Issue One: The Wishing Lake

## Intro

*Cut to black.*

???: So, you told me your brother was... sick. Mind telling me the story?

???: Yes, sir. So...

*Cut to Skur and Kuro's bedroom.*

Kuro: *Is'**in bed, snoring.***

Skur: Nnngh... K-Kuro...?

Kuro: *I'**s roused from his sleep and sits up. He looks to his brother Skur, who is sitting beside him on the edge of the bed.***

Kuro: Skur! Is everything alright with you?

Skur: Brother, it... *He turns, and blood can be seen dripping from his lips and onto the floor.*It... hurts... to... breathe...

## Chapter One: *Pain*

Kuro: *Holds Skur to his chest.*Mother! Hurry, please! Skur isn't feeling well!

Skur: *Coughs up a little blood and bile.*

Kuro: Don't worry, Skur... Mother's coming soon...

Skur: *Suddenly turns pale and covers his mouth, retching.*Kuro... I think I'm going to be sick...

Kuro: Wait, what--

Skur: *Gives barely any time for Kuro to react before heaving dry onto the floor.*

Kuro: Agh! Skur, no! On the carpet?!

Skur: *On all fours, above the spot where his vomit pooled.*Sorry...

*The door opens, and light spills onto Skur's face. He raises one hand to shield his face.*M... mom?

Nova: Skur! Kuro! What's all the commotion? *She sees the scene.*Oh dear! What is going on?!

*Cut to Kuro scrubbing Skur's arm in the bathtub.*

Kuro (narrating): "After that, mother went to clean the carpet. I took Skur to the bathroom and gave him a bath. It was ''***hard to move a muscle!***

*Cut to Skur in bed, a pained expression on his face. A bird-like doctor is shaking his head.*

"After *that*, the poor thing was bedridden. Feverish. Weak. No doctor could say what was wrong. No treatment worked.

*Cut to Kuro shedding tears over a locket containing Nova's and Skur's portraits.*

"Soon it became clear: Skur was not going to get better. He was not going to recover... his illness was terminal. But I wasn't about to give up.

*Cut to Kuro holding a rolled up map, gazing over a hill at a large lake before a wild forest.*

"So i took it into my own hands to find a healer. One that could fix Skur. He lived... past Tunari Lake.

*Cut to a progressive montage of Kuro walking around the lake, through a forest and in the rain.*

"So I travelled all the way around the lake, through the Fairygarden forest, through a thunderstorm...

*Cut to Skur wringing out his fur under a tree.*

"I was aiming to complete the journey in one day... but something got in my way.

*Barking sounds are heard, and Kuro breaks a sweat as two Hounds appear, running through the trees.*

"These big, black, red-eyed dogs, with long claws and messy fur. They came out of nowhere and chased me!

Kuro: Kyaaahh! What?! *He grabs his duffel bag and runs, spalshing through puddles and ramming past bushes to get away.*

Kuro (narrating): "I ran. I had no idea where I was going, or how I'd escape, but I ran as fast as I possibly could. Then, something stopped me...

*As Kuro runs, his duffel bag becomes caught on a branch. The strap rises past his shoulders and wraps around his neck. One of the hounds takes the opportunity to sink his teeth into his leg. Kuro screams in pain and gives his bag a jerk: the branch then cuts through it, and its contents spill out onto the hounds.*

*Kuro falls flat on his face and sobs at the pain of the freshly opened and bleeding wound.*

Kuro: *Whimpering*O-ow... m-my leg! *He looks to the hounds, still grappling with some of the items, which tangled onto their fur and legs.*Nnf... they're distracted, I'd better run... *He attempts to get up, but the pain causes him to lean onto a tree. He keeps trying to make his way ahead, to a clearing, sobbing.*Ouch... it hurts... Come on... No, please...

*The hounds notice his escape and race after him.*

Kuro: *Arrives at the clearing, which is actually the edge of a cliff.*Please... please, god, it's the edge... *He does what he feels is his only option, and steps off of it. Above him, the hounds are no longer giving chase, yet bark loudly at him as he falls.*Brother... mother... I'm sorry... **I've failed you both.**

## **Chapter Two: *Rebirth***

***Cut to black***

Kuro: And then, I woke up here.

???: Hmm. That was all?

Kuro: Y-yes sir.

*Kuro is lying in a bed. A red fox wearing a maroon kimono sits beside him, drinking from a cup.*

??? (Fox): Say... This illness of your brother's. It intrigues me.

Kuro: *Gasps.*Does that mean you can't fix it?!

??? (Fox): Young master, there are things that not even *I*can fix.

Kuro: But you're a healer! You're famous, and... and for some reason, I don't know your name.

Ren : Ah I am Ren. A healer fox with a lifetime of experience. I found you injured in a big gorge, so I brought you home.

Kuro: ... I'm Kuro. I am, as you know, a lost cat who is... looking to save my little brother Skur.

*He slumps down, forlorn.*But now I know that there's not *hope*...

Ren: *he sighs.* Hope. A very interesting concept. Well... I don't believe hope can ever be found. No: What i *do*believe is that-- *he puts a finger to Kuro's chest.*