"Can you love what isn't real?" Lonely Werewolf/Ray the Backlasher

[Frisk E. Coyote]

[Ray's Apartment]

Ray caught his breath, panting. He shook his head and pushed his glasses up. "Someone... anyone... I can't live in this silence anymore. Say something. Please." He whispered to himself.

"Where am I?" Said a female voice.

"Wait- huh?" Grunted another, male this time.

"Woah- is this some kinda' trick?" Said yet another.

Ray froze. When he looked up... he keeled over backwards. He fainted.

[Lonely Werewolf]

[Mika's Apartment]

After spend several hours painting and do some final touching, a wall-painting, life-size Mizuki and Ryo has completed. It was tiring to do both life-size characters at the same time with some realistic paintings. She gently place the paintbrush on the paper which used to cover the floor.

The clock shows nearly 1 AM, and she felt really tired. "Mnnhhh..!! I guess I let it to dry...Good night, Mizuki...Ryo..." She said with a tired smile as turning off the lights, take a seat on comfy office chair and lay her head on the computer table before slowly fell asleep. She let her messenger in online status so her online friends can send a message. Plus, the messenger will auto-set to 'Away' status.

--Time: 4.35AM--

The painting on the wall is completely dry but something strange happen. The paints that Mika bought yesterday is a magical paint which is quite old. That time, Mika bought during clearance sales where all the art equipment sell at cheap price, but still maintain its quality. The painting transform into real Mizuki and Ryo.

"W-where are we...?" Ryo in long slack black pants with cream-coloured shirt said softly while looking around before spotting a half-naked girl sleeping soundly on the computer desk. "..And who's she..?"

Mizuki in green jacket and shirt, with long blue jeans also looking around and glaring to the sleepy girl. "Let's find out..." She stated silently, moving closer to the girl. Meanwhile, Ryo spot Mika's manga on the drawing desk and gently pick one sheet of it. He felt surprised that himself is on the sheet, so do Mizuki when he take another sheet.

Ryo tapping the dragoness' shoulder and she turn to Ryo. "I believe this girl is our creator...See here..." He lend the sheets to Mizuki to have a look. "Yeah, you're right...Her name..." She look around to see Mika's signature, and she found one. "Green Lizard...but she doesn't look like a green lizard to me..."

To reveal Mika's identity, Mizuki and Ryo explore her room with the bright moonlight illuminates the room as a guide. But still, Mika created them with sharp eyes and clear hearing for a better vision and hearing.

"Mizu, come here.." Ryo said softly as he manage to found her art portfolio that kept on the cabinet which kept all her artworks and mangas. The green dragoness approaches the wolf and he show the girl's name. "..Her name is Mika...So, what we should do now..? Should we wake her up...?"

Mizuki shooks her head softly, taking the blanket and wrap Mika's body. "Let her sleep...She's too tired drawing us on the wall I believe...Plus, when I look around...I sense loneliness fill in the air...She indeed need some friends...like us to be her partner..."

"Yeah..I think so..In addition...she done too much for us...to feel happy in her stories..." Ryo said. "Let's go to living room..." Mizuki nodded and follow Ryo to the living roon and leaves Mika sleeping.

[Frisk E. Coyote]

Ray felt something cold and wet hitting his face. He opened his blurry eyes and came face-to-face with Prowl, who was flicking water onto his face. Prowl sat up and snorted.

"Hey, he's up." Prowl called at someone behind him.

"Great, ask him how we got here." Said a gruff voice that Ray only heard in his Imagination, Giro.

Ray sat up, abruptly. Someone had put him on his bed, Prowl was trying to wake him up, Cassy was helping herself to some fried rice, and Giro was yanking his swords out of Raymond's notebook. He was so shocked, he couldn't even say anything.

"Hey kid." Said Prowl. "Any idea how we got here? First thing I know, someone's gonna chop my balls off, the next I'm here."

[Lonely Werewolf]

[Mika's Apartment]

The clock shows 9AM, the sun brightens and warming Mika's room. The girl slowly open her eyes and lifts her head before saw the blanket wrapping on her. "...Blanket...do I put this on...?" Mika thought for a while before switch her vision to the wall where she made the painting. Suddenly her eyes wide open, there's no painting but only leaves her signature on it. "How's it happen..? Well, I guess I should redraw it back..." She let out a long sigh, slowly stood up and stepped out of her room lazily.

On the way to the bathroom, she spot a box on the kitchen table besides the fridge with a ribbon and small card. She went to the box and opens it before reveals a mid-size, fully-decorated chocolate cake with a words say 'Happy 21nd Anniversary, Mika'.

