Chapter thirty-one: Enter: Kosmo

After they left Aurs, In the nighttime, Shiro lay curled on a tree branch as he felt his body has a lot of blood with no heart to pump it.

It has been happening, ever since he broke the connection between him and Keith, He closed his eyes for what seems like the thousandth time and tried to relax.

Snap.

It was the tiniest sound, not enough to wake anybody up or not even the larval resting near him, but the little crunch did put Shiro on high alert.

That crack was a twig snapping, Shiro was almost sure of it. Something was following them but what.

"Shiro, what is it!" said Keith.

"Oh, Nothing, through I heard something!" said Shiro.

"Ok!" Keith said. "But it's best if you go to sleep!"

The following morning as Hunk rubbed the crusted sleep from his eyes and stretching his arms over his head then he survived the camp, he saw Shiro, Keith, Lance, Pidge, Stats, and Kiaion were sleeping soundly as the sun shining brightly as always.

"Hey, Lance!" Hunk said.

"Along at last!" Lance responded, but he wasn't awake but he appeared to be lost in a dream, snuggled up to a loaf of bread that they'd brought from Aurs, and they had put Lance in charge of the bread, but Hunk thought he was talking his job, a little bit too much serious.

But he had his arms around it in an embrace and his lips were pressed up against it, Hunk shook Lance again.

"What!! What is it?" Lance asked as he sat straight up.

"Nothing except you're hugging the bread." Hunk said.

"Oh, sorry". He said as he and Hunk both chuckle.

"Hey, what?" Keith said, waking up instantly.

"Hey, Keith". Lance said. "glad to see you're up".

"Yeah!" Keith said, standing up. "Not exactly my perfect time to wake up, but ok!"

"Hey, where is Shiro". Lance said

Shiro has already sprung up to his feet, grabbed his blade, and sprinted into the forest.

It took him only a few minutes to find the broken twig. He knelt and picked it up, then heard rustling in a nearby bust. He crouched and whipped out his sword there was another rustle and Shiro's Shoulders tensed...until a dainty fawn appeared and wagged its ears.

Shiro breathed a sigh of relief and put away his blade. He reached his hand toward the fawn.

"Aw...you scared me, you sweetie," he said.

The baby deer stared back at Shiro, then cautiously approach and sniffed his fingers. Shiro stroked one of its brown bears and the deer nuzzled his bloody hand in return licking the red spot.

"Thanks, little one, but my hand isn't the problem," Shiro said.

Suddenly, the deer backed away from Shiro, it started above Shiro's head and flattened its ears.

"What's the matter?" Shiro asked, but the deer jumped into the bushes.

"Shiro" Shiro looked over his shoulder just in time to see Keith calling for his name.

He scrambles off the ground to find Keith next to him.

"Shiro, there you are," said Keith "Where did you go".

"I thought I heard something else," Shiro said.

"Well, I'm sure might be a small animal". Keith said, pointing to the small dear.

"Yeah' I suppose you're right!" Shiro said, "But still!"

"Hey, I'm sure wherever information that Romelle gave us might help us find the samurai," Keith said.

"Okay", Shiro breathing as he relaxing a little bit, just then, while staring at the sky. Keith noticed a shooting star. However, it wasn't a star, it was more like an asteroid coming right towards the end of the camp. Shiro and Keith saw it coming down from the land's atmosphere and crash hundreds of feet away. But he could still feel the tremors from the impact.

Keith looked to his left to see that the event hadn't reached the campsite, which was good because they didn't need another incident like Adam. Keith knew that. He readied himself to follow and check it out before Shiro said, "I was the one who told you not to do things on your own".

Keith growled at Shiro however, Keith right that Shiro was right again like he always is.

"Shut up!" Keith told him. "But what if someone needs my help?"

"It could also be an enemy of some kind of, waiting to strike!" Shiro joked.

Keith grunted and left Shiro and then looked in the direction of where the asteroid landed, seeing the smoke trail where it made its impact with the ground.

Keith then brought up a whole screen looking for a way he could keep an eye on the campsite while going to check out the impact site.

