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Post by T O D O K U * on Oct 25, 2011 22:34:55 GMT -5
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Post by T O D O K U * on Oct 25, 2011 22:42:10 GMT -5
[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, height: 500px; width: 500px; border-radius: 250px 250px 250px 250px; border: 3px solid #000000; background-image: url(http://i774.photobucket.com/albums/yy29/Virid/Rakuen/FullMoon-1.png) ; background-position: center; background-repeat: no-repeat, btable]  The streets of the city were shabby at best. Dirt and grime clung to the worn down buildings and a haze of pollution hung overhead, blotting out what little light the sun managed to put out through the gray clouds. Somewhere in one of the empty alleyways, a fire crackled in a can. Several men sat around it, each one looking more scraggly than the one before him. To most passerby’s, the scene would appear to be relatively normal. However, to a rare visitor, it would appear to be a very different scene.
Emerald green eyes surveyed the area before being trained upon a group of four males, varying in ages. The youngest in the group appeared to be fourteen or so while the oldest was probably in his early twenties. The pair of eyes blinked, taking in the features of each male. The youngest of the group was significantly shorter with mahogany red hair. Next up age wise was a brunette, his hair sticking up in odd places. Another blink. How peculiar. The next older male stood slightly ahead of the others, hinting that perhaps he was the leader of, what appeared to be, the ragtag group. His shaggy hair was dark brown in color. And finally, the eldest of the group had silvery white hair with several strands hanging longer than the others.
“Where are you going?” one of the men around the fire stood up and turned to the boys, a thick scar running across his left cheek.
“To paradise,” the youngest of the group said, sounding determined. There was a pregnant pause before the entire group burst out in laughter. “Kiba, why are they laughing?” the youngest drew closer to the taller boy with shaggy brown hair.
“Because they don’t know anything about Paradise,” the boy named Kiba replied calmly. The laughter slowed to a stop before the scarred leader spoke again.
“We know all about it,” he said. Kiba’s blue eyes narrowed. As he scanned the scene again, there were no longer men sitting about but wolves instead.
“Paradise doesn’t exist!” one of the others said, staring hard at the dark-haired male who had remained silent. “It’s just a fairytale.”
“What makes you say that?” Kiba asked, keeping his stoic expression. The wolf smirked.
“Maybe because we’ve been there. There’s nothing to see,” he huffed.
“Well that’s no surprise,” the white-haired male of the group said, looking smug.
“You’ll find out soon enough,” the leader of the pack said. Kiba turned his head and continued on, acting as though nothing had occurred. The three others followed close behind him. As the emerald eyes continued to watch, four wolves took the place of the boys. The leader, Kiba, was a pure white color while the pup’s fur was a deep red. The other was brown while the oldest was a deep gray color. The four wolves slowed to a stop and turned around as a new scene unfolded in front of them.
“Whoa, it’s another female,” the brown wolf commented. Kiba’s amber eyes watched as she hurried to where they once were standing by the pack of males in the alley. Her coat was dark, rivaling coal in its black color, though it slowly transitioned to leave her stomach a snowy white, similar to Kiba’s fur. Standing out against the black fur were five claws strung on a tough-looking twine that was worn like a necklace. Her eyes were a deep green color, currently glaring hard at the men who had rebuked the boys. She snarled, taking an offensive stance.
“What do you really know about Paradise, huh?!” she growled. “I’m willing to bet my life that the Paradise you saw was really just you shoving your head up your own ass!” Her fangs were bared.
“What was that?!” the other wolf growled in retaliation, standing from his spot on the ground and approaching her.
“Moss, stand down!” the leader commanded. The command fell on deaf ears.
“Kiba… should we do something?” the red wolf asked.
“No way. It’s none of our business,” the gray wolf retorted, turning to walk away.
“But Tsume… she’s… a girl…”
“You’re gonna die real quick if you don’t learn your place,” Moss said, curling his upper lip. The female wolf smirked, daring him to attack.
“I dunno. I’ve lived pretty long with this silver tongue of mine,” she taunted haughtily.
“Then I’ll have to rip it out of you, won’t I?” he snarled before lunging at her. The black wolf rolled onto her back, using her hind legs to push the male wolf farther than he had intended to jump. This sent him careening into the wall that surrounding the island city. He yelped as his back hit the wall, though this was hardly a deterrent. He snapped at her, managing to nip her ear. It was her turn to yelp in pain as blood quickly flowed out of the small, but open, wound.
“Kiba! We have to do something!” the red wolf insisted, beginning to inch towards the fight.
“Stay out of it, Toboe!” Tsume demanded. The pup whined.
“You talk big, but you don’t have the skills to back it up, do you?” Moss scoffed as his claws managed to rake the side of her face. She winced but didn’t reply as she pounced at him. He bit at her ear again as she drew close but her momentum knocked him off balance. She threw her head against his, further unbalancing him. Without skipping a beat, she used her paw to push Moss on his back, following him down. Before he knew it, he could feel the female’s fangs threatening to close on his windpipe.
“Take that back. You’ve lost,” she said simply. There was a certain softness to the edge in her voice, almost as though she were showing him mercy. “Paradise is so much more than you could ever fathom. No true wolf would dare say otherwise.” She released his neck and got off of him, turning her back to the other wolf and walking towards the pack of four.
“Sounds like Kiba,” the brown wolf commented, his tail wagging.
“What are you so excited about, Hige?” Toboe questioned, turning to look at his companion.
“Just look at her. She’s so beautiful,” Hige commented quietly. The three jumped as Kiba suddenly snarled and surged forward. The black wolf instantly went on guard, taking on a defensive stance. However, Kiba leapt over her crouching figure, colliding with Moss in mid-air.
“You already lost, yet you still strike when her back is turned? You’re disgraceful!” he spat, glaring hard at the other wolf before him. The black wolf turned, baring her fangs once more. As humans, Kiba grabbed the girl’s shoulders as she reached out, trying to get to the man behind him.
“Let me at him! I’ll rip his throat out!” she screamed, her brown eyes practically burning holes through Kiba’s torso as he held her back. Her hair was black, much like her fur, and touched the middle of her back. She was shorter than him by perhaps four or five inches, give or take. Her clothes were baggy, consisting of a pair of oversized cargo shorts, a simple T-shirt, a white jacket, and a weather-proof traveler’s cloak. “I could have killed you! I let you live your life, and you go and attack me when my back is turned?! You’re nothing but a pathetic dog!”
“That’s enough,” the leader of the other pack said firmly. The girl’s attempts to rip through Kiba slowed to a halt. “Get out of here. You’re nothing but a pack of no-good kids chasing something that’s just a dream,” he said, grabbing Moss by the lapels of his shirt and dragging him back to the group. The female wolf growled, watching the others’ retreating backs with a deadly glare.
“Let’s go,” Kiba said, nudging her towards the others in his pack. Her temper cooled as she walked along with the others. Everyone was silent as they reached another part of the town. The five of them took shelter in an abandoned apartment, the female sitting a good distance away from the others. “So who are you? You seem to know a lot about Paradise,” Kiba said, training his gaze on the new wolf.
“Name’s Feray. I come from a city quite a ways away from here. I had a friend who told me all the stories of Paradise,” she explained, tugging at a stray hair.
“What do you know about it?” Kiba questioned.
“Things I thought everyone knew. It’s a place where wolves reign supreme, and there are no more worries. It’s a place where everything any wolf could ever want is there. It’s a place where imagination becomes reality,” she continued.
“Wow…” Toboe leaned closer, as though he would miss a word if he didn’t. “Is it really like that? That sounds so cool!”
“What about you guys? Who are you all? I’ve never met anyone else who didn’t say that Paradise is just a story.”
“I’m Toboe! It’s really nice to meet you!” the red-head said cheerily.
“And I’m Hige. Very nice to meet such a fine young lady like yourself,” the brown-haired male said while bowing. She ignored his gesture.
“Kiba,” the male in question said, tucking his hands in his pockets. Feray’s brown eyes turned to the final male who had yet to confirm his identity.
“And you are?” she asked, raising an eyebrow to the taller man.
“Tsume,” came the one word reply before he turned to face the remains of a wall. Feray snorted.
“What crawled up his ass and died?” she growled. Toboe looked from one wolf to the other.
“It’s okay, really. He’s not always like that,” he said.
“Could’ve fooled me,” she huffed, crossing her arms. Tsume whirled around, a firm glare etched onto his face.
“What was that?!”
“You heard me!”
“Will you guys stop it?” Toboe interjected, stomping his foot.
“Yeah, we’re never going to get to Paradise if all you do is fight,” Hige added, leaning back and resting his head on his arms.
“Are you traveling alone or have you got a pack going with you?” Kiba asked, staying as calm as ever. Feray looked at him, a ‘what do you think’ expression on her face.
“If I had a pack, they’d be here with me. I’ve been searching for Paradise on my own,” she explained.
“You could always tag along with us,” Hige beamed.
“No way, Porky!” Tsume spat.
“But Tsume… why not?” Toboe whined.
“We don’t need another one who’s got their head in the clouds about Paradise. I can barely put up with him as is,” Tsume’s gaze shifted to Kiba as he said this.
“Then why are you traveling with him, huh?” Feray countered. Tsume didn’t reply. “Yeah that’s what I thought, tough guy.”
“Do you know where we go from here?” Kiba inquired.
“Heh, you’re just fixated on it, aren’t you?” she chuckled. “Yeah, I know which way we’ve gotta go. Lemme warn you now that it’s not a pretty pathway, though,” she said.
“Well what are we waiting for? Let’s go!” Toboe leapt up from where he was sitting as though it had burned him. Feray chuckled again.
“Sure. Let’s head out, shall we?” she glanced at Kiba who nodded.
The five of them sprinted through the town, Feray slightly ahead of the others.
“So where is this pathway you were talking about?” Kiba asked, running alongside the black wolf.
“It’s located in the cemetery of this place. There’s an old wolf there that’s digging his own grave. He told me about it. According to him, this island used to be covered in lunar flowers. However, they were all dug up and not a single one has been found here since.” They slowed down to a trot as they came upon the aforementioned cemetery. Feray sniffed around. “Hey, gramps! You still around here? Haven’t keeled over yet, have you?” she called out. A few moments passed in silence before a very elderly looking, gray colored wolf approached them.
“Oh, hello there again,” he said kindly, his voice wavering slightly. Despite his old age, he still stood strong on his old paws. “Brought your friends with you now?” he asked.
“You could say that. They’re searching for Paradise, just like I am,” she explained proudly. He chuckled before a coughing fit overtook him. It died down after a moment.
“Ah such youth! Shall I show you the pathway once again?” he offered. Kiba nodded. “Very well then.” And with that, he turned around and began walking. They followed him in silence until they came upon a large pipe that lead underground. Its entrance was mostly boarded up save for a small opening large enough for them to fit through.
The air emanating from it reeked of death. Toboe whined and covered his nose the best he could.
“This place smells horrible!” he complained.
“Quit your whining, runt,” Tsume reprimanded.
“This is the way you’ll want to take to get to Paradise,” the wolf explained. “It’s going to be a hard journey. But you all seem like you’re prepared for anything,” he smiled. A familiar voice suddenly drew their attention away from the tunnel.
“Showing the way to Paradise, huh?” Everyone turned and instantly, Feray went on guard.
“Come back for another ass kicking?” she growled, eyes burning a hole through Moss. Kiba grabbed her shoulder again, pulling her behind him.
“Relax,” he muttered, though his gaze was hard.
“If you kids disrupt the peace of this pack in any way, I'll show you no mercy. Now I want you to leave this town before dawn, is that clear?” the leader said before turning around and walking away.
“He certainly doesn’t mince words,” Hige shrugged, resting his hands behind his head again.
The five wolves sat in an abandoned building, if it could even be called that. The walls were practically torn down, leaving chunks of rubble here and there.
“Where does all that confidence in Paradise even come from?” Tsume spat. “Maybe we should just hang around and die in a gutter,” he scoffed. “Start digging holes like that old man.”
“It's not confidence,” Kiba began. “I'm not really sure what it is, but it's always there screaming inside of me. I just have to know. I have to get there, that's why I've kept on running all this time. I can't imagine living without believing in it.” Feray lifted her head from her paws, looking over at the arctic wolf.
“You don’t have anything to go back to?” she asked curiously. She was a fair distance away from the others. However, she stood up and dared to draw closer. No one growled or warned her to keep away. Kiba looked at her but didn’t honor her question with a response. She wasn’t surprised. She was new here. No doubt they would be wary of her.
“What about you?” Hige asked, cracking open a single eye to look at her.
“Heh,” she huffed, closing her eyes and laying down, this time joining the loose circle they had made. “Going back would be suicide for me. I can only go forward from here.”
Hige suddenly sat up, eyes wide. A woman from the pack earlier stepped around the corner, a bag in her hands. Feray bared her fangs.
“It’s okay,” the woman said. “My name is Cole. I apologize for Zali’s behavior to you earlier,” she said. She handed the bag to Hige who had walked over to her. Kiba and Tsume both left wordlessly. It was only by their light steps that Feray even noticed that they had gone. Toboe followed after, only to come back a moment later.
“Guys, Kiba went running off by himself,” he said. Feray pushed herself up, a light growl resonating deep within her throat.
“I can smell trouble just around the corner,” she said. “I’m going after him,” she said, sprinting after the male wolf.
The sounds of snarling and growling served as her guide. As Feray rounded a corner, rage was sparked in her as three brown wolves attacked a lone white wolf – Kiba.
“That’s hardly fair,” she growled, charging forward and throwing herself at one of the wolves. She bit down on one of their front legs, causing the wolf to yelp in pain. She growled as she felt claws rake across her back, and a pair of fangs closed down on the scruff of her neck. She reared up, throwing the wolf off her back. She managed to catch a glimpse of Kiba fighting along side of her moments before Moss caught her along the side of the face again, his claws digging into the wounds he had left before. She howled in pain.
“Not so tough anymore, are you?” Moss chuckled, kicking her in the side with his hind legs. She slid along the ground, breathing heavily and whimpering as her back touched the wall of the alleyway. Her green eyes were closed and she vaguely heard a dull thud as Kiba also hit the ground.
“I should’ve killed you earlier,” she huffed. She was quickly silenced, however, as Moss dug his fangs deep into her soft belly. She howled again, twitching slightly as he released her.
“Let’s go, guys. I think we’ve taught them enough,” Moss said. The sound of their paws against the dirty ground served as a testament of their exit.
She ached and there was no doubt that her fur would be caked with blood later on. Her eyes opened as she heard labored breaths draw closer to her. Kiba was limping her way.
“Why did you get involved?” he asked slowly, his golden gaze locked with hers.
“I had a debt to repay to you,” she replied weakly.
“Can you walk?” he asked. She gave a half-hearted chuckle as she struggled to her feet.
“I should ask you the same question. You look worse off than I am,” she commented. She faced him, placing her muzzle close to one of his openly bleeding wounds on the side of his face. Without warning, she ran her tongue along the length of the cut. He turned away from her wordlessly, beginning to limp off down a narrow alleyway. She followed after him, cringing with every step she took. She just had to go and open her big mouth didn’t she? She growled to herself. She would get back at Moss. Eventually. She didn’t know when exactly. “Kiba,” she said, watching him collapse against a garbage can. His eyes were closed, and his snow white fur was marred by the small trickles of blood that ran from the open flesh. She stared hard at the unconscious wolf before her. She hesitated for a moment before inching closer and beginning to lick at one of the deeper wounds on his stomach. It didn’t take too long for her to clear away most of the blood, leaving the metallic taste and smell locked in her senses. She laid down next to him, careful to avoid the bite wound that Moss had left on her belly. She closed her eyes, soon blacking out after him.
