Disclaimer: Wolf's Rain is the property of BONES Studio. I do not claim ownership of the concept or canon characters, just of the story and any OCs that happen to become involved. This message will not be repeated.
The events and characters depicted in this movie are fictitious and owned by either BONES Studios or me. Any similarity to any other writer's story and/or characters is merely coincidental.
Blue...
The sky was once that color. But not now. Now it is dead.
'Like me...'
Golden eyes gaze blearily heavenward. All around, flakes, invisible on the snow-white backdrop, land on an equally white form. Eyelids flutter closed before wearily opening again.
'Can't even see it anymore. All this snow...'
His fur is tipped in frost, snow melted and refrozen into a thin crust over his body. Tiny crystals melt on the stripe of red trickling over his back. Cold numbs the wound, and it freezes the blood in place. But not yet. It is too recent, too fresh and warm, still smelling of lead. So the lesion remains, oozing lifeblood and leaving him weak, tired.
Wake up...
'I am awake,' he argues, even as he lets the world fade around him.
Don't go...
'I'm not going anywhere. I just want to rest.'
His eyes close in spite of the gentle tugs at his subconscious to stay awake. The world of white quickly fades to black - a welcoming, sleepy world. He quickly falls for the dream world's comfort. Little by little, even the black fades away.
He dreams of blue skies.
The darkness becomes air, strangely as empty as it isn't empty. Like water and air, both all-encompassing and freeing, the empty air surrounds him. Whisps of clouds, as white as the snow-world, drift by and through him, concealing and revealing a bright world.
Tears wash his eyes, not clearing them just for the sight, but for the presense below. The ground, all at once a river and forest and wide, open field, can be felt more than seen. For below him, white snow turns into familiar white flowers on a distant Earth, far beneath him. The scent permeates the atmosphere, flooding it with a tangible joy, complete euphoria.
He dreams of...Paradise.
And yet, it is a desolate Paradise, a shell of what it is supposed to be. The euphoria is strangely silent and empty. He knows he is happy, but he doesn't know why.
What is wrong with this dream?
'I don't know...'
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A sting on his side. His lips twitch in a wince. Eyes flicker open in search of the pain's source and land on a shadow, blurred by the falling snow. A head with pointed ears raises itself from his body. A playful, friendly panting barely penetrates the sound of the storm.
It is not your time to go.
"So, you're awake," the shadow says, even as he turns his lips in a snarl. The shadow doesn't react. Snow crunches under unseen paws.
The world has much to offer still.
"Come on, it's not far!" The shadow yips and disappears into the blinding snow.
Wake up...
He staggers onto all fours, tumbling headfirst into the snow as a front leg gives out under him. Shaking invisible flakes out of his fur, he takes a step...before realizing that he has no idea where to go.
Find me...
"This way!" The high voice breaks through the storm, leading him in the same direction, the direction he needed to go all along.
Towards the flowers...
Invisible but for a black nose and the piercing golden eyes of a wolf, he limps in the direction of the voice, and the unmistakable scent of...flowers...
The flowers urge him onward. The flowers were all that ever kept him going.