"It's a birthday cake...for me...But who...?" She said softly while spotted the card. She took and open the card, it display her paintings on the wall with no words. "Is it...Mizuki and Ryo...? No no no no...It's impossible for them to appear in real life..." Mika stated while shook her head, slowly close the cake box and went to the bathroom to take some nice relaxing bath.

By using Ryo's invisible abilities, he hide somewhere in the living room together with Mizuki to monitor Mika's movement. "It seems our handmade cake doesn't give any effect..." Mika said.

[Bathroom]

Mika lays her naked body in the tub full with warm water and bubbles, release a long deep sigh while remember of what happen to the sudden disappearance of her paintings and appearance of birthday cake. In her mind, there lots of 'voices' fighting with each other in order to solve this mystery. Some said she's too stressful and tired that makes her think or look something weird, and some said it's a miracle.

"Another lonely birthday for me this year..." Mika sigh, it's her fifth times she celebrate her birthday alone, but her fan e-mails wishing her birthday and her chat friend could cure her loneliness a little bit.

[Living Room]

Ryo stop using the ability for a while. "That cake should not gone to waste...So how..? Wait. How about we sit here waiting for Mika? Let her sees us with her own eyes and then celebrate her birthday together." Ryo explained.

"That would be great. Let me bring the cake and make some tea." The dragoness smiles as went to kitchen to make some tea before bringing the cake and some plates to the living room. Then, she place it on the table in front of and take a seat besides him.

[Frisk E. Coyote]

"Hey kid- kid- don't tell me you're gonna' faint again." Prowl smacked his cheek lightly with his paw, getting impatient. "Wakey wakey, its 9AM."

Ray rebutted, "-I didn't faint! I was tired so-"

"-So you fainted. Right." Prowl interrupted him absentmindedly. "Look, we just wanna know where we are, how we got here, and why we're not dead."

Ray looked at them all, from Cassy, who was now drinking a glass of milk, to Giro, who was examining his TV curiously, and back to Prowl, who looked pretty stressed.

"-Hope you don't mind. We got hungry, so we made breakfast." Cassy called at him. "Well, that guy cooked." She corrected herself, gesturing at Giro. "We just ate."

Giro sat on the couch, accidentally landing on the remote and switching the TV on. He looked at it, horrified. "Stranger- there are people in your box! Are you some kind of Warlock? Release them at once!" He demanded, walking over to the TV and trying to find a way to open it. "Fear not, I shall release you all!"

"Hey, big guy, that's just a TV. None of those people are real." Prowl called at him. "What are you? Some kind of idiot?"

"Not real? Are you certain? What is this... TV for?" Giro said in awe, now experimenting with the remote. "And watch your tongue, that insult was uncalled for."

Cassy giggled, finding the burly, tough-guy wolf's curiosity cute. "TV, we watch stuff on it. For entertainment." She explained.

"Fascinating!" Giro laughed, amused. "Its like a miniature Colosseum!"

"Woah, woah, time out." Ray said, making a time-out gesture. "First off... HOLY FREAKIN' SHIT. You guys are in my living room! Second, HOLY FREAKIN' SHIT, I think I'm on drugs!"

Giro crossed the room and had Ray up by the collar, face-to-face in one swift movement. "You do not speak that way in the presence of a lady, boy." He bared his fangs at the teenager.

"O-okay... calm down..." Ray stammered, and Giro lowered him back onto the bed. "We'll try this again... My name is Raymond."

[Lonely Werewolf]

[Mika's Apartment]

Ryo's ears twitch lightly as heard a sound of door is being opened. "I think Mika done taking bath... Get ready..." Ryo said softly.

With the towel wrapped around her body, Mika stepped out of the bathroom and walk to the kitchen to take a bite of the cake. Once there, the cake was gone, so do the card. "...Okay, it's getting strange over here..."

Mika walks out of the kitchen and went to her bedroom to wear some clothes, but her whole body seems froze as saw her characters, Mizuki and Ryo sitting on the sofa with a birthday cake and tea setting up on the table, waving towards Mika.

"Good morning, Mika." The fursonas greeted cheerfully. For Mika, her mind is full of thoughts of how, where, when and why this things happen. Their movements, their shadows, their body structure...is real..." She thought as take a step forward to her fursonas. The never-ending thoughts makes her mind 'shut off' and faints.

"Mika!" The dragoness shouted and quickly lifts Mika before putting her on the sofa. "Goodness...Mika, wake up..." Mizuki said while nudging Mika softly.

"Mizu, how about we let her in that state for a while so she can clear all those thoughts in her head...?" The wolf suggested, gently rubs Mika's forehead with his soft pawpad.

"You're right.. She might be confuse of what happen...Anyway, let's dress her. She will get cold..."Mizuki said as went to Mika's room to get some dress and undergarments before return back.

[Frisk E. Coyote]

Though Ray already knew who they were, he let them introduce themselves anyway, so they could learn who each other were.