It hadn’t been very long since the two had woken up. Kiba insisted that they go somewhere, anywhere. They just couldn’t stay where they were.
“You’re going to die if you keep pushing yourself like that,” Feray commented, walking along side the arctic wolf. He didn’t reply. He had hardly spoken since they began their trek to wherever it was they were going to. “But what do I know. I’m just a stray you’ve decided to allow tag along.” That was about the extent of their conversation. The two wolves soon found themselves at the station. Both pairs of eyes went wide at the scene in front of them. The wolves from the pack they had run into the day before were all harnessed. The humans around them were cracking whips, pushing them all to continue on. In one harness, laying on the floor, was the elder wolf that had showed them the path leading to Paradise. There was a blur of white to her left and it took Feray only a moment to realize what was going on. “Kiba, stop!” she growled, chasing after him. Zali, the scarred leader leapt down from the staircase, intercepting Kiba’s attempt to attack the humans. The humans began surrounding Kiba and Zali, but Feray wouldn’t have any of it. She pounced on them, leaving light claw marks in their fragile bodies. Kiba was soon panting as Zali overpowered his wounded body.
They buried the old wolf in the hole he had dug for himself. Despite the sad event, Feray couldn’t help but congratulate him in death for escaping this hell hole.
“I thought I told you not to interfere,” said Zali as he looked towards Kiba who was leaning against a rock. “We have our own way of doing things around here.”
“Living like a bunch of down and out strays, clinging to this disgusting place and doing what you do! How can you call that a life?” Kiba seemed to be getting angrier as he spoke.
“What the hell do you know about it?”
“You're pathetic.”
“You kids, you're still young.”
“Yeah? Well we may be younger but we sure seem to be a helluva lot smarter than you all combined!” Feray snorted, standing beside Toboe.
Back in their abandoned home where they had been the day before, the human appearance of Kiba was lying on his back. His shirt and jacket had been removed. Herbs had been pressed against his wounds thanks to Toboe who seemed to know a surprising amount of information for being a pup.
“We should leave,” Tsume said, leaning against the remains of what used to be a wall.
“But, Tsume, we can’t leave with Kiba like this,” Toboe argued.
“Kid’s got a point,” Feray added, herbs pressed against the wounds on her cheek. She had refused any other treatment, proclaiming that she was used to those sorts of things and that she’d be fine. Kiba’s blue eyes fluttered open, and he abruptly sat up.
“Let’s go,” he said.
“Hold on, you’re not going anywhere with these wounds and an empty stomach,” Toboe said, pushing Kiba back down again.
“Well Cole brought us some food but you guys turned your noses up to it,” Hige shrugged.
“Well since you’re the one with the full stomach here, how about you go find something?” Tsume growled. The two bickered for a moment, but Feray decided to tune it out. In the end, Hige left, grumbling.
“I’m gonna go find some more herbs,” Toboe commented before leaving as well.
“Hey,” Tsume began, “We’ve wasted a hell of a lot of time because of you. What’s worse is you’ve decided to drag along a liability that’s probably going to slow us down in the long run.”
“You shouldn’t talk about yourself like that, Tsume. It’s bad for your self-confidence,” Feray snarled.
“I wasn’t talking to you, you brat,” he scolded. Feray turned her head and closed her eyes, opting not to respond. “What were you two up to last night? I know you didn’t get all those wounds at the station. Not like I care or anything.”
“I saw them once before,” Kiba breathed, but it was obvious that it took a lot out of him to speak. Still, he continued. “When I was little, I was still just a cub. In the region where I was born, they had blossomed all over. White flowers that only bloomed under a full moon. They were lunar flowers. They were all burned to ashes.” His eyes were glassy, as though he were staring off into a long lost dream or memory.
“What the hell brought this up?” Tsume huffed.
“Shut up and listen,” Feray reprimanded.
“A fire raged across our land, it burned all the flowers in an instant, and all, all of my friends whose escape routes were cut off were killed. I was the only one who survived. Why me? Why just me? I don't have a pack anymore. The only place for me now is Paradise.” Something in his voice made the words seem more profound than just an explanation of things. Feray’s gaze softened.
He stood up, and Feray just stared at him. She hadn’t been expecting a random explanation of the guy’s past. Well, now she sort of understood why he was such a firm believer in Paradise. He had nothing left to turn back to. Heh, maybe they were more alike than she had first expected. However, her interest was piqued when Toboe came rushing back.
“Hige’s been captured! They’re taking him away somewhere!” he exclaimed frantically.
“He can trick them and make ‘em think they’ve just caught a human, can’t he?” Feray scowled.
“No! The wolf you fought yesterday knocked him out.”
“Why didn’t you give us a warning by howling? And what are you doing here anyway?! You should’ve followed them!” Tsume shouted.
“Let’s go,” Kiba said, though he barely made it out the exit. With a heavy sigh, Tsume picked up the wounded wolf and carried him on his back. Feray practically leapt up, chasing after the others.
“Put me down. I can walk.” The artic wolf leaned against the wall for a moment. Toboe’s eyes locked onto a sudden movement.
“Is that…” he muttered. The group followed after Cole, the woman who had brought them food the night before, until they came upon Moss and two other wolves in an alleyway. Moss was the first to notice their entrance.
“It looks like last night’s beating didn’t sink in,” he jeered, looking from Kiba to Feray and back to Kiba. Feray bared her fangs, but her attention was quickly diverted to footsteps approaching from behind the group. Zali. Feray was beginning to really hate this guy.
“It is true what we’ve heard? That you sold out our friend to those humans?” Kiba growled.
“Just how low will you mongrels sink?” Tsume added.
“What’s going on here?” Zali asked. Feray growled again.
“Don’t play stupid, you bastard!” Her upper lip curled. She seemed to be doing that quite a lot in this town.
“Hell if I know,” one of the wolves behind Moss said with a shrug.
“That guy said to kill him,” said Toboe as he pointed to the wolf who had just spoken. "I heard you tell those humans to kill him!" Kiba made a move towards Moss but was stopped by Zali.
“This is my pack,” he warned before stepping forward and punching Moss himself. “Why in the hell did you sell out their friends!”
“He’s an outsider.”
“Isn’t it you who’s been selling out your friends?” one of the other wolves asked. “It’s the truth and you know it! You don’t even do a dog’s work!”
“Is that how you really feel?” Zali questioned. “I always thought, as the leader, I did what I had to do for the pack without letting my personal feeling get in the way. Everything I’ve done was to protect the pack.” Feray’s expression changed, taking on a softer appearance. Zali had done everything for his pack, huh? Her fangs were no longer bared, and the occasional growl that came from her was quieted.
“Spoken like a true alpha…” she muttered to herself.
“Yeah, well none of us see you as the leader anymore!” Moss said, punching Zali. Feray, with her new-found respect for the other wolf moved forward, just as Kiba had done.
“Stay out of this,” Zali warned. The group watched in horror as the three wolves practically tore apart their old leader. Feray clenched her teeth. It was taking every ounce of self control she had not to leap in there and rip the others apart.
“Stop it!” Cole screamed. The beating slowed to a stop before the others turned to leave.
“Where are they taking Hige?” Tsume called out.
“Haven’t got a clue,” Moss said smugly, hitching his shoulders up in a shrug. Cole bent down next to her mate.
“If you plan to give up on Paradise and turn back, now might be the time,” Zali suggested.
“I don’t have anywhere to go back to. The only thing I can do is keep heading forward,” Kiba replied solemnly.
“Even if it’s hell we’re headed towards,” Tsume added. Feray looked at him, surprise written all over her face. “You people may not have been able to find Paradise, but I have no doubt in my mind that we will.” Kiba also looked to be caught off guard by the elder wolf’s words, though it was a good sort of surprise. Zali chuckled before standing up and beginning to run off.
“C’mon,” he said, and the others chased after him.
It was along the top of the city’s wall that they finally found the vehicle transporting the caged Hige. Surprised, the men veered off to the side, trying to avoid the onslaught of wolves chasing towards them. This, in turn, tipped the whole thing over and sent Hige’s cage careening against the stone wall. He winced, but the pain was the least of his worries. Tsume lunged at one of the humans that stepped out of the truck, dodging as they fired at him. With Feray in hot pursuit, the two of them made quick work of the humans, disarming them and leaving them dazed with ease.
“I believe this is the most opportune time to say ‘let’s get out of here’,” Feray chuckled, following after Kiba and the others as they left the scene. Zali led them back to the large pipe – the path to paradise. They all followed his lead. The narrow pipe that began soon widened to a much larger underground tunnel. To say the least, it reeked.
“This is as far as I plan to go. From here on out, you’re all on your own,” he said.
“You mean you’re not coming with us? You’re going to keep living here?” Kiba asked, looking surprised.
“I don't know if the place we tried to find was real or not. But I believe that there are some that can make it to Paradise and some who can't. I'm convinced of that. And it's time for you to find out for yourselves if the real Paradise does exist somewhere at the end of this road.” Feray gave a light smile.
“You’re not half bad,” she said.
“Y’know, you don’t seem like much of a wolf,” Tsume said. “A wolf protects its own; it’s not natural for it to look after another pack.” Zali chuckled knowingly.
“You’re right. I guess I really have fallen.” With those final words, the gang raced down the tunnel. With another added to their group, the search for Paradise was only just beginning.
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Post by T O D O K U * on Oct 25, 2011 22:43:22 GMT -5
[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, height: 500px; width: 500px; border-radius: 250px 250px 250px 250px; border: 3px solid #000000; background-image: url(http://i774.photobucket.com/albums/yy29/Virid/Rakuen/FullMoon-1.png) ; background-position: center; background-repeat: no-repeat, btable]  The tunnel was an incredibly long journey. As they exited it, each one of them had an undeniable odor that clung to their fur. Feray crinkled her nose. However, as the tunnel ended, they were left walking through a rather serene forest. They stopped for a moment, taking a momentary break. Feray took this chance to gnaw at her front paw, sticking her tongue out in disdain as she tasted the residue of the tunnel on her fur.
“This is gross,” she whined. Nonetheless, she continued, checking out her wounds as best as she could. They were healing up rather nicely. She glanced over at Kiba, taking note that his wounds had also healed rather quickly. Her gaze shifted again.
“I’ve been thinking… I haven’t smelled the flower at all since we left that tunnel. I wonder if this is really the right way,” Toboe commented. Feray looked over at him. He did have a point. She had only smelled a lunar flower once, and that was just the faintest whiff of it. But now that he mentioned it… she hadn’t sensed it since.
“You want to give us a clue here?” Tsume demanded in an irritated tone.
“Relax, tough guy. It’s not like we got a ton of other things to take care of,” Feray huffed. Tsume ignored her.
“Sure,” Kiba said plainly.
“Where exactly are we headed?” he asked.
“To Paradise,” came the simple response.
“And just what the hell is guiding you there?”
“Instinct.”
“Here we go again. I just wish it felt like we were getting closer. Not that I’m complaining or anything,” Hige chimed in. Feray couldn’t help but grin a little at the plain responses Kiba was giving Tsume.
Since joining them, she had come to enjoy getting on Tsume’s bad side every now and then. She’d get on his case when no one else would and challenge him to things that were overall trivial. No one was really sure whether she really didn’t like the guy or she found a sick pleasure in annoying the absolute shit out of him. In the end, though, it was a toss up between who got more annoyed – Tsume from Feray’s constant high and mighty act or the others from listening to the two argue.
“I told you it was a bad idea to bring her along,” Tsume growled under his breath.
“I heard that,” Feray’s voice called out from in front of him. Also since joining, Feray had assumed the ‘alpha female’ position, seeing as there were no other females in the group. Save for Tsume, no one really seemed to mind it, though. She had proved her worth way back in the city.
Toboe drew close to her, plopping down next to the female who was chewing at some sticky substance stuck to her other front paw.
“So… tell us about yourself, won’t you?” he asked, wagging his tail. Feray ceased her chewing for a moment and cracked an eye open to look at the happy pup. She shrugged.
“It’s boring,” she said, scratching her head with her hind paw.
“Aww, you can’t be that boring. Where’d you learn to fight so well?” he asked eagerly. She looked at him sternly, though the pup didn’t seem to catch the ‘don’t ask’ undertone. Still, he looked at her expectantly.
“I’ve been in fights before,” she replied simply, taking note that Toboe wasn’t the only one listening in.
“But back when we were in the city… that was a really cramped spot. How’d you manage so well? It’s like you were used to it or something,” he grinned. Feray suddenly went on guard. Her gaze hardened as she snapped at him, though far enough away to avoid injuring him.
“It doesn’t matter,” she snarled, suddenly angry. Toboe cowered, flattening his ears and lowering himself to the ground.
“I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to anger you,” he whined.
“Give the runt a break,” Tsume sighed.
“Let’s just not go there, okay, Toboe?” she said, her temper calming. He whimpered. With a sigh, she gave the side of his face a reassuring lick, showing that she was no longer mad at him.
“Let’s continue on,” Kiba said, beginning to walk again.
“Ugh, I wish there was some food around. Man, the last time we ate was back in the city,” Hige whined.
“If I recall correctly, that was the last time you ate. You didn’t even bring anything back when we sent you out for food,” Tsume reprimanded. For once, Feray had to agree with Tsume. While indeed she was hungry, she wasn’t the sort of wolf to voice this to others, especially knowing that they hadn’t eaten anything either.
“As a matter of fact, we actually had to come and save your ass,” Feray added.
Before anyone could say anything more, a high-pitched noise could be heard overhead. Another whine came from Toboe as he ducked his head down. Feray stepped in front of him, as though to protect him from whatever may appear. The four older wolves looked to the sky, and it wasn’t long before two noble ships came into view. The fact that they were locked in combat was easy to spot as the larger ship fired beams at the smaller one. Kiba muttered something incoherent before he picked up his pace towards the battling air ships.
“Hold it! It has nothing to do with us! Stay out of it!” Tsume yelled after him.
“I can feel it,” Kiba said.
“Feel what?” Hige looked confused, just as Toboe did.
“I’m not sure, but it’s so familiar. Don’t you guys feel anything at all?” he sounded angry before he charged forward. Feray wordlessly followed after him. As the remaining three looked from one to another, it wasn’t long until they were also chasing after the two alphas.
A large mountain stood before them, its rocky face serving as a formidable opponent. However, Kiba was the first to head on up. Feray watched for a moment before following after him, landing on the same rocky surfaces that he did. It didn’t take long for the others to chase after.
“The scent is faint, but it’s up there,” Hige said, struggling to climb a particularly rough part of the mountain.
“Hurry it up, you guys. There’s no telling how long that scent will stay there,” Feray said from her position higher up on the rock face. Hige sighed.
“Well why don’t you come back down here and give me a helping hand, huh?” he groaned. Feray chuckled, only turning around and catching up to Kiba with ease.
“So what can we expect to find up here, Kiba?” Feray asked.
“Cheza,” came the one word response.
“What’s ‘Cheza’?”
“The flower maiden. She will guide us to Paradise,” he responded, pausing a moment to let the others catch up. Feray stood next to him on the platform, a light breeze blowing the flaps of his open jacket.
She scoffed quietly to herself before continuing on up the mountain ahead of all the others, including Kiba. It was a long climb but even as the five wolves touched the top of it, they moved forward without taking any breaks. Kiba wouldn’t allow it. The trek was mostly silent with an occasional twig snapping or someone commenting about something.
