sphincter of giant fiends only." Wolf replied with a grin. Of course he was winding Strife up a little bit. But not in a bad way.

Strife frowned but then shrugged. He had to walk away from The Manticore to make sure he had plenty of room to change without squishing anything. Strife's default fiend from, as a dragon, was really only the size of an average cat. It was not very large and not at all intimidating. He was actually quite cute. But sometimes being small just didn't cut it. And this was one of those times. A cat sized dragon couldn't carry a human after all.

His much larger form was anything but cute. It also didn't look like what you'd imagine when you thought of a dragon. He had almost no scales, his body instead covered in soft, white fur. With the exception of his legs, head and tail, his body was completely see through. His organs could not be seen in that section (assuming he even had any) but his bones could. While see through, his body still had color and that area shimmered and shone with different colors like an opal would held under sunlight. Fire of blues, purples, and greens flickered in the breeze behind the four horns on his head and the tip of his tail. The ground glowed a soft blue color where his large, clawed feet came in contact with it.

He stood nearly as tall as the Manticore and while his main body was in fact see through, he was completely solid. He was much too tall for Wolf to climb up easily even if he had been sitting. So he lowered his majestic head towards the human and neatly and gently lifted him up by his shirt. He tossed him back onto his body and waited for him to find his balance.

Wolf did, though he was surprised by Strife's big dragon. "Falcor! My friend, where have you been all my life?" He joked.

"I am not a luck dragon," Strife said, tilting his head back to look at Wolf. "And I am much more fabulous than he is." By far. But he took off then into the sky. He didn't have wings in this form to fly in the traditional sense. Instead he seemed to simply defy gravity, climbing the air and then running along it.

Wolf grabbed his heart. "Falcor is actually the best. I am so disappointed in you. I just complimented you and you threw it back in my face! You're such a bitch!"

"Yeah, but you'll get over that," Strife said and continued to run along in the sky. "To be perfectly honest, I've never watched that movie. But I've been compared enough to that creature that I've built up a resentment."

He continued to fly for about twenty more minutes. He was very fast. Then he quickly descended. He landed just outside a small town. The area was peppered with a lot of small towns and villages. The building he landed in front of was old but sturdy. He was a temple but was not dedicated to any specific deity. Instead, it was a place that anyone could come to worship or pray for any of the deities.

There was a sign on the door that politely informed people that the temple was closed for maintenance.

Strife once again snatched Wolf off his back and gently placed him in front of the door. Then he changed back to his human form as his dragon form was much too large to make it through the temple doors.

"this is so predictable..." Wolf said a little disappointed. Just an average temple. Sigh.

"Generic was kind of the point. We're trying to hide him. Can't do that in places that stand out or are too predictable," Strife said and rolled his eyes. "Before we go in there, you should know he's psychic. If there's anything about you at all, he knows what it is. But that also means you might be able to spook him with your dark magic. So keep it in check, okay?

The door was magically sealed. He placed a hand on it and then breathed on the door. It came unlocked and he quickly pushed Strife inside before shutting the door and sealing it again. The door flickered with a blue light that looked liked water. Just for a moment. And then it was gone.

Inside, the temple looked deserted. The only light came from quickly fading candles located in places of worship. There were no humans and no sounds but the echoes from their footsteps.

"It's all right. It's just me," Strife said and looked around.

A small head peeked up from behind one of the pews closest to the altar. All Strife could see were a mess of golden curls and large, violet eyes.

"Look I've brought you some food," he said, taking a bag out of his jacket pocket. "And a knight." He jerked his head towards Wolf.

The violet eyes focused on Wolf then.

"What do you think of him?"

The blonde sat up properly then, revealing the youthful face of a teenage boy. He wore a tan hoodie that was three sizes too big, making his thin and small body seem even smaller. "Third generation hunter. Goes by the nickname of Wolf. Master of Darkness. Unlocked. Frequents The Manticore. Born into the Hunter lifestyle but would not choose another. Orphan. Young but considered by those in his field to be more than capable. Not a knight," the boy finished, looking at Strife with that last sentence.

"Close enough," Strife said with a shrug.

"Well. Fucking a." Wolf said and facepalmed. "Thanks for that. I mean, I think it's pretty knightly of me to agree to protecting you."

"You haven't technically agreed yet," Alex said, looking at Wolf once more.

Strife chuckled. "He's like this with everyone. It doesn't mean he doesn't approve of you," he told Wolf. He looked back at Alex. "He's not Steel Heart but you like Masters, right?"

Alex seemed to think of that. "The Master of Darkness has a heart of gold. It will be fine."

"Steel heart? Gold heart? What?" Wolf said then, looking confused. "why do I feel like I've been told 'he will do' like I'm just barely good enough??"

Alex tilted his head to the side, his curls falling slightly in the way of one of his large eyes. "You were not made to just be 'good enough'. That is not how I feel."

From outside, there came a howl of a creature that was both twisted and vile. It caused the hairs on the back of Strife's neck to stick straight up.

Alex shrunk down in the pew, his eyes going even wider with fear at that sound. He made a panicked sort of gasp and slid completely out of sight, trying to be as small as possible.

"So you were serious with this need of protection huh?" Wolf said, he looked at Strife. "What exactly is that and what type of fiend so I know which of mine to summon?"

"It's either going to be fire or metal if the pattern holds," Strife answered. "Help me out here," he called to the hiding boy. "What are we dealing with?"

Alex shook his head. Fear could be absolutely crippling. Another cry rang out, this time from a different beast.

Strife's hair changed blue as he jumped over the pews and pulled Alex up. "Don't freeze up on me now. We've got this. Focus."

Alex's violet eyes were filled with absolute terror. But he took a steadying breath. Then another. "Delphox. Fire and psychic. Weak to water and dark. Darmanitan. Fire. Weak to water. And semisear. Fire. Weak to water."

"Okay I can only handle one of those..." Wolf said, but he put up a finger before Strife told him off, he pulled his phone out with the other hand, gave his co-ordinates to the Princess of water and then put it back. "let me out."

Strife's eyes narrowed. "Who did you just call?"

"The princess of water," Alex told him.

Strife couldn't protest that one. Though he didn't much like getting too many people involved.

The darmanitan chose that moment to roll and crash into the side of the temple. The entire temple shook with the impact, the walls shimmering with the water seal.

Startled, strife poofed into a small white dragon. He scampered under the pews as quickly as his little legs would take him, which was actually really fast, and slammed his tail against the door three times. "Go!" He shouted at Wolf.

"You telling me that stupid lock goes only one way?? Idjits," Wolf said shaking his head as he ripped open the door.

Hikari was already there with Cameron. She didn't leave him much these days as he was still mentally healing. "Wow, Wolf. You find the worst trouble."

"Dont I know it?" he replied, as he headed towards the one that was weak to dark. His aura started to leak out of him, sucking the light from all around him. It was a move intended to make the fiend flinch.