He was glad to find out that Romelle had this with her, that way he could find out about the camp.

The half-daemon walking over to the spot impact and soon making it to the site of the asteroid. However, there was nothing there, the only thing there that indicated something had crashed down here was the large crater before him.

"Could whatever it was burned upon entering the atmosphere?" Keith asked himself.

Keith got out his dagger, just in case. He walked down into the crater to see if there was anything that could be an indication of what had just crashed down. But Keith didn't find anything except there was what appears to be cosmic dust floating off the ground.

Well, dust wasn't the best word to describe it, embers were better.

Keith then heard browning behind him. "Who's there?"

Four menacing orange eyes came into view and Keith gulped after realizing who it was had found him and standing before he was beaming four orange eyes and purple complexion bodies along the jaw and long tails and one of the beasts charged at him with Keith steering just in time.

However, just as he dodged one of the others came at him too. The half-daemon quickly then barrel-rolled to the right, narrowly missed the incoming claw of the beast.

Getting up, Keith brought his dagger up in front of him, ready to defend. He wanted to just leave and head back to where Shiro and the others were, but there was a good chance that the beasts would follow him. He had to take care of them right now.

Unfortunately for Keith, he had gotten lost in thought and one of the creatures had taken the time to rush the half-human, Keith gasped as he brought his dagger.

However, he still found his reaction time too slow, the carnivorous brought up its claw really to strike down its prey. The young adult could only stare at the massive limb before a bright light flashed around him.

"What the?" Keith blinked, pinging himself on the other side of the crater, he was now behind the two creatures who seemed to be just as confused as him.

Although Keith didn't dwell on it, too much and took this as the chance to take the beasts, without hesitation, Keith jumped onto the back of one of the beasts before driving his dagger into its neck, the beast fell dead on the floor as the other beast roared in protest.

Keith grunted, "You're next!"

The beast charged at him again before another light flashed around him, where he found himself directly underneath the creature, Keith was confused as hell but didn't think twice before stabbing his dagger into the stomach of the foul animal.

The beast howled in agony before it slumped over dead on the ground, Keith let out a heavy breath of fresh air as he pushed the carcass off of him.

Keith got up, looking around.

"Is anyone out there? Someone or something had to have caused that flash. There's no other way to explain it". Keith said to himself.

He kept his dagger out as a precaution as he looked around the crater before he heard the snarling sound.

"Great, another one!" Keith said as got into a fighting stance, ready to face another creature. But he dropped his stance when he didn't see the familiar glowing orange eyes, instead, two yellow eyes that had black pupils.

The object soon emerging from the shadows, revealing a wolf-like alien creature, it had dark blue fur and a lighter blue mare that was quite fluffy the mane itself was concentrated around the wolf's neck but continued down to its back and formed into its tail.

There was a patch of pale fur that dominated its forehead and ran down the bridge of its nose. Also, there was the same colored patch on its chest that formed a 'V' shape it had a teal waterline around its eyes and teal lines on its haunches, and the fins on its ankles.

Keith stood in aws of the majestic creatures it was then he realized that he had his dagger still drawn, Keith quickly put it away and raised his hands in the air. He hoped the wolf wouldn't be seen him as a threat.

"I'm not going to harm you?" Keith calmly stated.

The wolf tilted his head as he was trying to process the words. It then started to sniff around the crater. Keith figured out that the wolf was distracted,  Keith took his chance to leave and slowly started to back away. When a bright light flashed behind him.

Keith turned his head to find the wolf now behind, staring at him. Curiously, Keith looked behind from the wolf to where it was beforehand.

"That light that flashed just now, that was from him?" Keith thought "could he have been the one during the fight!"

Keith kneeled on the floor in front of the wolf, holding out his hand, he wanted to show that. He wanted to show that he was a friend, the Wolf stared at the hand then affectionately rubbed his head into Keith's hand letting out a low happy moan.

Keith softened his face as he petted the wolf's head.

"You were the one who helped me out, weren't you?" Keith said.