“I don’t know why, but my heart is pounding!” Toboe grinned. “And I feel all warm, too…”
“This is the sense of excitement you get just before you pounce on a pretty girl,” Hige also shared Toboe’s daze-like smile. Feray snorted before laughing a true blue laugh, something that the other wolves hadn’t heard before. Kiba looked back at her in surprise.
“And I though he had a one track mind,” she began, gesturing to Kiba. “But you, Hige, have totally surpassed him on that!” she giggled. “I swear, all you think about is food and girls.”
“That about sums it up,” Tsume chimed in. “Don’t let your guard down. I feel a shiver running up my spine.”
“Do you feel anything, Feray?” Toboe asked innocently. She looked at him, her laughter dying down.
“Do I feel anything?” she repeated. “I feel… like how I usually feel in a fight. Adrenaline is coursing through my veins, and there’s an itch deep inside that I feel just won’t be satisfied until we reach whoever we’re supposed to reach,” she explained.
The trees became less and less dense as the group neared the exit of the forest. Ahead of them was a large field of flowers. Near the center was a serene-looking pond with a girl sitting in it. Her feet were dipped into the water. Her hair was short and soft pink in color.
“It’s her. It’s really her,” Hige breathed.
“My heart just skipped a beat,” Toboe murmured, both of them staring aghast at the scene in front of them.
“Who is that?” Tsume asked. The girl in question turned to look at them, her eyes an oddly red color. Kiba strode forward to her, and she began to pet him and hold him close. As she hugged him, she looked back at the group, her gaze locking onto the black female wolf.
“Come here,” she ushered. “This one won’t hurt you,” she smiled lightly. As though some unseen force was pulling at her, Feray found herself walking toward this mysterious girl. She, too, stepped into the water. The girl’s fingers stroked her fur, and she couldn’t help but feel at peace despite being in the presence of an absolute stranger. Without warning, she was pulled into the hug as well. She could feel Kiba’s body radiating soothing warmth. This girl smelled nice, a gentle, floral scent. “We meet at last,” she said, hugging the two wolves tighter.
They headed off again, this time with Cheza walking between Kiba and Feray, hold each of their hands in one of her own. Feray kept glancing over at the flower maiden. There was something about her… She was kind and serene, and Feray kind of liked that. At the same time, she didn’t like the fact that she was so friendly and familiar with her.
“This way! Over here!” Cheza called out, dropping Feray’s hand for a moment to motion for the others to follow them – not like they weren’t already following.
“That’s Cheza, all right. That’s the flower maiden,” Hige said, his hands tucked into his pockets.
“She’s a flower and a maiden? That’s weird,” Toboe commented.
“Well, as the story goes, some Noble with too much time on his hands made her from a lunar flower in a lab somewhere,” Hige explained.
“They made a human from a flower? Tch. Do you really believe all that?” Tsume reprimanded.
“Hey, she’s standing right there, isn’t she?” Hige countered. “And she smells nice too.” They crossed a bridge running over a nice looking stream and proceeded through a garden and through an arch wrapped in ivy. Cheza led them all to a pile of ruins, still holding on to both Feray’s and Kiba’s hands all the while.
“This one has been waiting for you all this time,” she said. “For both of you,” she looked from one wolf to another.
“Why both of us?” Feray questioned, but it fell on deaf ears.
“This one was born here for that very reason.” The two were silent as they continued on, gently being led by Cheza. Feray couldn’t help but notice that Kiba had the lightest of smiles on his face. It wasn’t long after that that Feray found a light smile of her own dancing across her lips.
As they entered a larger room, Cheza dropped both of their hands and ran forward.
“This is home, everyone!” she said, grinning. However, the grin soon fell as she slowed to a stop. In front of her sat nothing but ruins. The ceiling had holes in it, letting in the sunlight. Feray walked up to her with Kiba close in tow. “Oh… no one is here anymore. Now this one understands. Everyone has withered and died,” she said, looking downtrodden. She sunk down, wrapping her arms around her knees as she stared at the barren ground. Feray surveyed the scene, wondering how anyone could call this place home, even before whatever happened to the place. “This one is the only one left.”
“We’re with you,” Feray said, timidly placing a hand on her shoulder. “I mean… we’re not exactly whatever you are. But our company still counts… right?” Feray cursed herself for how shy her voice sounded. She wasn’t used to it. This girl was beginning to rub off on her already. Cheza turned her head to look at the wolf who had spoken. A smile found its way on her lips as she petted her once more.
“Of course. This one isn’t alone.” Cheza wrapped her arm around Feray’s fluffy body and held her close, stroking her muzzle with her other hand. Feray’s eyes closed as an overwhelming sense of peace passed over her. Kiba watched in silence, that light smile from before still apparent on his face.
The moment was ruined, however, by a series of gunshots. Hige and Toboe were the first to run into the room closely followed by Tsume.
“We’re in trouble, Kiba! I smell humans all over the place!” Hige shouted. Feray pulled herself away from Cheza’s grasp, taking in the scents around her.
“We’re surrounded!” Toboe added. Feray’s eyes narrowed.
“How did I not notice this?” she muttered. As she sniffed, the human scent was faint as the scent of lunar flowers masked it. Kiba suddenly stepped between the two girls and Tsume.
“No! It wasn’t her!” he said defensively. For a split second, Feray wondered if he was talking about herself or Cheza. However, it was only logical for him to be talking about Cheza.
“Hey, we don’t have time for this! We’ve gotta escape!” Toboe reminded them.
“Escape? We’re surrounded, damn it! Where are we supposed to go?” Hige growled, clenching his fists. At this point, Cheza stood up and began walking. Feray glanced at Kiba with a knowing look before following after her and Kiba close behind.
“Where do you think you’re going?!” Tsume asked.
“I said it’s dangerous over there!” Hige called out. The three didn’t pay them any mind. Cheza grasped both of their hands again, continuing to walk on.
“What should we do?” Toboe wondered aloud as he looked from Hige and Tsume to Kiba, Cheza, and Feray.
“Like we have a choice,” Tsume scoffed, turning and running back the way they had come in.
“Of all the… Kiba and Feray must be nuts,” Hige sighed, scratching the back of his neck. He chased after Tsume. Toboe stood still for a moment, torn between who to follow.
“W-wait for me, Kiba!” he called out, chasing after the others. As the four of them walked, it wasn’t long before humans soon showed up. As one aimed for Cheza, Kiba leapt in front of her and lunged at the man, killing him in an instant. He took out a second one but was soon forced to hide behind a large chunk of the ruins.
“Cheza, stay behind me,” he vaguely heard Feray’s voice say, though it was closely followed by a pained growl. He glanced back to see that Feray had pushed Cheza behind another piece of the fallen ruins, a piece only large enough for Cheza and half of herself. From the looks of it, a bullet had grazed Feray’s right cheek. As he searched the area, he found Toboe hiding behind another piece. He had only barely begun to think of a plan before the gunfire had slowed to a stop. He dared peek around the piece he was hiding behind to see Tsume and Hige standing above the two dead bodies.
“We’re in serious trouble!” Hige warned. “They’ve got that end totally covered.”
“What do you want to do? If we left her here, we could get away,” Tsume suggested. Kiba’s blue eyes went wide and he bared his fangs.
“Forget it!” he snapped.
“Everyone!” Toboe called out, ushering them towards a smaller hallway that lead away from the main one.
“This way,” Cheza said, running down the small area and holding Feray’s hand. They followed the two girls. Ahead of them, there was a single gunman, but Feray made quick work of him as she raked her claws along the back of his neck and shoved him off the ledge.
“What the hell?” Hige breathed as the hallway ended.
“It’s no use! It’s a dead end!” Toboe gasped.
“Wanna try surrendering?” Hige sighed. Tsume send him a sideways glare, and he immediately followed up with, “Just kidding, just kidding!” Cheza held her hand to one of the tree’s roots, and it gave off a faint glow. Feray watched in amazement as the roots opened, leaving an exit route for them.
“This way,” Cheza repeated, standing in front of the new route.
“Was there a hole there a second ago?” Toboe asked.
“No, she just created it,” Feray replied, stepping in. The others followed after. She quickly closed it up, leaving them sitting in the darkness beneath the tree. However, despite the darkness, the wolves could see somewhat okay. Cheza had left small holes in the roots in order to allow some light to enter.
“Are you alright?” Kiba asked, moving next to Feray and motioning to the cut on her cheek. She looked at him, unamused. She gave a shrug.
“It’s nothing,” she said, turning away.
“Did you get shot?” Hige asked, looking over his shoulder.
“I said it’s nothing,” she closed her eyes. They opened wide as Kiba ran his tongue along the cut, lapping away the blood that had trickled from it. She turned the other cheek, opting to stare at Cheza.
“You are hurt…” she mumbled.
“Listen, I’d totally understand if you guys were worried about a bullet that hit me dead on, but it was just a graze. No worries. Honestly,” she said. Cheza wordlessly placed a hand atop the wound. Feray didn’t say anything as a soft glow was emitted. The pain slowly, but surely, ebbed away as the wound seemed to melt out of existence.
“Is that better?” she asked quietly. Feray nodded slowly before resting her head on Cheza’s lap.
“Yes. Thank you, Cheza,” she mumbled. They would have to wait before they did anything. They were outmatched for now. The space was small but somehow, they all managed to lie down. It was like some odd puzzle as each wolf turned to lie and try and fit in without intruding on another’s space. Toboe’s and Hige’s muzzles ended up near Tsume’s torso and Feray’s tail respectively, and Kiba turned to curl himself around Cheza as best as he could which left his head resting by Feray’s side.
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Post by T O D O K U * on Oct 25, 2011 22:45:18 GMT -5
[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, height: 500px; width: 500px; border-radius: 250px 250px 250px 250px; border: 3px solid #000000; background-image: url(http://i774.photobucket.com/albums/yy29/Virid/Rakuen/FullMoon-1.png) ; background-position: center; background-repeat: no-repeat, btable]  It wasn’t until night time that the wolves and Cheza decided to move. Moving down the mountain was much easier than scaling it earlier. They hid as some sort of device floated through the air, probably scanning for them. As it moved away, Kiba motioned for them to follow. It was a slow process, only moving in short bursts and hiding every other moment. More than once, Feray had suggested merely destroying the device then getting the heck out of there. The suggestion, however, was turned down multiple times as the others reasoned that it wouldn’t be destroyed easily and would give away their position before they got anywhere. Toboe suddenly gasped and the others turned to look, only to see Cheza standing with one foot off the edge of the cliff face. However, their minds were put to rest as she promptly turned and continued down towards them.
“She can tell?” Toboe muttered.
“Because she’s a flower maiden,” Hige offered next to him.
“How?”
“She uses her feelers,” Hige shrugged.
“She doesn’t have any!” Toboe countered.
“You can’t see them, but I bet they’re there.” Both boys looked back at her as she just stood there.
“I wonder if she’s on edge around us… but why would she be?” Toboe asked.
“Because you’re on edge around her, that’s why,” Kiba interjected, looking stern. Feray looked at him before scoffing and continuing on ahead of them.
“As if. Talk to the others about that,” she closed her eyes as she continued walking.
“Who wouldn’t be?” Tsume growled. “She’s not a wolf, and she’s not a human. She’s not a flower, either. How are we supposed to trust something like that? All the more so because she was made by a Noble.” Kiba stared hard at the grey wolf. “Are we really going to take her with us?”
“Yeah,” Kiba answered simply.
“What for?”
“Well to piss you off, obviously,” Feray butted in, an arrogant smirk apparent on her features in the moonlight.
“I don’t see anything wrong with it…” Toboe’s voice trailed off as he vouched for Cheza to stay. “It’d be mean to just leave her here, and besides, I think it’d be nice to always be able to smell lunar flowers.”
“Doesn’t that make her dangerous to us?” Tsume retorted. “If she smells up the place while we’re moving, it’s as good as giving away our location.”
“Humans can’t smell the lunar flowers,” Kiba responded.
“But my eyes tell me that she’ll be nothing but trouble. What’s she good for?” As Tsume said this, Kiba suddenly went defensive, his blue eyes narrowing.
“Even you should know how vital Cheza is to us!” he growled.
“Sorry, I don’t,” Tsume huffed
“She’ll get us to Paradise!”
“I’m sick of hearing that word!”
“Then why are you still sticking around, Tsume?!” Feray suddenly jumped in, standing next to Kiba.
“Shut up, Feray. This is my fight!” Kiba snapped.
“I don’t take kindly to those kinds of orders,” came Feray’s reply. And before anyone could do anything, Feray had lunged at Kiba. As humans, she pinned him to the ground, hands gripping both of his shoulders and digging in with her nails. She was sitting on his stomach, straddling him as she glared at him. “I’ve done nothing but help you and back you up, and this is how you’ve decided to show your gratitude?!”
“Get off me.”
“Not until you apologize.”
“I have nothing to apologize for! Your help was never necessary! I never asked for you to come along! You came to us!” he growled, throwing the female off of him. She flipped in mid air to catch herself on her four paws as she landed. “Get out of here,” he warned.
“Why don’t you come over here and make me?” she growled back at him. They circled each other, each one daring the other to strike first.
“You guys! We’re not going to get anywhere like this!” Toboe shouted. Kiba was the first to attack, charging forward and snapping at her. She barely dodged before lashing back at him. The fight had barely begun before a new sound was introduced. Everyone glanced over at Cheza who had begun singing a soft song. Ignoring it, the two alphas went back to their fight, lunging and snapping at each other. However, the fight began dying down just as soon as it started. Kiba’s body began feeling heavier and heavier with each passing second. His golden eyes began to close before he slipped into sleep. Feray, now worried that something bad had happened, wearily strode over to him, her vision also blurring.
“Kiba, wha-” but she soon keeled over, her body feeling like a ton of bricks as her head landed on his soft torso. She dully noted how warm he was before her eyes closed as she drifted off into sleep.
The town was shabby, but people were still bustling around in its streets. The buildings and ground were all the same pale yellow they always were. Despite it all, it seemed like the people of the town didn’t have too many complaints. Kids were laughing as they ran through the streets and vendors sat in the shade of their booths, hoping for someone to stop and purchase something. Two girls appearing to be roughly sixteen or seventeen ran through the streets, deftly avoiding the people they were passing.
“Kebero, where are we going?” Feray shouted
“Just trust me on this, okay?” the brunette replied. The two made a sharp turn into an alleyway before leaping up from wall to wall. When they reached the top, the two girls walked to the edge of the roof and sat down, their legs dangling off the side. “So what do you think?” Kebero asked. Feray smiled, looking at her friend then looking out at the view. They could see the whole city from there.
“It’s amazing…” Feray breathed.
“And just think. You can go anywhere now. You haven’t got that chain around your neck anymore,” Kebero leaned back on her arms. “But you may want to take that necklace off. I doubt that anyone else would have that. Wasn’t it your signature item back in the arena?”
“I don’t really want to talk about it…” Feray turned away.
“Whatever you say. It’s no big deal, really,” Kebero shrugged.
As a human, Kebero was significantly taller than Feray, standing roughly seven or eight inches above the other girl’s head. Her hair was light brown in color and pulled back into a low ponytail. She wore simple clothes, consisting of somewhat baggy, faded jeans and a short sleeve, red and black plaid shirt. Around her neck was a simple red bandana tied loosely in the back.
“So what are you going to do now that you’re free?” she asked casually. Feray looked back at her, happier that the subject had changed.
“I’m not really sure… I feel like I should move forward with my life. I just don’t know how… Dog fighting is all I know,” she replied. There was a pause as the two thought. Kebero chuckled, and Feray looked over at her, curiosity etched all over her face. “What?”
“You could always search for Paradise if you’ve got nothing better to do,” she joked. Feray blinked.
“Paradise?” she repeated.