"I'm a college-student, I work at the cinema sometimes, and I'm a writer. I'm nineteen years old." Ray finished. "What about you? Ladies first." He gestured at Cassy.

The yellow cat crossed her legs and cleared her throat. "Well for starters, hi! My name's Cassy Delacruz, I'm also a college-student, I'm like, studying law, and I'm 19 too! I'm pretty good at martial arts I guess." Cassy giggled.

"Nice to meet you Cassy. Bout you?" Ray looked at Prowl.

"Lt. Prowler 'Lucky' Dharke. I was in the army. I'm 23, nothing else to say other than don't bitch at me, please. I can't stand too much whining." Prowl said.

"Okay. And..." Ray looked at Giro.

"I am Sir Kiros Ryogiro Lucian, Former Knight, Sword and Shield of the Sorceress, and Current Captain of the Guard in the Kingdom of Archvadia. My age is irrelevant to who I am. Comrades and foes alike call me Kiros or Giro. I prefer the later." Giro said calmly.

"Right... we'll start with your questions. I'll try to answer as much and as accurately as I can." Ray said.

[Lonely Werewolf]

[Mika's Apartment]

About 15 minutes later, Mika in bluish long dress suddenly woke up. "Huh! What tha-!" She look around before looking to herself fully dressed.

Ryo and Mizuki giggles cutely of the sudden action from their creator. "Oh, she's wake up." The dragoness said.

Mika turn her head facing the fursona in front of her with a birthday cake still untouched. She analyze their body proportion and shadows. Yes, they have shadows behind them and some dark colours on their body. "...I don't know what I've seen right now is real..."

"Yes, Mika...We are real... We didn't know how we got here...but we believe we came from your painting on the wall..." Ryo said sincerely while Mizuki nodded in agreement.

"...No wonder I didn't see it before..." Mika paused for a while before continued. "...My name is Mika, a manga artist...It's nice to meet you, Mizuki...Ryo.." She stated while bowing her head, showing some respect.

"Nice to meet you too, Mika..." Both of the fursona replied simultaneously, bowing their head as well. "First of all...we are sorry for opening your portfolio...We just want to know your name.." The wolf said.

Mika shooks her head slowly with a warm smile appear on her face. "...It's okay, Ryo...Plus...I'm feel glad...my wish has come true..." Her voice tone turn to sad as remembered her lonely life for so many years. A few drop of tears rolled down to her cheek while lowering her face.

Ryo and Mizuki approaches Mika and sit on her side before cuddles her softly to comfort her. "...Cry as you wish, our beloved Mika....It's no good to keep it..." The dragoness whispers softly and Mika cries on their embrace silently.

[Frisk E. Coyote]

"How did we get here?" Prowl asked. "And where is here exactly?"

Ray explained everything, that they were from books, that he was the guy who designed them, gave them their personalities, their abilities, their stories and design. He explained how he didn't know how they got there, how he didn't know how to get them back in their stories, and how... excited he was to be talking to his characters face to face.

"You're all exactly how I pictured you in my mind... your voices, your attitudes..." Ray grinned. It took everything he had not to cry from being so happy. He wasn't alone anymore! At least for now.

"So you're saying... that YOU are the unknown God I have been praying to in the battlefield, asking, begging for your mercy, that you would spare my comrades and my battalion... and you slaughtered them anyway?" Giro said through bared fangs, reading through Raymond's notes. He stopped just where he was in the story that he remembered. He dared not read ahead, mostly because there wasn't anything else. Ray hadn't written anything yet.

"...That means... you can change the way things are for me?" Cassy asked hopefully.

[Lonely Werewolf]

[Mika's Apartment]

Once Mika calmed down, she wipe her own tears and slowly break the embrace. "...I'm so happy...seeing you two...appear from the drawing...I didn't expect it will happen..."

"...Miracles are everywhere, Mika...And I'm sure you believe that miracle does exists..." Mizuki said. "Anyway, we wish you a happy birthday. And sorry, there's no presents for you. But we make a cake. Hehe."

"...That's okay, Mizuki, Ryo...I feel very happy seeing and being with you..." Mika replied and now with a warm cheerful smile. Ryo meanwhile cut a cake into few parts and put it on the plate before give it to Mika and Mizuki. "Here you are... We hope you like the taste..."

Mika nodded as eat the small slice of chocolate cake. "Mnnhh..so delicious...Ryo, Mizuki... I really love the pure taste of chocolate and softness of the cake..." Mika commented while eating another slice of cake.

"Sweet!" Ryo said suddenly, also fascinating of the good taste. "We really did it very well, Mizuki. I have a doubt we might screwed up when me make this."

The dragoness chuckles softly, began eating the cake.