The Coldest Winter

Author's Note
This page includes my own headcanons! It also includes death and, to be honest, fairly gruesome descriptions. No normal Jamaa here. In fact, there's death right in the prologue, so uh... why don't you turn back, unless you're mature enough?

Prologue
The tiger's rasping breath echoed down the corridor. At first, there had been a numb sensation on his neck. Then, a shiver. Now, it felt as if something more was happening. The black creature had attached itself to his flesh. What had been an eye was now a mouth, which sent out electricity at regular intervals, so that his limbs seized up. He gave a jolt as something sharp dug into his head. Then another one, tearing through his cloak. ''Dear Sky Father, it's trying to kill me! ''The Phantom, sensing fear, started tearing him apart, while - dare he think about it? - sucking out his very own soul. The happiness had died away. All his good memories gained a pessimistic tint.

Then, his tail started actually freezing. It spread, from its base, to his back legs. The anklets he always wore felt like they were made of ice. At the same time, his vision blurred. Half of his memories disappeared. There was only a thin shield of his own special magic protecting him. Then, he felt like something had intruded on his mind. It seemed like an inky blackness, out of which false memories fell. Were they false? Or were they this creature's? He saw himself, eyes glazed over. His previously-green eyes were now white. All sense of himself had disappeared.

''Dy-ing isn't so- bad af-ter all. Th-the Pha-antoms might be- do-ing us a- a- a f-av-our...'' he thought, each sentence broken up.

A fresh wave of fear broke through his thoughts, as each side's power crumpled up for a moment. For a second, he had his last memory there, held in metaphorical hands, like how that Emily held a plate so carefully...

He didn't know who Emily was, only that he envisioned a winged fox, in a restaurant. And he knew one more thing.

I am Sir Gilbert, Alpha of the tig-

With a satisfying snap, the Phantom removed his magic, preventing even his soul from living on, and cutting off his sentence.

"The Tiger Alpha is unliving," the black creature muttered...

Chapter One: Happy Jamaalidays!
The young wolf shivered as she walked through the heavy snow, leaving deep footprints. Every since she'd returned to Jamaa, she'd been finding it hard to adapt to the sudden weather change. She'd asked around, and it appeared that this had been going on since the end of summer. Futurebeast sighed, her chilled wings drooping. The few animals which were there stared at her. She supposed she could understand it. There were few creatures which could take off an entire back leg, as one had done to her. The new metallic leg, painted black and dotted with sapphires, had a faint field of magic around it that allowed the wolf to use it and feel it just like an ordinary leg. The wolf squinted, peering through the falling snow. The Diamond Shop! She didn't have any diamonds, but all she wanted was some shelter. She eventually managed to drag herself through the snow and into the Diamond Shop.

Futurebeast's fur was dripping with water. She shook herself off and looked around her. A large marble statue of an arctic wolf, with large gleaming sapphires for eyes and diamond claws, stood in the centre of the circular building. The statue looked like it was attacking, with its legs bent back, as if it were leaping. Its mouth was open, displaying a maw full of sharp teeth, which were also made of diamond. It was stood on a stone pedestal, with gold swirls. Whoever built this had obviously been paid a lot of diamonds. Futurebeast stood there, staring in awe at the majestic sculpture. On a much smaller pedestal was a brave gecko carved out of grey stone, staring down an invisible opponent. The dark wolf wandered about the bright building, staring longingly at some of the 'Animal Switch' scrolls. One was labelled 'Eagle', and on it was a sketch of an eagle, mid-flight. ''Ten gems. Uh, no, Futurebeast, you are NOT going to get this one!'' There was even a group of fox mannequins, displaying armour. She gazed longingly at a set of golden armour, with flames bursting from it. The 'wing armour' had a label noting that it was 'fully functional'. [WIP]