“You’ve never heard of it? No surprise. You’ve probably been around humans for too long.”
“No, no. I mean… I’ve never heard of it, obviously. But at the same time… it seems familiar to me. Tell me about it; I’m curious now,” Feray insisted. Kebero laughed again.
“If you want, sure. Humans say that when the world comes to an end, Paradise will open, and only us wolves will be able to find it,” she said proudly. Feray was silent for a moment, Kebero’s words running through her head. A silly grin spread over her face.
“Paradise, huh?” she repeated. Kebero nodded. ”Then I’ll search for it!” she proclaimed.
“Well that was really random. What if it’s not true and you’re searching for something that doesn’t exist? Why not do something more practical?”
“Like what?” Feray stood. “Dog fighting is now behind me, and there’s no telling where my pack is. I doubt I’ll find them. What else is there for me to do? Besides,” Feray looked down at her friend. “Searching for Paradise just feels… right. Like it’s something I should do,” she said solemnly. An amused chuckle came from Kebero.
“You’re crazy, you know that? I think all that dog fighting has really rattled that brain of yours,” she smiled. Feray’s grin slipped. “You should really think about things before you actually decide on them.”
“That’s not how I’m wired. You think; you die. That’s what the arena taught me,” Feray answered.
“Well you’re not in the arena anymore, nor are you bound to it. You’re free, remember? Think about it later, though. Just live the moment for now.” Kebero ushered for her friend to sit back down. Feray complied, dangling her legs off the edge once more and enjoying the view.
Feray was one of the last two to wake up, the other being Tsume. As she lifted her head, she was somewhat surprised to find Cheza’s hand resting on her. She glanced over at the sleeping form of Tsume before looking around to see if she could find the others.
“You slept a while,” Cheza stated.
“I noticed.”
“Did you have a nice dream?” she asked kindly.
“It was…” Feray thought for a moment. “It was good. Where are the others?” she finished.
“Who is this ‘Kebero’ you were muttering about in your sleep?” Cheza ignored her question, only to retaliate with a question of her own. Feray looked at the ground, willing herself to focus on certain blades of grass instead of the thoughts racing through her mind.
“I guess you could say that Kebero de-humanized me,” she said, a light smile tugging at her lips. “Not that I was really human to begin with. But I certainly didn’t know much as a wolf. She taught me about my ability to disguise myself as a human and told me all about Paradise,” Feray explained, all the while, that little smile widening bit by bit.
The smile, however, faded immediately as Tsume jumped up from his own sleep. He looked from the flower maiden to the other wolf and back again.
“You slept the longest,” Cheza commented. “Did you have sweet dreams?”
“I don’t remember,” he looked away.
“You were running in your sleep,” Cheza noted and it took every ounce of willpower Feray had not to giggle at the thought of Tsume chasing after a female wolf.
“It’s no use,” Kiba said, returning from wherever he had been. “Those people are on every road going down to the foot of the mountain,” he explained.
“Then why don’t we make a path down and take that? We’re agile enough,” Feray suggested.
“Unlike us, Cheza wouldn’t be able to follow as easily,” his voice seethed with anger from the night before. Despite her growing urge to tackle him again, she stood still, figuring that fighting would, as Toboe said, get them nowhere.
“One of us could carry her,” she added, fighting to keep her voice level. “I could carry her, unless you don’t trust me enough. In that cause, you could carry her or maybe Tsume,” she offered.
“We have to think of another way,” Tsume said as he stood and walked towards Kiba with his hands in his pockets.
“I just came up with another way,” she mumbled under her breath.
“Don’t wander off next time,” he growled.
“I tried to wake you up, but you wouldn’t,” Kiba shrugged. “You seemed pretty happy where you were.”
“Oh shut up! I was tired, that’s all!” Tsume hissed.
“Not too tired to chase tail, it seems,” Feray breathed, a light chuckle escaping her. Kiba looked at her, his hard gaze softening slightly. As Tsume walked off, it simply left Kiba, Feray, and Cheza there with a thick tension in the air. Cheza looked between the two wolves.
“This one thinks you two should apologize to each other,” she suggested.
“What did I do wrong?!” Feray growled.
“You stuck your nose where it didn’t belong!” Kiba fired back.
“Well sorry for trying to take your side!”
“Why are you even still here? I told you to get out.”
“And I told you to get over here and make me.”
“Stop it!” Cheza shouted. Both wolves looked at her, utterly surprised that she had raised her voice.
“Cheza…” Kiba breathed, all anger gone from his voice.
“No. This one won’t speak to either of you until amends are made,” she said firmly.
“But,” Feray gasped.
“No,” came the terse reply and then silence from the flower maiden. An awkward silence overtook all of them as Feray sat next to Cheza and Kiba stood his ground. Slowly, but surely, he made his way over to the two girls and took a seat on the opposite side of Cheza.
“Cheza, please…” he muttered. She didn’t reply. From what she could see, Kiba’s blue eyes held hurt to such a degree she had never seen before. A sudden tugging at her heartstrings made her chest hurt with each beat. She hung her head, suddenly feeling very guilty for the whole situation. Although, she didn’t see how it was her fault exactly.
“Kiba,” she murmured quietly. He didn’t reply. “Kiba,” she repeated, a little louder. He looked at her, his eyes still full of hurt. Feray, as a human, bit her lip, unsure of how to apologize correctly, if there even were a ‘correct’ way. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I should’ve stayed out of it.” They made eye contact and Feray searched his eyes for any sort of other emotion hidden in them. Kiba did the same. He opened his mouth to speak, but Feray stopped him. “You don’t have to apologize. Cheza, you really should talk to Kiba. It hurts him if you don’t.” Feray stood up, brushing her pants off. “I’m going to go see if I can find another way down, okay?” she managed a gentle smile, before turning to walk in the same direction that Kiba had come from.
His hand shot up and grabbed her wrist as she passed him. She stopped dead in her tracks, not daring to look back at him. “Yes?” she asked, not moving. Another silence passed over them. Kiba’s grip on her wrist tightened ever so slightly.
“I…” he breathed. “I, uh, want you to know that…” there was another pause. Feray stared dead ahead, neither tugging to free herself of his grasp nor backing up into it either. Silence. “There are too many guards that way. You’d be captured, and…” he paused again. “Toboe is attached to you,” he said. There was no doubt that disappointment was apparent in her eyes, though she blinked it away, masking it with apathy. She nodded slowly, half expecting him to let go of her wrist. He didn’t.
“I see…” she mumbled. “I guess… I’ll stay… You know, for, for Toboe,” she shrugged. Another very awkward silence passed over the trio once more. Kiba still held onto Feray’s wrist up until Hige and Toboe came running back to them. At that point in time, his hand abruptly dropped, his fingers brushing over her palm.
“Wow, that was rough,” Hige panted, holding a pair of pink rubber boots and a bag.
“We’re back!” Toboe beamed, holding what appeared to be a fur jacket. Kiba stood up.
“You two sure took a long time,” he said.
“The runt here kept wandering off,” Hige pointing an accusing finger at Toboe. “Here’s some food,” he threw the burlap bag at Kiba who caught it effortlessly.
“We picked up some other things, too.” Toboe held up the jacket he had in his hands.
“What do you plan to do with that?” Tsume questioned, coming up after them and leaning against a nearby ruined wall. Toboe looked at him.
“What do you mean? It’s a present.” He walked up to Cheza and placed the coat on her shoulders. “Here,” he said, stepping back to see her reaction. She frowned, looking towards the ground. The smile Toboe had on his face faded. “You don’t like it?”
“Doesn’t look like it,” Kiba added.
A small whine came from Toboe as his heart sank. Feray, seeing this, walked over to him and pulled him close, resting her arm over his shoulders. He gave her a sideways hug.
“It’s okay, Toboe. Maybe she just doesn’t like the color. I mean… she is a flower. Maybe she just likes bright colored things,” she offered. He perked back up.
“Then I’ll just have to get her a different color!” he said excitedly.
“What did I tell you? Now these are great,” Hige beamed, holding out the boots for Cheza. He placed them down by her feet and she slipped into them. She stood up, the jacket slipping off her shoulders and smiled. She twirled around in the boots, a light laughter coming from her. “Like them?” Hige grinned. With the smallest of nods, Cheza continued her spinning and laughing, only to abruptly stop and stare blankly towards the path that Hige and Toboe had come from.
“Cheza?” Kiba asked. He looked down the path as well to see an old woman standing there. Her clothes were light lavender in color and she wore a shawl over her shoulders.
“Who are you?” Cheza questioned. The woman didn’t answer as she walked forward. As she drew close, Kiba stepped in front of Cheza, a hard stare on his face. The old woman gave a light smile before speaking.
“Wolves, I see,” she said. Everyone’s eyes went wide. Feray pushed Toboe behind her, though he still peeked his head out to see.
“Who are you, old lady?” Kiba inquired. The old woman slipped her black glasses off. After a moment, she opened her eyes to reveal that they were the same red color as Cheza’s, including the sclera. For a second time, everyone was shocked.
“Who are you?” she repeated. “The Hanabito is what they called us.” Cheza placed a hand to her chest.
“This one could tell from your scent,” she said. “You are not like this one?”
“You are a true perfect creation. You aren’t like my kind.”
“Perfect creation?” Kiba breathed.
“I’ve been waiting for you for a long, long time,” the old woman continued, ignoring Kiba entirely.
“I guess she wasn’t a ghost,” Toboe whispered to Hige. Feray looked back at him, lost. “We thought she was a ghost following us in town,” he explained. Feray sniffed the air suddenly.
“I smell something,” she said. “Humans.” Kiba went on guard.
“They’re here!”
“Looks like we shouldn’t hang around,” Tsume commented.
“Let’s go,” the old lady said, turning around and taking off in a sprint. Kiba followed after, leading his pack.
“Shall we go?” Feray offered. Cheza nodded and hopped on the wolf’s back, tangling her fingers in the fur at the scruff of her neck. “For an old lady, she can move,” she breathed, following the group behind Toboe. “Hold on, Cheza,” she said, leaping from left to ride down a steep, eroded hill. As they reached the bottom, Feray watched as the old woman pulled a door open, allowing them all to get inside first. As Feray ran past her, she closed the door behind them. Once inside, the woman sat down in a chair with Cheza sitting opposite of her.
“I felt them with my body, those terrible events,” she began, “and those imperfect Hanabito could only wither away and die. I escaped from the castle. In the forest at the foot of the mountain, I stayed in hiding. For a long, long time. And before I knew it, I alone was left. Even if you don’t know anything about yourself, I do. I know you well indeed.” Feray stood next to Kiba, unsure of how to take this.
“This one has been asleep all this time, waiting,” Cheza smiled lightly, looking at Kiba then over to Feray, both of which had light smiles on their faces.
“The wolf seeks out the flower, and the flower seeks out the wolf. But you mustn’t go with them.” Feray’s smile vanished, only to be replaced with a snarl.
“Why the hell not?” she growled. Cheza looked back at her, silencing the female wolf.
“It will lead to destruction,” the old woman said. It was Kiba’s turn to get angry now.
“You must be joking!” he huffed. The old woman looked sternly at him.
“I’m not talking to either of you!” she raised her voice.
“Let’s go, Cheza,” he sighed, expecting Cheza to stand and leave. However, she stayed put.
“I only give off the faintest scent of a flower now,” the old woman continued, as though nothing had happened. “Soon, it will fade completely.”
“What should this one do?” Cheza leaned forward.
“You have the ability to sustain the life of a Hanabito. Stay here, and…” Kiba cut her off.
“Cheza, don’t listen to her!” he growled.
“Wolf, what do you hope to accomplish by taking this girl with you?”
“To get to Paradise,” came Cheza’s soft voice. “We are going to Paradise,” she said firmly. Everyone’s face reflected the determination they all shared to find this place of Paradise. Tsume, however, was the first to break as he looked around.
“Be quiet,” he commanded. Hige, Toboe, and Tsume stared out the window to see a blonde woman clad in a white lab coat with a weird device in her hands.
“I smelled her back at the castle,” Hige commented. “I know I’ve seen that lady before somewhere…”
“What do we do?” Tsume asked, looking back at Kiba.
“I say we just kill her and call it good,” Feray snorted. Kiba shook his head.
“Let’s go.” Cheza stayed put. “Let’s go, Cheza,” he repeated.
Feray watched as Tsume leapt down from the high tree branch he was perched in, landing right in front of the scientist. Hige landed next to him, and Toboe landed behind her.
“You boys…” she said. “You boys, who in the world are you?” No response came. She looked over at a noise as Kiba, Cheza, and Feray stepped out from behind a tree. Wordlessly, Kiba ran forward. Feray helped Cheza onto her back again before following after.
“Let down your disguise for a moment,” he muttered. Feray, though confused, followed orders. Instead of a young girl and boy landing with the flower maiden, two wolves of opposite colors landed on the ledge, Cheza sitting atop the back of the black wolf. As the scientist stared, the wolves changed form in front of her eyes, turning back to the humans she had seen mere moments ago. Without wasting another second, the two continued on, closely trailed by the three others. They ran towards the city. Feray slowed as Cheza’s grip on her fur tightened.
“Cheza?” she questioned.
“She is crying. She is going to wither,” she sobbed.
“The old lady?” Kiba looked back, now stopping as well. Cheza nodded.
“Kiba, is it alright if this one stays with you?” she inquired. Kiba stared. “Can this one stay with you?” His gaze softened.
“You have to stay with us.” Cheza turned.
“Hige?” He looked surprised for a moment before smiling.
“Sure, why not? When you’re on a trip, the more the merrier!”
“Toboe?” she turned again. He simply grinned and nodded. “Tsume?” He sighed.
“Fine, tag along. If that gets us to where we’re going, I’ll put up with you.”
“Feray?” she asked finally, looking down at the wolf whose back she was perched upon. For a moment, the black wolf was silent. “Can this one stay with you?”
“Kiba said it right the first time,” she began. “You have to stay with us,” she repeated. The widest of grins spread across Cheza’s face as she leaned forward to hug the wolf from behind.
They entered the crowded part of town, parting ways to make hiding easier. Kiba went with Cheza, Feray with Toboe, and Tsume with Hige. They all met back at the old woman’s house, Cheza now wearing a dark pink cloak. Cheza stepped inside alone. What happened in there, none of the wolves were really sure. Kiba and Feray stood side by side in a clearing that revealed the moon coming out early and sharing the sky with the sun. He glanced over at her, a light breeze pushing her black hair into her face. She tucked it behind her ear.
“Feray,” he breathed. “I’m sorry.” She looked at him, confused.
“For what?” she asked. Kiba looked taken aback.
“You know… for yelling at you and telling you to get out,” he said.
“Oh,” she replied blandly. “I seem to have forgotten about that,” she shrugged, smiling at him. Cheza stepped out from the house and walked up to the two, standing between them and grasping both of their hands again.
“To Paradise?” she asked calmly. Kiba nodded, looking back up at the moon.
“To Paradise,” Feray and Kiba said in unison.
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Post by T O D O K U * on Oct 25, 2011 22:47:22 GMT -5
[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, height: 500px; width: 500px; border-radius: 250px 250px 250px 250px; border: 3px solid #000000; background-image: url(http://i774.photobucket.com/albums/yy29/Virid/Rakuen/FullMoon-1.png) ; background-position: center; background-repeat: no-repeat, btable]  They stuck in town for a bit, everyone running off on their own for a bit. Feray and Cheza, however, stayed together. After much protesting from Kiba, Feray managed to convince him that they could use some ‘girl time’. Once Cheza agreed with Feray, Kiba couldn’t say no to the two of them going their separate way. The only thing that really kept him from worrying terribly was the fact that Feray was a capable fighter – there was no doubt about that. As they wandered the streets, Cheza seemed to be rather carefree, completely opposite of Feray who was on guard. She was keeping her eye out for soldiers or that scientist from before. She had assumed the duty of protecting Cheza, and she wouldn’t lose Kiba’s trust by having the flower maiden captured.
