Summary: Runa Moonshadow, a young female wolf and the sole survivor of her pack, stumbles into New York City. There a destiny awaits her. (Wolf's Rain X James and the Giant Peach Crossover). Rated T for some minor cursing and violence.
Disclaimer: I do not own James and the Giant Peach. Those characters belong to Roald Dahl. However, I do own some of the names that I give to some of the minor characters. I also do not own Wolf's Rain or any of the names from Wolf's Rain that appear in this fic. However, I do own Runa!
James and the Moonshadowed Wolf
By Demonwolf
Chpt. 1: Cold Rain
It is a common-known fact that all life needs both sunlight and water to survive. Sometimes, there would be sun, other times there would be rain. Tonight, there was rain. It poured from the sky in turrets like bullets from a gun. It poured over the oceans, whose waves pounded beneath the skies. It pounded upon the forest sanctuaries of the wild. It poured upon the human cities of grey and black. And it poured upon the pelt of a young grey wolf who limped slowly along these man-made roads of tar.
The wolf ignored the rain and kept going. Her right back leg throbbed dully due to the long jagged gash that ran vertically sown it, cutting through the wolf's grayish-white pelt like a red river. Aside from this temporary deformity, the wolf was a beautiful sight. A female with upright ears, a thick coat and amber eyes, she was a masterpiece of the Earth. Down her back, where there streaked a line of thick black fur, there shimmered a line of silky silver fur, like the shadow of the moon. This odd, yet beautiful marking had given rise to her name: Moonshadow! Runa Moonshadow.
Runa paused briefly to shake some of the moisture off of her thick coat, but the action was in vain. As soon as she did, more water streaked down from the skies to replace the lost liquid. Runa gave up and kept walking. After all, while she walked, she could feel her strength ebbing. That in itself kept away the awful memories. Yet every-so-often, scenes from the horrors she had experienced would flood her mind and make her growl in pain.
Burning trees, the smell of smoke everywhere. Members of the pack running all directions, trying to both protect the pups and attack the invaders. Men, dressed in boots and thick jackets and carrying enormous guns laughing and shooting bullets in every direction at everything that moved. Mothers howling with rage as their pups were cut down. Males snarling as their mates and children were felled with knives. Her father attacking the lead human all the while calling over his shoulder,
"Runa, run! Run and carry on the legacy of our pack! Do not forget us so long as you live! You must live Runa!" A falling tree, a sharp branch, pain and warm blood flooding her leg, another branch landing crookedly, bashing her head and then, mercifully, blackness.
Runa shuddered. She could still hear her father's last words before he was brutally slain. Slain by the human whose name she would never forget. The human called Larry Silversmith. Runa snarled, baring her teeth to the sky. Larry Silversmith! By the stars and moon, she would find that human one day, the one would led the mass attack on her family. And when she found him, she would hurl him into the pits of Hell with her bare fangs!
Absorbed with these thoughts, Runa failed to pay attention to where she was going. All she knew was that she had traveled for many days from her home in the Canadian region above the American state of Maine. At the time she began her journey, she had been so intent on leaving the scene of the massacre behind that she had not been aware of the direction she ran in. Now, though, she paused and looked about her. She was in a city (of this fact, she was aware), and had been secretly slipping through the allies for quite some time now, looking for a place to rest. Although her pride was injured just as much as her leg at having to slink through these dark passages like some crooked thief, she knew it was the wiser option, as it lowered her chances of being spotted by a human. Not that she was afraid of them, but she was exhausted and needed a place to rest. She hoped she would find a place soon, for her legs were shaking with the effort of keeping her body upright.
Then, as she came out of the ally, a wondrous sight greeted her eyes. Before her, surrounded by a high iron gate, was a small piece of a forest. A park for the humans, she was ready to bet, but what a park! Fresh green grass, tall trees, and clean water, all these scents taunted her nose, telling her that this was a sanctuary for lost souls of the wild.
Runa didn't hesitate. She entered the park and slipped through the trees. Soon, she came to a small indent in the ground under a particularly sheltered tree with a fine crown of leaved. The indent was dry and it looked quite comfortable. Runa laid down and found that not only was it dry, it was also still warm from the day's heat before the rain had come on. Runa's aching head and body were losing contact with reality quickly. Her injured leg was welcoming the rest and although her stomach was empty, it too, seemed happy of this small place of relief.
Slowly, Runa's amber eyes closed. As they did, another memory filtered through the young wolf's exhausted mind; this time, it was a happy one. Her father, watching her closely as she played under the full moon, a two-month-old pup enjoying the pleasures of being a wolf. Then her father's voice.
"I named you Runa Moonshadow because you have been touched by the moon. Its shadow is that patch of silver fur upon your back, my daughter. So remember my words, Runa, and keep them with you always. When one of our kind has been touched by the moon and they carry a mark of it on their bodies, they have been chosen to carry the name of the Wolf to greatness. I know that someday you will do this. Until then, know always that the spirits of bygone wolves who have reached Paradise are watching you. And no matter what happens in your life, they will never abandon you. And neither will I."
Runa smiled softly. She knew her father's words were true. Although she could no longer be with the ones she loved, they would always be with her. That though gave her comfort. Runa's eyes closed and she fell into a deep sleep. Overhead, an almost-full moon kept watch over two rarities in Central Park of New York City that night. One, a young female wolf asleep under a tree, the other a house made from a peach pit taken from a giant peach that had landed in the city six months before.