The wolf let out a growl of approval, making Keith's eyes, slightly widened.

"Can you understand what I'm saying!" the teen questioned. The wolf then butted his head into Keith's hand again giving him an answer.

"I guess that makes sense on what I'm saying!" Keith questions. "After all you're a cosmic wolf!" the half-daemon then stood up, giving the wolf a fond look.

"Thanks for the help!" Keith said, gratefully.

The wolf let out a bark as if to say, "you're welcome". Keith let out a small chuckle as patted him on the head. Where he discovered blood on his fur.

"Wow, you must have got hurt!" Keith said as he quickly checked his pad to make sure Shiro and the others were still here, he faced the wolf again.

"Wanna get back to Shiro and the guys!" Keith asked.

The wolf let out another bark of saying yes. Keith nodded as they made their way towards where Shiro and the others were, however, when they were about halfway there, the wolf figured out where they were headed, and another bright light flashed. Keith blinked standing right beside the camp where Shiro and the others are.

"What's going on! Where you!" Shiro asked.

"A cosmic wolf that can teleport," Keith told him. "Never thought I would ever say that sentence".

"Okay!" Shiro said.

The wolf only stared at him, cocking his head to the side. Keith opened his mouth to explain but quickly closed. Thought the wolf, could understand the only bare minimum of words, so it would be useless to try and explain it.

"Keith?" Lance said.

Keith's head snapped back over to Lance, Hunk, and Pidge who were confused as Shiro was, while the wolf went on the other side to meet Stats and Kiaion.

"Yeah, it's me and found a wolf?" Keith answered.

Lance blinked. "Okay as long as not engage with animals, dangerous ones."

"Don't worry this fella crash landing here a little while ago!" Keith said, "I want to check out the impact site when these creatures attacked me!"

"Are you alright!" Shiro interrupted.

"Yeah, thanks to this guy!" Keith admitted, rubbing the head of the wolf.

Shiro and the others saw the cosmic animal let out a sound of delight at Keith's touch, he then looks back to his ward's face and how at...peace on Keith looked.

"Well, on your little adventure is done," Lance said. "We should be focusing on fine the samurai!"

"Right! We could be going now?" Keith said.

"Ok, after we eat something before we leave!" Hunk said and he was right Keith hadn't even had breakfast.

Shiro said, "Look how grumpy Stats is right now". He shows Keith and the others, his sour face, which honestly was no grump or any grump at all.

"Hey, I'm the one who is posted to be grump!" Pidge said.

"Stick out your hand!" Keith instructed.

Shiro did as told and put out a hand for the wolf, the space wolf sniffed it for a second before he rubbed his snout affectionately against it, Shiro felt a small chuckle escape his lips as hatred the wolf and soon Lance, Hunk, and Pidge petted the wolf.

"So, what's his name?" Lance asked.

Keith tilted his head. "He's a wolf Lance, not a dog".

"That may be true, but he needs a name?" Shiro said, seriously. "We're not just going to call 'wolf' or 'Wolfie'!"

"I haven't thought about it. I literally met him today." Keith defend.

"What about-" Hunk said.

However, Hunk didn't get to finish his sentence as the sky crackled and bright blue, yet familiar light flashed around them, it was from the wolf and it was exhausted and collapse.

"Hey!" Keith said.

"What happened!" Shiro said.

Keith and the others running to the wolf where Keith discovers that he still blood on its side, causing him to gasp in horror as he saw the large wolf on the ground, "oh, my God, Shiro!"

"He must have gotten hurt!" Shiro said.

"You're probably right!" Keith said. "This is just how things are...It's nature?"

"I know...but still..." Shiro said. "We should help him".

"I know!" Keith said, "but we need something to stop the bleeding?"

"I got it!" Pidge said as she got bandages for the wolf and place them on the wound. "It doesn't look bad but he needs some time to recover".

"Right". Keith nodded before he kneeled allowing the wolf to pet him once again.

 "...I don't know where you came from, big guy," he thought as he glanced down at the wolf,  "but I know this much...you're a real fighter. I'm not gonna let you die that easily."