“Are you alright?” Cheza questioned, her smile fading slightly.
“I’m fine. I’m just… on edge here. Do you mind if we go somewhere more secluded?” Feray questioned. Cheza nodded. Feray gently took the other girl’s hand before heading off through the streets at a sprint. “Hold on,” she said as she took a sharp turn right into an alleyway. Her grip tightened as she pushed off the ground and landed on a small surface before jumping again as she climbed her way to the roof top. Once near the top, she pulled Cheza up, allowing her to get on the roof first. Feray pulled herself up, swinging her leg over the ledge and relaxing. They made their way to the edge that overlooked town and sat, Feray with her legs dangling off the edge.
“You like roofs,” Cheza commented.
“I feel much safer up here. I know a few things about rooftop running,” Feray chuckled lightly and grinned even though Cheza couldn’t see it.
“From Kebero?” she questioned. Feray nodded to the blind girl.
“Yeah. Like I said before, I learned a lot from her,” Feray sighed.
“Why is she not traveling with you? It sounds like you two were good friends,” Cheza replied.
“Kebero… is dead,” Feray looked down. It was weird, talking about Kebero after not seeing her after what seemed like forever.
“Oh… This one is sorry,” Cheza murmured. Feray wasn’t sure why, but she suddenly felt like she could tell Cheza just about anything. Before she knew it, she was spilling her heart to the flower maiden.
“Feray!” a dark brown wolf called out, trying to see the black wolf in front of her. “What makes you think this is the right way!” she yelled. Feray slowed to a stop, the wind blowing the snow all around them and howling as it did so.
“I just have this feeling!” Feray shouted back. Kebero quickly caught up to her friend who was only a few paces in front.
“So you’re headed this way based on a gut instinct?” she questioned. Feray nodded. “I sure hope you know what you’re doing.” Feray grinned at her friend, continuing on. The two wolves’ tracks were quickly covered as the snow storm raged on. It was a vicious journey, but to the two she-wolves, it was nothing. Kebero looked up at the gray sky. It was difficult to tell the difference between day and night anymore. The moon hadn’t been out for a bit. “I think we should find some sort of shelter soon otherwise we’ll use up all our energy trying to make it through the storm.” Feray nodded.
The two were running through a grassy field. The sun was high in the sky and white, fluffy clouds dotted the blue canvas. Kebero slowed to a stop and Feray followed suit.
“What’s up?” Feray asked, stepping alongside her friend.
“More wolves,” Kebero muttered. Feray followed her friend’s gaze, her green eyes locking on to five figures not too far away. Her eyes narrowed as she took on a defensive stance. As they drew closer, Kebero eyed them suspiciously. The leader of the pack sauntered up to them. The others began surrounding them, something that didn’t go unnoticed by either female.
“My, my, what have we got here?” he chuckled, a haughty grin plastered on his face. “What might a couple of girls be doing, traveling around outside of the city?” Feray growled at him.
“What’s it to you?” she spat. Another chuckle came from the leader as the other wolves closed in.
“Why, I’m just curious is all,” he smirked.
“Like hell you are,” Kebero snarled.
“Really. We’re just looking for some fun, you know?” the leader stood tall, taller than either of the girls.
“Look for it somewhere else,” Feray commanded.
“I’d say we found it right here.” And suddenly, the wolves lunged. Kebero side stepped, allowing the male wolf to smack into the ground muzzle first. She turned and bit down on the downed wolf’s hind paw, causing him to yelp in pain and surprise. Feray, on the other hand, had one wolf biting into her, his fangs digging into her flank. With a snarl, she pulled herself free from him and proceeded to latch onto his tail. He kicked her away with his hind legs. Kebero growled at the leader before leaping towards him. She managed to rake his side with her claws before one of the other wolves caught her alongside the head. As she moved to take another lunge at it, a sickening crunch paused the fight for a moment as everyone looked over to where Feray was. She was hunched over one of the male wolves, her jaws locked securely onto his neck. He lay motionless as she dropped him from her grip, his blood marring her usually-white canines.
“What the hell?!” the leader roared, suddenly getting angry. “We were just looking for some fun and you go and kill one of our pack members?!” His fur stood on end. Feray stared at him with cold, calculating eyes, as though killing one of her own kind were normal. Perhaps for her, it was. But Kebero stood, utterly surprised. As he charged for her, Feray moved out of the way.
“Go for the neck! There’s no going back from here!” Feray yelled, head butting a wolf that dared try and get near to her own neck. Suddenly pulled back to reality, Kebero pushed off with her left front paw, propelling her to the right as one of the wolves came towards her, teeth bared. She winced as she felt the sting from the wounds left before. It didn’t take more than a few minutes before a second crunch was heard. Kebero winced, knowing what the sound entailed.
As Feray bit down, she winced and released as the leader dug his claws into her hide again. Before she had a chance to recover, he slammed into her, pushing her off balance. She staggered slightly, allowing him enough time to leave four red gashes along her left shoulder. She howled in pain, snapping in his general direction. Her attack missed, and he sunk his fangs into her hind leg. She lost balance and fell onto her side. Had he not been attacked by Kebero, he would have crushed her windpipe just as she had done to his comrade. Alas, Kebero came at him, shoving him aside.
“Stay back,” he growled to the two other wolves he had. He wouldn’t lose another friend. The other wolves obeyed as Kebero stood between the alpha and her friend. “Move. I’m only returning the favor,” he growled.
“Heh, get over here and make me,” Kebero taunted. He snapped at her, barely missing the side of her face. She reared up, swiping her claws at him. He knocked her back, but Kebero was quick to roll and get back up on her paws before he could harm her. The fight between them seemed more like a dance where one wrong move could mean game over for one of them. It wasn’t until the alpha male finally brought his claws down over Kebero’s left eye that he gained an upper hand. She closed them and staggered backwards as she shook her head to try and keep the blood from going into her wounded eye. It was at this time when he surged forward, knocking the wounded wolf onto her side. He towered over her before biting down on her exposed belly. She snarled and growled as he proceeded to pull at the flesh, ripping a good chunk of her side away. She whined, willing the pain to go away. She lay there motionlessly as blood seeped onto the grass. He left the torn flesh attached. It didn’t matter anymore whether he tore it off or not. The alpha, satisfied with his work, turned back to Feray who was still on the ground not too far away. He began to stride over to her.
His golden eyes went wide as he felt fangs close down on his throat before it was promptly torn away from his body. In his last few seconds of life, he looked down to see that Kebero had been the one who beat him. Adrenaline coursed through her body. Had it not been for that, she never would’ve been able to move. He collapsed as did she, releasing the ripped body part from her fangs. Weakly, she turned her head to look at the other two wolves that stood, stunned.
“Get out of here,” she growled, though her tone was hardly commanding. They bared their fangs.
“No way. You’re in no shape to fight, we can easily take you guys,” one of the hissed back, taking on an offensive stance.
“She might not be. But I’m still raring to go,” Feray snarled, somehow up on her paws. Kebero noticed that she favored her hind paw, but that was to be expected as she watched blood drip down from a wound. As she looked at Feray’s eyes, she could find little more than blood lust and hatred. Their usually green color had been darkened by battle. She growled and bared her fangs, snapping them as a threat. The other two wolves, stepped back, now frightened. “Go on. Move or I’ll kill you both as well,” she threatened. It didn’t take much more for them to turn tail and run.
Kebero released a breath she didn’t know she had been holding. Feray limped over to her friend, her darkened eyes resuming their usual vibrant green. She opened her mouth to speak, but Kebero beat her to the punch.
“Don’t say it,” she said, a light tone in her voice.
“Kebero…” Feray breathed, her eyes traveling to the wound that was still oozing blood.
“Go to Paradise,” she commanded. Feray’s eyes widened.
“What?” she questioned. “No way! Not without you!” Kebero chuckled but soon regretted it as her wound pained her.
“C’mon. Don’t pull that typical hero act. I distinctly remember you saying that you’d still find Paradise even if I weren’t there with you,” Kebero managed a weak smile.
“I was joking, you idiot,” Feray growled.
“Joking or not, you still said it. Besides, as long as you remember me, then I’ll still stick around. Promise,” she said. “Now get moving or you’re going to end up dead too, okay?” Feray didn’t budge. “I’ll get up and make you move if I have to.”
“You couldn’t.”
“You’re right. But it doesn’t matter. Staying here won’t benefit you in the slightest,” Kebero closed her eyes. Her breathing slowed.
“Kebero?” Feray asked, staring hard at her friend. “Kebero? This isn’t funny!” she huffed. Her vision was blurring. Kebero lay motionless. Feray’s eyes watered, but she refused to cry. Kebero wouldn’t want it. “Kebero, how could you? How could you die on me?” she growled. She sat down next to her friend and lifted her head to the sky. She breathed in deeply before letting out a mournful howl to the heavens.
As Feray finished recounting her tale, the two girls sat in silence. Surprisingly enough, Feray’s eyes had not watered up as she recalled her friend’s death. Kebero was right. As long as she remembered her, then she would live on, just not physically. The black wolf lied down on her paws. Cheza began stroking the fur on her head absentmindedly. Had Feray been a cat, she would have been purring.
“You miss her, don’t you?” Cheza asked quietly.
“I think the answer is obvious here,” she murmured, closing her eyes.
“About as obvious as another answer this one knows,” Cheza breathed. Feray cracked an eye open.
“What do you mean?”
“Even though this one cannot see with this one’s eyes… this one can still see things other cannot,” she explained.
“You’re not making much sense, Cheza.”
“Do you like Toboe?” she asked abruptly. Feray lifted her head and stared at the flower maiden.
“What brought this on?” she asked.
“This one is curious. Do you like Toboe?” she repeated.
“Uh… yeah. He’s a sweet pup,” she replied, confused.
“And how about Hige?”
“Yeah. He makes for some good comic relief every now and then,” Feray answered.
“Tsume?”
“He’s a pig-headed bastard, but I can put up with him.”
“And Kiba?” Feray shrugged.
“He’s a good leader,” she commented.
“Is that all?” Cheza questioned. Feray cocked an eyebrow at her.
“What are you implying?”
“This one sees things that others don’t,” she simply repeated before petting Feray’s fur once more.
“Cheza, may I make a selfish request?” Feray asked slowly. The blind girl turned her head to the wolf. “Will… will you sing for me again? Whenever I dream of Kebero, it’s usually her death. That was the first time I dreamt of her without her death.” Cheza smiled lightly and nodded. It didn’t take long before Feray was lulled into a peaceful sleep. Cheza fondly caressed her fur as she did so, watching as the sun began to set over the hills in the distance. Kiba was the first to find and join the girls. He sat down on the opposite side of Cheza.
“Is she okay?” he asked, taking notice that she hadn’t stirred even though his entrance hadn’t been the quietest.
“She’s sleeping. Feray asked this one to sing to her again so this one did,” Cheza explained. Kiba frowned.
“Well that was stupid! What if someone had found you girls up here and captured you two? She wouldn’t have been able to protect you!” he growled. Cheza held a hand up to silence him.
“This one thinks that her reason for requesting to sleep was a good one.”
“But Cheza, you were in danger,” Kiba argued. Cheza shook her head.
“This one trusts Feray. You should too, Kiba,” she said. He looked past her to glance at the sleeping wolf. Cheza looked at him with her blind eyes before giggling lightly. He looked back at her, confused.
“What?” he asked.
“This one has high hopes for you and Feray,” she smiled. He was still confused, but Cheza merely proceeded to stroke his white fur, and he quickly forgot about it. There was a short silence before Cheza spoke up once more. “Kiba… Have you ever lost someone?” she asked.
“Yes,” came the curt response.
“Someone dear to you?”
“Yes.”
“I think you and Feray would understand each other fairly well, in that case.”
Kiba sat up, back completely straight as he stared hard as Cheza, though not nearly glaring at her.
“What is it with this ‘me and Feray’ stuff all of a sudden?” he questioned. Cheza shrugged.
“You two are surprisingly similar. I don’t understand why you two fight as often as you do. Perhaps if you spoke to one another about things, you two would fight far less often,” she flower maiden explained. Kiba scoffed and shook his head as though doing so would get his point across.
“Where I come from and where she comes from doesn’t matter. We’re headed to Paradise where a future lies – a future for us wolves,” Kiba explained calmly.
“She lost her best friend,” Cheza persisted.
“Cheza, I honestly don’t want to hear about it. It’s none of my business just how my own business is for me and me alone. Please, Cheza, don’t press the issue any further,” he sighed, not wanting to argue.
“Then understand that you need to know Feray, and Feray needs to know you. This one knows that that is the way to Paradise.”
“What do you mean?”
“This one isn’t entirely sure. The thing leading you to Paradise is instinct. The thing that leads this one to think that you and Feray must understand one another is also instinct.” Cheza stood up, watching as the sun dropped lower with each minute. Though she couldn’t see it, she could feel the light slowly fading.
The black wolf to her right stirred. Cheza looked down at her. Feray’s green eyes cracked open as she stretched. She shook her head and looked at the flower maiden with tired eyes.
“Did you sleep well?” she asked kindly. Feray parted her lips to speak but soon closed her mouth as she took notice of Kiba. She furrowed her eyebrows before turning and walking off wordlessly.
“She asked you a question, you know,” Kiba huffed, opening one golden eye to look at her retreating back. Feray stopped abruptly but didn’t look at him.
“I need to be alone for a moment,” she said stoically. As she neared the edge of the building, Hige, Tsume, and Toboe leapt up, landing right next to her.
“Hey, Feray, where you going?” Toboe asked.
“I need some time to myself,” Feray said. “We head out at dawn, right, Kiba?”
“We leave tonight,” he corrected. Feray nodded before leaping down and heading off.
“What was that all about?” Hige inquired, biting into an apple he had swiped.
“She’s a girl. They do weird things,” Tsume huffed, shrugging and walking towards the alpha male.
Feray slipped through the narrow alleyways, running her fingers along the worn faces of the buildings. She tugged the collar of her traveler’s cloak upwards to cover her trembling lips.
“Why?” she murmured, letting her arms fall to her sides. Feray closed her eyes, running the memories of the dream over and over again. Her breath caught in her throat moments before she blindly surged forward, only really focusing on not running into the buildings. The streets were empty, and Feray’s disguise slipped a couple times before she finally dropped it entirely, no longer caring about being seen. Her necklace bounced against her fur as she ran; her paws hit the ground hard with each step. She slowed to a stop as she stepped into the main street. With her illusion back in place, she stuffed her hands in the pockets of her pants. Nervously, she bit the side of her cheek.
“Hey! You!” a voice called out. Feray looked over her shoulder, her eyes glassed over from the lack of reality. She blinked. “You were with those boys who are with the target! You’re coming with us!” Two guards aimed their guns at her and approached the lone girl. Not quite registering what was going on, she turned and continued walking. It wasn’t until a bullet sunk itself into her calf that Feray was fully pulled back into reality. Her brown eyes narrowed as she bared her teeth. A second bullet dug into her right shoulder, and she turned to lunge at one of the guards. She took him down with ease. The other guard quickly radioed in for backup, and Feray knew that shit was going to go down if she didn’t move quickly. As Feray turned on the second guard, he proved to be more of a challenge as he aimed his gun and fired at her without hesitation.
It grazed her shoulder again, just beside the other wound that had been caused by the bullet before it. She snapped at him. He shuffled backwards as quickly as possible. As she charged for him again, he blindly swung his gun, catching her along the side of the head and tossing her aside. Feray snarled, tasting blood. She turned to run, but the bullet wound in her shoulder made it difficult. It was harder to get used to not using a front paw than a hind paw for her. Of course, she also had a bullet in her calf as well, making it three times harder for her to move. Despite her struggles, she managed to make it several meters away, but not before a group of gunmen was upon her, surrounding her with their guns. She still stood her ground – a lone female standing in the center of a circle of armed men.
“Now,” she heard one of the men say into their radio. Immediately, she tensed, waiting for one of them to fire. She would lunge at them, take them out, and then run. However, a gunshot never rang out. Instead, there was a faint whistling in the air.
Feray lurched forward, her human hand moving up to her neck where a small dart was implanted; the red feathers a stark contrast against her black hair. She turned to find the culprit, but staggered instead. She didn’t go down. Fueled by adrenaline, Feray dropped her illusion, leaving the black she-wolf snarling at anyone who dared get near her. There was a collective gasp from several of the men and the whole group took a step back. Three more whistling sounds pierced the air, the darts all landing along her lithe body. She clenched her teeth. It was taking everything she had to stay on her feet. She dared step forward, only to collapse onto her side. Whether it was her limbs feeling like lead or she simply misjudged her steps, Feray wasn’t quite sure. Maybe it was a combination thereof. A thick cloud descended over her mind, and the world began to spin. Moments before she slipped into unconsciousness, she felt gloved hands collectively lift up her now-limp body.
She woke up with a start. Her eyes snapped open, and she shifted her legs in an attempt to stand. However, as she stood, the first thing she noticed were the leather straps wrapped around each of her four legs. Each strap was connected to a chain which was secured to the floor around her. She tested her boundaries, finding that altogether, she could move about three feet in each direction. As her nose flared slightly, Feray realized that not only had they restrained her movement, but had also gone and placed a muzzle on her. A muzzle. How demeaning. She snorted, shaking her head in hopes of throwing the thing off of her. However, to her dismay, the contraption didn’t budge. She glared. The room around her was slate gray in color. Opposite of her was a single chair with a table. Her shoulder and leg was still sore, and she began to wonder just how long she had been out. A door opened, and she immediately went on guard. The blonde scientist stepped in, a clipboard in hand.
“I see that you’re awake. That’s good,” she stated, taking a seat. Feray didn’t respond. Instead, she simply kept her gaze trained on the woman in the white lab coat. The scientist wrote something down on the clipboard. “Can you understand what I’m saying?” Again, Feray remained silent. She wouldn’t jump through the hoops the scientist held up for her. “You’re a wolf, aren’t you? Wolves are supposed to be extinct. It’s common knowledge for people. They’ve been extinct for 200 years,” she explained. “But you guys aren’t really extinct. You simply hide among humans. I see how it is, now.” Silence. “I had them remove the bullets from you. You should be thankful to me,” the scientist said. Feray growled. She didn’t want help from humans. “Tell me what you want with Cheza. Why do you wolves protect her?” Their gazes locked. “Speak!” she commanded.
“Don’t treat me like a lowly dog!” she spat back, attempting to snap at her. However, the muzzle kept her jaws tightly closed. The scientist jumped slightly as Feray actually replied to her. “You’ve already got this forsaken muzzle on me. Don’t taunt me further.”
“So you really can talk. Now tell me why you wolves want Cheza,” she demanded. Feray went back to her silent answers. “I know you can talk. So tell me.”
“Take off this muzzle and maybe you’ll get an answer,” Feray responded. The scientist seemed to think it over for a moment.
“How do I know that you’re not lying to me?” she asked suspiciously.
“Heh. You humans are all the same. You all lie to each other so much that you never trust one another. You’ve lost all sense of reliability in one another. How pathetic. Well let me inform you that, unlike you humans, I am a creature of my word. Even though I may hate your guts, if I say that I will do something, then you can bet that I will indeed back my word up,” Feray explained, her gaze never once leaving the scientist’s.
Slowly, the scientist stood from her chair. She took cautious steps closer to the female beast, slowing down even more as she drew closer. Three feet out of Feray’s range of movement, she stopped entirely.
“Promise that you won’t lash out at me,” she said, standing tall. Feray glared at her. She ground her teeth together before managing a curt,
“I promise.” As the scientist came up to her, Feray tensed up as the human’s hands reached behind her head and carefully undid the clasp holding the muzzle on. Immediately, Feray shook her head, throwing the contraption off. The scientist jumped back, alarmed.
“You said you wouldn’t strike!”
“I didn’t strike. I never once bared my fangs at you for that. I simply shortened your job of removing that damn device,” Feray corrected with a quiet growl. She forced herself to sit down on her rear and heed the word she had given to the human, despite how much she was regretting it. The scientist scrambled back to her seat where she felt safer.
“Okay. I held up my end of the deal. Now answer me, wolf,” the scientist demanded.
“I have a name you know, human,” Feray huffed.
“And that is…?” the scientist questioned. Feray waited a moment.
“Feray.”
“Cher,” came the response. “It’s only fair for you to know my name if I know yours,” she reasoned. Feray gave the slightest of shrugs, wincing as her wound pained her. The scientist, Cher, noticed this. “We can bandage that up if you want,” she commented. Feray shook her head.
“As if. The day I accept help from humans is the day I die,” Feray snarled. She stood back up, mighty and proud of her status.
“What do you wolves want with Cheza?” Cher asked, picking up her pen.
“She is the flower maiden. She is drawn to us; we are drawn to her,” the wolf replied.
“And where do you wish to go to?”
“I cannot say,” Feray lied. “I follow my instincts, just as the others do.”
“But Cheza plays a role in it all, doesn’t she. I’ve read the Book of the Moon,” Cher insisted. “You and your mate are searching for Paradise, aren’t you?” It was more of a statement than a question. Feray’s eyes narrowed into a threatening glare.
“I haven’t got a mate, so back off,” she growled, taking on an offensive position, despite her confinements.
“Wait… the white wolf you travel with… isn’t your mate? Is it one of the others?”
“I just said I don’t have a mate. Drop the subject. Now,” she warned, baring her fangs. A growl rumbled from the back of her throat, causing Cher to scoot back only slightly despite the restraints around the beast. “We have a purpose for Cheza beyond wishing to poke and jab her with things. We will find a better place. Cheza will help us,” Feray said.
“I see…” Cher murmured, jotting down the things the wolf said.
“It’s your turn to tell me something, Cher. How long was I out?” Feray questioned. The blond woman thought for a moment, making small calculations in her head.
“About nine hours. No one’s seen anyone else from your pack. Any idea where they’re hiding?” Feray scoffed before chuckling.
“Like I’d ever tell the likes of you. They’re probably long gone by now, and your chances of finding them are way below zero.”
“Would they really leave one of their own behind in the hands of humans?” Cher looked taken aback.
“Heh. I’m just a stray they picked up in some god forsaken town. A wolf protects its own. It’s not natural for them to take care of another,” Feray appeared apathetic despite the words she spoke. “So tell me. What’re you planning to do now that you’ve caught a big bad wolf?” Feray taunted.
Cher never had a chance to respond to that question. A guard burst through the door.
“We have a problem! It’s those boys that were with the target! They’ve taken down our first line of defense and are quickly moving in! We need to move right away!” the guard explained. Cher nodded, standing up from her seat. The guard promptly left.
“So, you’re just a stray they picked up, huh? Sounds like they consider you one of them,” she said, drawing nearer to the wolf again. Feray snapped at her as she reached out. “I’m just trying to undo your restraints for you. They’re coming for you, I know it. And we’d save ourselves by letting you go with them,” she explained. Feray shook her head, still growling.
“I told you before. The day I accept help from humans is the day I die.”
“But you wolves won’t be able to take these restraints off on your own.” Cher reached out again, only to have Feray bite down on her arm. She winced but pressed forward still.
“Stop,” Feray demanded. Cher didn’t listen. “I said stop it. I don’t want help from you!” she growled, though she didn’t bite down any harder on the scientist’s arm. Her lab coat was beginning to get blood on it. As the first of the shackles came off, Feray finally released the human’s arm. “You’re insane, you know that. First you capture me then you let me go so freely. I don’t understand.”
“You’re not the target. There’s no need to keep you here,” Cher shrugged, quickly undoing the rest of the bonds. Even once free, Feray stood still, eying the woman suspiciously.
“What’re you up to? Did you place a tracker in me or something?” she growled.
“Give me a little credit, won’t you? Not all humans are the same.”
Battle sounds drew closer, but it wasn’t until a series of growls and snarls were heard that Feray perked up. Cher cradled her injured arm, standing up and turning away from the wolf. They stood still for a moment, neither one moving even an inch. Feray was the first to break the stagnant air. She strode over to the scientist before taking a tentative lick at the woman’s bloody fingers.
“Thank you,” she said. The door was pushed open, and Feray’s gaze shifted. She leapt away from the scientist, expecting it to be a guard. However, standing in the doorway wasn’t who she was expecting.
“There you are, princess. What do you say to being whisked away from this place?” Hige grinned. Feray couldn’t help but return a smile of her own. She made a move towards him but, to her dismay, a particularly strong streak of pain surged through her hind leg, causing her to nearly lose balance. She ground her teeth together, suddenly feeling very vulnerable. Hige suddenly growled, baring his teeth as he caught sight of the scientist. “What’d she do to you?” he growled, suddenly going on the offensive. Feray shook her head.
“Don’t worry about her. I thought we were concerning ourselves with getting out of here,” Feray moved towards the door again, though a noticeable limp had her growling in disdain. Hige listened, backing down and turning to face the she-wolf. The scientist merely turned around to watch the two.
“Hop on my back. I’ll carry you out.” He offered her his back for her to ride on. If it weren’t for the wound in her calf that was pulsating painfully, she wouldn’t have accepted the help. She gingerly climbed onto his back, her human hands resting over his shoulders as he secured her legs against his sides. Feray didn’t even glance back at the scientist as Hige darted out of the doorway and down the hall.
“So… a wolf protects its own…” Cher muttered, a light smile gracing her lips.
“Where are we?” Feray questioned. Ahead of her, the hallway seemed to continue forever.
“On a noble’s ship. It took us forever to find you. Your scent just vanished, so we thought you were taken underground. It wasn’t until Toboe suggested the noble’s ship that we considered finding you here,” Hige explained, jumping up and over a dead guard’s body.
“Gee, what’d you guys do to the army and how?” She momentarily eyed a guard’s body that they passed, taking note of the large gash wounds that were bleeding profusely from his back.
“I don’t think I really have to go into it,” Hige shrugged. They were silent for a moment, and Hige slowed to a stop as they reached a four way intersection. “This place is like a maze. We split up here to find you. Toboe’s hiding out with Cheza. Oh,” he suddenly perked up, remembering something. “Can you howl?”
“They shot me in the calf and shoulder, not in the vocal cords, Hige,” Feray scoffed, though it came out more as a chuckle. She inhaled before mustering up as much of a howl as she could while still on his back. The sound reverberated and bounced off the metal walls, traveling down all four hallways at alarming speeds. It wasn’t until after the fact that a thought struck her. “Isn’t that going to attract soldiers?”
“Actually, Tsume and Kiba lured most of them away. The humans never saw it coming,” Hige laughed. It didn’t take long before footsteps could be heard from the right hallway. Feray’s eyes narrowed but quickly widened as Tsume came barreling down the hall. He slowed down and stopped just short of the two wolves.
“About time,” he huffed. “Any reason she’s on your back?” Tsume shot the two an odd look.
“From what I hear, the humans shot her up pretty badly. Cheza should be able to help, though.” Hige shifted slightly, beginning to feel the fatigue from carrying extra weight on his back. This small movement didn’t go unnoticed by Tsume, though.
“Hand her over, Porky. You don’t look like you could run another stretch with her on your back,” Tsume looked smug.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Feray growled.
“Listen. Do you want to get out of here?” he shot back. Feray looked down at Hige who merely nodded. Feray slipped from Hige’s back, landing on her left leg to avoid sparking pain in the right once more. She hobbled over to Tsume, doing her best to hide the limp as much as possible. Oh how she hated feeling weak! Carefully, she climbed onto his back, disliking how much taller he was than her. “For hell’s sake, you’re not mounting me! Why the hell are you climbing on me like that?!” Tsume huffed, shifting as Feray climbed on his back from behind, almost as if she were mounting him.
“Well I don’t want to hang over you like some fresh kill you made,” Feray replied simply. Tsume snarled as Feray made herself comfortable on his back. Well, she wasn’t as heavy as Hige made her out to be. Her chin rested against the top of his head. “Don’t bite your tongue off,” he warned before charging forward. “Find Kiba!” he called back. “We’re heading to Toboe and Cheza!” Behind them, Hige nodded before taking off down the hall to their left. The trip was mostly silent until Feray spoke up.
“Just how big is this place?” she questioned.
“We’re on the lower floors. So the layout is more complex. However, we’re nearly out of the woods,” he explained, dashing up a flight of stairs and taking at least four at a time.
“I’m surprised that you all are still in town. I thought the plan was to leave last night.”
“Kiba wouldn’t let us. Don’t get me wrong, you’re still as obnoxious as hell, and I ain’t fond of you in the slightest. But you’re a part of the pack, so we’ll treat you as such.”
Feray let out a light laugh, a smile gracing her features. She hadn’t been a part of a pack since she was just a young pup. There were no words to describe the mirth she felt. Her heart was soaring. Tsume didn’t question her as he continued on. The journey was short lived as they came upon the main entrance of the ship. The ramp was still deployed, making it easy for them to make a quick exit. The sun was blazing above them. No doubt that the city at the top of the hill would be bustling. However, the two didn’t head towards the city. Instead, they followed a path into the nearby forest. Almost immediately, Feray picked up Cheza’s scent that mingled in the air. Tsume slowed down before taking a sharp right into the depths of the trees. Feray slipped off his back and limped behind him.
“Hey, runt, you still alive?” Tsume called out. There was a rustling noise before a familiar redhead poked his head out from a bush.
“You’re back! Where’s Kiba and Hige?” he questioned, but his gaze quickly shifted. “What happened, Feray?” he eyed her shoulder wound.
“It’s okay,” she muttered. However, Toboe was already at her side, licking at the wound that had reopened sometime on the way back. She winced but didn’t stop him as he cleaned away the blood. Cheza dropped down from a low branch and walked over to the wolves.
“This one is glad you are back,” she smiled lightly, stroking Feray’s soft fur. Feray’s eyes closed in delight, a tingle running along her spine. Cheza’s soft hands moved down her neck, her fingers brushing along the wound on her shoulder. Toboe backed away as Cheza’s hand gave off a light glow. She leaned into the flower maiden’s touch.
“Looks like we all got back in one piece,” Hige’s voice cut in. Feray pulled herself from the dream-like state to look towards the voice. Two familiar wolves strode into the small clearing. The first thing she noticed were the small rivulets of blood trailing down the tufts of Kiba’s pearly white fur. There were a couple cuts along his cheek and several across his torso. She eyes the wounds, feeling guiltier and guiltier with each mark she saw. The others, she noticed, somehow managed to escape unmarred by the winds of battle. Feray flinched as Cheza’s fingers danced along the wound in her calf. The familiar melting sensation took over as the wound healed. It was the first time she really felt like she was a true part of the pack since she joined.
They didn’t head out until nightfall. It was a long wait that Feray spent sleeping off whatever was left of the tranquilizer in her system. All the while, Tsume, Hige, and Toboe headed off into the town to grab some things as well as keep an eye out for soldiers that would, no doubt, be prowling the streets – at least… the few that weren’t injured. Kiba and Feray were sitting on either side of Cheza who was sleeping peacefully. Kiba’s head was resting on his paws, and Feray was sitting up, wide awake. Something was nagging at the back of her mind, and, after sleeping for the past five hours, she couldn’t get back to sleep.
“Kiba… did you really keep the others from leaving?” she breathed, glancing at the white wolf.
“We wouldn’t leave part of the pack behind, especially knowing that they had fallen prey to humans.” Feray jumped as golden eyes stared at her. Feray stood up, turning away from him. Almost immediately, Kiba was at her side. “If you plan on going anywhere, I’m going with you. We can’t afford to spend any more time here, and you getting caught is a risk we can’t take,” he said. Feray looked away again.
“I won’t go far,” she replied, beginning to walk off. Kiba growled, stepping in front of her.
“What’s wrong with you?!” he huffed. Feray’s gaze was a steely one.
“I’m just… I don’t know,” she answered honestly. “I’m not used to things.” She sighed.
The human illusion of her let her head drop, the long, black tendrils of her hair hiding her eyes. Kiba returned to his seat next to Cheza, no longer pressing the issue.
“You should get some more rest. We’ll all need out energy to make it through the Forest of Death.” Feray looked at him, confused.
“Forest of Death?”
“The humans can’t follow us in there. It screws up their machines and throws them off.” Feray scoffed, a smirk gracing her features.
“Suckers,” she grinned haughtily. Kiba chuckled before resting his head on his paws once more. She yawned and stretched before taking her place on the left side of Cheza and lying down next to her. She slipped into a gentle slumber, letting her dreams take flight.
The town was nice at night, especially with friends now at her side. Tsume, Hige, and Toboe were ahead while Kiba, Cheza, and Feray brought up the rear. There was a growl that drew Feray’s attention. A dog was standing, growling at them. Feray bared her own teeth, but Cheza calmed her.
“We have friends here, too…” she breathed, jogging over to the dog. Kiba and Feray followed after her. The flower maiden reached out to touch the dog, but Kiba stopped her. “It is alright,” she murmured. As her hands drew closer, the dog backed away. “You did not know? You never knew what you are?” Cheza smiled gently. Then, confirming Feray’s suspicion, she spoke again. “There is some wolf in you, too.” A gasp passed Kiba’s lips. “You were alone your whole life, were you not?” Kiba suddenly perked up. He grabbed both girls’ hands and tugged them away.
“We have to go!” he half-whispered with urgency. Cheza nodded and allowed Kiba to guide her away. Feray’s legs were numb for a moment before she finally moved. As they got around the corner, Feray faintly heard footsteps behind them.
There it was! The group surged for the trees, stopping momentarily to make sure everyone was accounted for. A gunshot rang out, and a bullet dug into the ground between Toboe and Feray. Her brown eyes locked onto a man standing on a cliff, aiming his gun at them. He was dressed in a light brown overcoat along with a worn gray fedora hat.
“You goddamn wolves! You won’t fool me anymore!” he yelled.
“Scatter!” Feray shouted. No one had to be told twice. Kiba reached for Cheza’s hand, but Feray beat him to the punch. The two girls darted away. There was a pained snarl as Feray’s leg was injured by a lucky shot. The black wolf stumbled before falling flat on her face. The man took aim at her. Moments before another bullet was fired, Kiba stepped in front of her. He barely even flinched as it pierced through his chest. “Kiba, move!”
“He protected her?” the gunman asked quietly, raising his gun once more. The wolf was in his sight. The gun clicked, but no bullet came out. Taking the chance, Kiba helped Feray onto his back.
“Let’s go,” he said, running for the trees.
“Kiba… your shoulder…” Feray murmured.
“No worries,” he said, making sure Cheza was close in tow. Toboe, Hige, and Tsume caught up to them. The six of them vanished into the forest. As the man looked back up, he was left with an empty field.
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Post by T O D O K U * on Oct 25, 2011 22:48:55 GMT -5
[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, height: 500px; width: 500px; border-radius: 250px 250px 250px 250px; border: 3px solid #000000; background-image: url(http://i774.photobucket.com/albums/yy29/Virid/Rakuen/FullMoon-1.png) ; background-position: center; background-repeat: no-repeat, btable]  “Who was that guy?” Feray questioned. Cheza had long since healed her wound. Maybe she was losing her touch. First she had been captured by the humans then she proceeded to get shot by some hunter. She had to up her game otherwise she’d fail the others. She couldn’t do that.
“He hunts for wolves. That dog you saw was his,” Hige said with a shrug.
“But how could he see through our disguises?”
“He remembers us from the city we used to be in,” Tsume added. Feray sighed, walking alongside Toboe. A gentle smile was gracing his lips.
“Geez, this forest is depressing…” Hige began. “I thought forests were supposed to be more, you know, vibrant.” He tucked his hands behind his head. He had a point.
The trees around them were all dead and barren, yet they were tall enough to blot out the sun. Feray sniffed the air. It was stale, and the only scents that penetrated it were the musky scents of the other wolves and Cheza. The ground beneath her was hard and gray, sapped of all nutrients.
“It’s the Forest of Death, remember?” Toboe chimed in.
“That’s why the humans can’t follow us,” Kiba said.
“Well, we don’t have to rely on compasses or whatever… Still, shouldn’t there be at least some rabbits or foxes or something?”
“In other words, you’re hungry,” Toboe prodded.
“No surprise there,” Feray huffed.
“So sue me,” Hige spat.
“Once we’re through this forest, we ought to come across a town. Just hang in there until then,” Kiba shrugged his shoulders.
“If we make it out of here alive, that is,” Tsume added. He kicked a skull aside. Toboe yelped in surprise and stepped backwards.
The bussing of a bug’s wings drew everyone’s attention. It flew up, circling around and flying towards the pup. He was frozen in place. If it hadn’t been for Tsume grabbing the bug from out of the air, Feray would’ve taken the thing out without a second thought. “There are bugs here, huh?” Toboe let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding.
“Thanks, Tsume,” Toboe drew closer to Feray, fearful that the bug would try to attack him again.
“I’ve never seen a big like that before.” Feray dared get closer as she spoke, poking the squirming creature. Tsume held it out to Hige.
“Here. You’re hungry, aren’t you? Eat up,” the white-haired male said. Hige backed up a bit.
“Why me?”
“You’ve got the strongest stomach,” Toboe peeked out from behind Feray.
“Eat it.” Tsume moved the bug closer.
“Am I your food taster? And why are you giving me orders?” Hige growled. “You think you’re our leader or something? Right?!” He glanced at Kiba. “Hey! I know! Cheza!” Hige grabbed the bug and hopped over to the flower maiden. “Let’s give it to Cheza! I bet you’re hungry, right?”
Kiba growled. With a clenched fist, he punched the bug from Hige’s hand, crushing the creature against the ground.
“She won’t eat that.”
“I thought you were better than that, Hige. You’re trying to impress girls all the time, yet you’ll offer Cheza a bug? Tch, how romantic.” Sarcasm was dripping from Feray’s voice as she spoke. Hige turned on her.
“What should we feed her, then?”
“This one does not eat. Anything,” Cheza interjected with a light smile.
“Nothing at all?” Hige looked surprised.
“Now that you mention it,” Tsume began, “I’ve never seen her eat…”
“She drank some water that one time,” Toboe offered.
“But otherwise, nothing,” Feray mused aloud.
“This one drinks, and this one basks,” Cheza said.
“Basks?” Kiba looked puzzled. Cheza looked up, and her smile quickly faded.
“This one cannot bask here,” she muttered.
“Oh, I get it! Sunlight!” Toboe grinned, feeling intelligent.
“Well, she is a flower…” Hige shrugged.
The forest was rather boring and dull. In fact, it was so dreary that Feray found herself thinking that death would be more entertaining than traveling through the dead trees. However, that was a silly thought. She wouldn’t have the others with her in death. As the others came to mind, a small bounce was thrown into her step. Thankfully, the others had passed her. She tended to slow down her walking pace the more in thought she was. Hige noticed this.
“What’s up, Feray?” he asked, his footsteps falling in sync with hers.
“It’s nothing, really,” she said, her walk resuming its usual pace. “It’s just nice to travel with others again.”
“Did you used to travel with someone before?”
“I used to. But don’t worry about it.”
“Was it a really cute girl?” Hige’s tail wagged slightly.
“Heh, you would ask that. I guess you could say she was cute. She could’ve put you in your place, though.” A smile worked its way across Feray’s lips.
It was surprisingly nice to talk to others about Kebero. After dreaming of her old friend after so long, Kebero had been on her mind as of late. They have become extremely good friends in a short amount of time, considering their usually reserved personalities. Kebero had always been a bit of a loner, even amongst her own kind. Perhaps it was due to Feray’s naïveté that drew them closer. Maybe Kebero felt as though she had to help the young pup survive in the real world since she grew up alongside humans.
“Feray?” Toboe asked. She didn’t respond. She was too lost amongst her thoughts. “Feray?” More silence. “Fer-” Before she knew it, Feray found herself eating the dirt she should’ve been walking on. She somersaulted forward, face planting into the ground as her hind end came over her and thumped painfully against the packed dirt. She lied there for a moment, staring up into the gray tops of the trees, dazed. For a moment, her brain didn’t even register the pain. She was too far lost in thought.
“You alright there?” Kiba questioned, looking back at her. She blinked before rolling onto her side and pushing herself up. Toboe lied next to her. It finally dawned on her what had happened. While lost in her thoughts, she had veered to the side a bit, sidling up right next to Toboe. It didn’t take too long for their paws to get entangled, thus sending them both toppling over.
“Uh… yeah… I’m good. Are you okay, Toboe?” she turned to look at the pup that had also stood up again.
“Yeah, I’m fine!” he said cheerily. Despite his words, there was a noticeable limp in his step.
“Liar,” Tsume breathed as he nudged the pup’s leg. He yelped, hopping away from the larger wolf, favoring his hind left leg.
“Sorry, Toboe. I think I’m losing my touch, both in and out of battle,” Feray apologized. Toboe sat down on a tree root that jutted up from the ground and slipped his shoe off, wincing.
“Let me see it,” Kiba said, walking over to him and bending down to check it out. Feray made her way over to him as well, eyeing his leg. “It doesn’t look sprained,” he murmured, turning it a bit. Toboe flinched, scrunching his eyes up in pain for a second.
“He can’t even handle a little forest like this… This is the problem with kids who were raised in human cities,” Hige shrugged. Feray turned on him.
“That’s not true!” she growled, her temper flaring up. Hige stepped back.
“What the hell is your problem?” Tsume cut in.
“Growing up in a human city doesn’t automatically make you a pansy. Look how I turned out,” she shot back before immediately covering her mouth with her hands afterwards. Everybody’s eyes were on her, save for Cheza’s, as the red irises were closed as she leaned against a nearby tree.
“You grew up in a city?” Kiba questioned. Feray didn’t meet anyone’s gaze. She was such a fool!
“Yeah,” she said quietly. However, everyone seemed to just accept the answer. No one pressed it further, surprising her. She had half-expected Hige or Toboe to ask her about her city life. But it seemed as though they were too preoccupied with their own things.
“Can you walk on it?” Kiba asked, turning back to Toboe. It was as though nothing had happened. She breathed a sigh of relief.
“I’m okay. I can walk just…” Toboe stood abruptly, though he was quickly forced to sit back down. “Ow!” he whined. At this, Cheza moved from her spot by the tree to squat down next to Toboe. She gently placed her hand over his ankle. As she stroked his fur, there was a very soft glow emitted from her fingers. “Thanks, Cheza!” Toboe grinned. Hm. Feray had forgotten that the flower maiden could heal wounds.
“Does that… feel good?” Hige questioned, inching closer.
“Yeah, really good! It’s like the pain is melting away!” Toboe’s tail wagged.
“Cheza? Um… could you pet me too?” Hige sat down, and Cheza ran her fingers through his fur as well. A good kind of chill ran down his spine as his eyes closed in bliss.
“C’mon, Tsume! Have her pet you too! It feels really good!” Tsume didn’t respond to the red-head as he turned to look away.
Feray sat down against another tree, slightly further away from the group. Just what she needed, something else on her mind. As if she wasn’t distracted enough as it was. Now, memories of the city were flooding back to her. She swore she locked those away a while back. Then again, she thought she locked most things away, yet here they were coming to the light. Maybe it wasn’t as bad as she was making it out to be. In fact, the more she thought about it, the better it seemed. After all, she often felt better after talking to Kebero about things. What’s the worst that could happen by sharing it with the others? At least… one of them if not all. She ran her fingers along the cold ground of the forest, closing her eyes just for a moment.
It was cold. The air around her was beyond chilled. Her fur, caked with her own blood, no longer provided insulation from the chilling wave that swept over her. She shuddered, feeling her muscles resist even such a simple movement. She was lying in a pool of her own blood, most of it already dried or in the process of drying up. Collapsed on her side, her paws were limply extended, the black fur matted and stuck together in odd clumps. The air bit at her open wounds and burned her lungs as she breathed. Her breaths were labored, each one paining her even more than the last. She didn’t want this to go on any longer. She didn’t even want to live through it. She wanted it all to end.
The scent of blood had seeped deep down into the pale yellow walls that surrounded her. Around her neck was a spiked collar, just loose enough to let her breathe. The collar was undoubtedly too small, meant for a dog three-fourths of her size, not a wolf. Connected to the collar was a heavy, thick steel chain which held her to a stake driven down in the center of the room, deep into the compacted dirt. Even though her green eyes were cracked open, her mind was too weary to process the things in front of her. Only a few feet away from her was an overturned crate. A leather whip was coiled neatly atop of it, a fancy weave wrapping around its handle. The tip hung off the crate just barely, revealing several pieces of sharp scrap metal stained with blood. Her blood, to be exact.
He had to come back for her, right? He couldn’t just leave her like this? He’d come back and take care of her. He’d bandage her wounds and nurse her back to health. He’d apologize for it all because he was undoubtedly drunk. She could smell the alcohol on his breath. He just wouldn’t leave her here until death came to whisk her away to the netherworld. Yes he could. Yes he would. There was no alcohol on his breath – her senses were too clogged up with the metallic scent of blood. She whined a pathetic whine, as if doing so would call upon what little kindness or grace he had within his body. The whimpers stopped as quickly as they started. She had angered him. She had invoked the ire of her owner by trying to run away. She had been a bad girl. She deserved it.
She ached everywhere. Her legs, her side, her torso, even her jaws hurt from fruitlessly biting at the chain. That only angered him more. In fact, that’s most likely one of the things that led to her situation. While she couldn’t see it, she knew that behind her, near the top of another wall, was a window, left open to let the morning air further chill her bone. She was growing even more tired. Maybe this would be the end, and she could finally move on. She shifted slightly, hoping to move her head out of the pathetic mess she had bled. However, all around her was blood; there was no escaping the puddle. Knowing that once she closed her eyes, she probably wouldn’t open them again, she inhaled as best as she could before Feray let out a despairing howl that resounded along the walls of the empty alleyway outside of the window.
“Are we done sitting around yet?” Tsume asked, crossing his arms. “We should get moving as soon as possible. There’s no telling what else might be in this forest.”
“Tsume’s right,” Kiba added. He offered his hand to Feray who grasped it and pulled herself up. “Let’s go,” he said. The group continued on, mostly in silence until Hige broke it.
“This place isn’t so bad once you get used to it. There aren’t any territories to fight over. And the best part is, no humans! We have the forest to ourselves,” Hige grinned.
“And if we get hungry, we can always eat the bugs,” Toboe tacked on. Hige scoffed.
“No thanks!”
“Then we won’t share any with you,” Tsume chided.
“I asked it before and I’ll ask it again. Who died and make you leader, Tsume?” Hige huffed.
“We don’t have a leader. We’re not that kind of pack,” Kiba said level-headedly. Feray looked at him, slightly confused. She thought herself and Kiba were the leaders.
“We’re not?” she questioned.
“What kind of pack are we, then?” Tsume cut in.
“C-C’mon, that doesn’t matter, right?” Toboe stuttered. “Hey, I know! When we get out of here, what’s the first thing you guys want to do?”
“What else?” Hige shrugged.
“Eat all I can,” Tsume said.
“Eat,” Feray stuffed her hands in her pockets.
“Eat, then sleep,” Kiba added his own two cents. Toboe’s stomach growled, and he put a hand to the back of his head nervously.
“I guess you’re right,” he admitted.
“What else did you expect? You’re not very good at this, are ya?”
“Give him a break, Hige,” Feray pulled the pup closer to herself. “We’re all just on edge.”
A light rustling noise drew their attention. Everyone looked to see Cheza collapsed in Kiba’s arms.
“Cheza!” He lowered her to the ground so she was lying against him. “You must be tired. Let’s rest a while.” Feray’s ears perked up suddenly, but she was too focused on Cheza to give the sound much of a second though.
“This one is alright,” Cheza smiled lightly, resting her hand on Kiba’s.
“A bird!” Hige suddenly exclaimed.
“Huh? Where?” Toboe looked around.
“You must be seeing things. This is the Forest of Death,” Tsume looked apprehensive.
“No. I heard the flapping of wings coming from above us. That’s an owl,” Hige insisted.
“He’s right. I heard it too,” Feray added.
“Which means…” Hige took off running. “Bird meat!” Without thinking on it, Feray followed after him, intent on doing something to help the pack in some form or another.
“Hey! Hige! Feray! Get back here! Damn it…” Tsume cursed under his breath. “What a pain in the ass. You stay here,” And with that, Tsume chased after the other wolves. Feray and Hige scanned their surroundings, eyes alert for any sign of movement.
“Anything?” Feray asked.
“Nothing. That’s strange. I swear I saw something,” Hige ‘hmm’ed.
“You guys must have seen some dead leaves falling or something. Let’s go back,” Tsume said after catching up to them. However, before anyone could say anything more, there was a distinct ‘hoot’ from above them. They looked up.
“See, what did I tell you! It is an owl! There’s not enough to split it with everybody, though…” he moved towards the tree that the owl was perched in. Feray put out a hand to stop him.
“Hold it. I say Toboe gets first bite. He’s still a pup,” Feray said.
“Be careful,” Tsume warned, “There’s no scent. There’s something suspicious about that owl.” The two others sniffed the air, realizing that Tsume was indeed correct. And that’s when the owl spoke.
“An owl that’s suspicious… Wolves that look delicious…” it began, its voice echoing oddly in the dead forest. “They all wandered in and got lost as one… Well done, well done!” Its head cocked to the right as it stared down at them with its large eyes. Tsume bared his fangs.
“The damn thing is screwing with us!” he suddenly charged forward, pushing off the trees around him to propel him into the air. He aimed a kick at the owl’s small frame, but the bird merely spread his wings and took flight.
“Lost as one, well done!” it flew over them, its voice still echoing.
“Crap…” Tsume huffed as he landed by the others.
A howl rang out through the forest, drawing all their attention away from the owl. Feray’s eyes were wide.
“That was…” Hige began.
“It’s Toboe!” Feray suddenly went on guard.
“Let’s go!” she commanded, surging forward. As they neared where the others were, they found the scene pretty much the same as when they had left, though Cheza looked to be in worse condition than earlier.
“Cheza! Hang in there, Cheza!” Kiba’s voice sounded frantic.
“What’s wrong” Hige questioned.
“It’s Cheza! She just…” Toboe’s voice trailed off as he looked at the flower maiden.
“That’s… is she… withering?” Tsume got closer, as though to get a better look at things. It looked as though vines were growing up the sides of Cheza’s face.
“She needs water. Even sunlight would help!” Kiba looked back at them, willing for any of them to know what to do.
“But there isn’t…” Tsume looked up. “I can’t see the sun. And just take a look at this dry ground. There’s no water around here.” Kiba placed a hand on Tsume’s shoulder and locked gazes with him.
“We’ve still… we’ve still got to look!” he insisted.
“Then what are we waiting for?” Feray chirped. Everyone nodded.
The five wolves stood in front of a tree, simply staring at it. Cheza was on Kiba’s back, her arms hanging limply on either side of his face.
“Which way do we go?” Toboe mused aloud. Hige sniffed the air.
“Let’s go right,” he suggested. Feray sniffed the air as well, wondering what Hige smelled.
“Do you smell water?” Kiba asked.
“I don’t smell anything,” Feray sighed.
“Well just standing here isn’t helping us,” Hige sighed.
“Not helping!” a familiar voice echoed. Everyone looked up.
“An owl?” Kiba voiced his confusion.
“The damn thing is back, huh?” Tsume growled. The fur on Feray’s back bristled.
“I hate owls now,” she growled.
“It can’t be helped if there is no light. It can’t be helped if there is no water. It can’t be helped if the flower is withering,” it hooted almost cheerily.
“What?!” It was Kiba’s turn to get angry now.
“Wait a minute. The owl lives here in this forest, right? So do you suppose he knows where there’s water?” Toboe suggested. Kiba gasped, having never considered it.
“Tell us! Tell us the closest place that has water!” he demanded.
The owl merely cocked its head to the side, staring at them. There was silence before it turned its head in the other direction, still not offering up any advice of any kind. Feray’s fingers tensed as she prepared for an attack.
“I’ll rip your head off if you don’t reply,” she snarled. She was losing patience with this bird-brain.
“Do you live here in this forest? If you do, then tell us! She needs water!” Kiba continued, also getting equally as infuriated as Feray.
Kiba?” Cheza’s weak voice questioned. “Kiba? Who are you talking to?”
“An owl,” he replied simply.
“An owl?” As if on cue, the owl let out a proud hoot. Kiba turned on it again.
“Water! Isn’t there any water in this forest?!” The owl spread its wings and took flight.
“Go astray, go astray, my good wolves. Answers always lie in confusion,” it said.
“Get back here you goddamn bird!” Feray yelled, chasing after it. Everyone else was close behind.
“Don’t lose him! He’s our only lead!” Tsume said.
“You never find what you are looking for. If a searcher were to find his objective, it would become a mere object.” After some distance, the owl landed once more, this time in a tree by a rock face. “The answer lies within the darkness. The answer lies within confined place. Only those who bravely enter will be rewarded.”
“Riddles?”
“He’s telling us to go into the cave,” Hige explained. Toboe turned to look at Tsume.
“So does that mean there’s water inside?”
“How should I know?”
Kiba stepped forward, but Hige stopped him.
“Hey, don’t go in there on your own! Are you gonna believe what an owl tells you? That thing’s fishy.” Kiba turned on the Mexican wolf, baring his fangs.
“You tell me where we can find water, then! Do you know?” Hige stepped backwards. “We’ve got no other choice. Feray scoffed, crossing her arms.
“You’re acting like a pup, Kiba. You go ahead and run on in there.” Kiba’s blue eyes narrowed dangerously. “Just know that I’m going to be right behind you, snarling and fighting all the while,” she finished, stepping in front of him and entering the cave first. Slightly caught off guard, Kiba blinked, watching her retreating back be engulfed by the darkness. As though they were all encouraged by Feray’s words, they followed suit one after another. The cave was dark, but that went without saying. Thankfully, though, their eyes were suited for the darkness so seeing wasn’t too big of a hassle for them. Feray walked ahead of the group by a couple paces, fully alert to any sounds or suddenly changes in movements. She stopped abruptly, staring at a rocky cylinder that connected the ceiling and the floor.
“I saw this thing a while ago!” Hige whined.
“Does this mean we’ve been going in circles?” Toboe asked.
“This stupid place is like a maze. And to top it all off, everything looks the same…” Tsume sighed exasperatedly.
“We went left last time,” Kiba murmured, beginning to take a right. His foot caught on a slight rocky lip and he stumbled for a moment before catching himself. “Damn it!” he cursed.
“Don’t get so worked up,” Tsume reprimanded. Kiba growled.
“Kiba, you’re tired, right? Want me to carry her for you?” Toboe offered. Turning his anger upon the poor, unsuspected pup, Kiba snarled at him.
“Can you carry her? I’m asking you, do you think you can carry Cheza?!” Toboe’s eyes went wide with fear.
“Well, I…”
“I’m fine, so just walk! We don’t have time to rest!” He went silent as Feray grabbed onto his shoulder, her nails digging in warningly.
“Stop it,” she commanded. “Just stop it. You’re letting your emotions get the better of you. We all want to help Cheza, but we’re not going to get anywhere if we keep wandering aimlessly!”
“You’re one to talk! You were the one leading us in those circles!”
“Cut the crap, damn it!” Tsume suddenly cut in, his voice echoing on the stone walls. “We can’t trust your nose. The scent of flowers has screwed it up,” he said, aiming the comment towards Kiba.
“My nose is working just fine!”
“Kiba, put Cheza down.”
“Tsume, you still don’t trust Cheza?!”
“The way you are now, we can’t trust you with Cheza.” A gasp passed from Kiba’s parted lips. “To lead a pack, you have to be calm and detached. Right now, you don’t have that. You can’t be right all the time.”
“Stay out of my way,” Kiba growled. A smirk played upon Tsume’s lips.
“You wanna fight?”
“Would you two please shut up? You’re worse than humans!” Feray groaned, effectively silencing both males. Toboe stepped forward, but backed up when he heard a crunching sound. He looked down.
“Are these… bones?”
“Human bones?” Hige offered.
“It doesn’t look like it. They’re… bird bones.”
“Birds?”
“That looks like… Wait, could this be an owl?” With her interest piqued, Feray moved closer to the discovery Toboe and Hige had made.
“Owl bones?” she asked, leaning down to get a closer look at them.
She leapt back, letting out a small, surprised shriek as a giant pill bug suddenly burst from the ground. It crawled up Hige’s leg. He panicked and shook it off, throwing it against a rock where it curled up into a ball. There was a moment before an army of pill bugs came up from behind a rocky ridge, each one clicking and communicating with the others. Everyone drew closer together.
“There’s tons of ‘em!” Hige said, his shoulder touching Feray’s. A bug lunged at Tsume who promptly punched it aside.
“Damn! I knew that owl was trouble!”
“Let’s get out of here!” Hige yelled.
“Sure, but where?!” Toboe questioned. Cheza’s light voice was suddenly pained as a bug bit into her back. Toboe pulled it off. “Damn it, you little…” he didn’t finish his sentence as he crushed the bug underneath his boot. Feray sliced a bug in half as it made an attempt for her. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Kiba struggling to keep Cheza from harm as well as defend himself. She leapt away from the group and onto a high ledge.
“Kiba!” she called out, her arms outstretched to catch Cheza. “Up here!”
“Feray!” Kiba slipped Cheza from his back and tossed the limp flower maiden’s body up to her. She caught it and set her down.
“Feray…” Cheza muttered, lifting her hand to touch Feray’s face. The black wolf gently grasped her hand with a reassuring smile.
“We’ll handle it,” she assured her.
“You girls can stay up there!” Tsume called out. Feray scoffed, a haughty tone in it, as she leapt down to stand between Kiba and Toboe.
“Ha, you don’t think I earned these claws for nothing, do you?” she grinned, adopting an offensive stance.
“Are wolves gonna lose to a bunch of bugs?” Tsume asked.
“Admittedly, we both like to hang around flowers, though,” Toboe added. Everyone grinned.
“Well put, Runt,” Hige complimented.
“Let’s go!” Feray growled, lunging towards the army of bugs.
She growled and snarled as she raked her claws through the outer armor of the bugs. They would bite into her, leaving painful, open would to bleed out. Toboe resorted to biting them in half, spilling their oddly green blood on the cave floor. Hige was crushing them against the ground, either with his paws or ridding himself of the ones on his back by rolling over. Tsume growled, throwing several aside with a swipe of his paw. Kiba snarled and shook his head as a bug latched onto his muzzle. He threw it off, his golden eyes alive with fire. From the ledge above, Cheza could practically feel the wounds each wolf would sustain. She cringed as their blood trickled down their wiry strands of fur, and her heart went out to them as they continued on with their fight. Finally deciding she could do something, Cheza leapt down from the safe ledge she was on, landing amongst the bugs.
“Cheza!” Kiba yelled!
“Crap!” Tsume followed as Kiba chased after the running flower maiden.
“Cheza! The whole point of you being up there is to be safe!” Feray abandoned the bug she was beginning to take out in order to follow after the others, ignoring the pain as bugs latched onto her flank.
“Cheza! Why are you doing this?!” Toboe shouted.
“This way… through there!” Cheza breathed. She tripped and rolled down a semi-steep rocky hill.
“Cheza!” Kiba shouted, sliding down after her without a second though. “Cheza!” He made a move towards her, but Tsume stopped him.
“No, wait a minute,” he said.
A pill bug drew closer to Cheza’s foot before turning and heading left. As the wolves’ eyes followed it, they watched as a green plant promptly closed on the bug, trapping it and eating it alive. As they looked out further, the found that there was a large patch of these bug eating plants all feasting on the meal brought to them. Kiba drew close to Cheza.
“Cheza…” he murmured, placing his hand on her face.
“This one is… all right,” she smiled lightly.
“Thank goodness.” A light smile graced his features too.
“This one heard them. They said they were hungry,” she explained.
“Plants that eat bugs, huh?” Tsume sounded amused.
“I’ve never heard of them before. Talk about useful in a place like this,” Feray grinned.
“I guess this means we were saved by Cheza’s friends,” Hige chuckled.
“Guys! I see light! It’s the way out!” Toboe yelled, pointing. Indeed, in the direction he was pointing, there was light. Kiba scooped Cheza up in his arms and they exited.
Sitting in front of them was a wonderful sight. A large pound sat in front of them, the water’s surface illuminated by a nearly full moon that hung overhead. Feray found herself fixated on the celestial body that orbited the earth, feeling an odd feeling welling up deep within her chest. Every time she breathed in the night air, the feeling would grow even stronger until finally, she took a deep breath and let out a majestic howl. The other looked at her, though none of their faces showed confusion. It was as though they understood her entirely – which they probably did, at least for the most part.
“Look, Cheza. Water. Now you can…” Kiba began, a light smile on his lips.
“Eat and drink all this one can,” she finished, smiling as well.
“Yeah.” He set her down and she walked on over to the pond, slipping off her boots and stepping in. Hige, Toboe, and Tsume were already in the water, the blood washed away from their fur. Feray made her way down to the water’s edge. She stared at her reflection for a moment before jumping in, a content grin settling on her face.
“C’mon, Toboe! Drink up!” Hige laughed as he splashed the pup.
“I’ve had plenty! It’s Feray and Kiba who haven’t had enough fun,” Toboe splashed his way over to the female wolf. She shook herself, throwing droplets of water everywhere.
“Come on in, Kiba! The water’s great!” she called back, looking at the white wolf. He nodded before joining the group in celebration. As they looked back at Cheza, it was as though she were radiating the moonlight. Their play slowed to a stop as each wolf became awestruck by her. Eventually, when all the fun was had and each wolf had their share of water, they fell asleep around Cheza who gently stroked their coats beneath the moon.
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