The sky was gloomy and dark beyond the domes curved walls, hinting a thunderstorm was not far away. Toboe shivered, though he was not sure whether it was from cold or fear. Toboe was slumped against a crumbling wall, not bothering to disguise himself as a human. He was 14 years old now, and he hadn't seen Kiba, Hige, Blue, and Tsume or scented Cheza, since they had been reincarnated. His fluffy maroon tail wagged slightly at the fond memories of his friends. Although he had lost count of how many times they had been reincarnated, the journey was always full of excitement and adventure, but also full of danger and treachery. Toboe's stomach made an angry growling noise, and Toboe clutched his stomach in pain. It had been six days since he last ate, and that was a measly loaf of bread that had been stale and mouldy at one end. He had found it rotting slowly in a bin, but the bin was being horded by a flock of nasty crows. He had triumphed and escaped with the bread, but not without a few deep scratches and violent peck marks. Toboe hauled himself to his feet, shuffling slowly toward the precipitous stairs that crumbled from years of neglect, but were the only easy way downstairs. Toboe muttered something about 'stairs' and 'humans' on his way down, using the pasty wall for support as he did so. When he reached the bottom, something very interesting stole the attention of Toboe's nose. He was about to follow it when he remembered to hastily change his form to his normal figure. He peered through a hole in the wall, and saw a small fire feebly spitting embers at five silhouetted shapes that were clustered around it, but their faces were hidden by shadows. Toboe felt a niggling sensation in his gut, but this time it was not hunger, but curiosity. Stealthily, Toboe slipped out of the abandoned building, keeping to the shadows until he was a few metres behind one of the mysterious figures. With a jolt he realised that the person sitting in front of him had silver hair, which was tied back in a scrawny ponytail with a rubber band. Tsume! Toboe growled playfully in greeting at his old friend. But when 'Tsume' turned around, Toboe realised with a pang of horror that this man was most definitely not Tsume. This man was terrifying, with so many scars that criss-crossed his face that he resembled a lightning struck tree. He was also heavily built, with bulging muscles, and he wore a baggy dark blue hoodie that had the sleeves ripped off.
"Well well well. What 'ave we 'ere? A little piece of scrap fur eh? A stray dog per'aps?" The man laughed cruelly, grabbing Toboe's scruff of fur behind his neck and hoisting him upwards. Toboe squeaked meekly, trying to wriggle out of the man's rough grip. But hunger made Toboe weak, and the man was relentless. Another figure from the fire stood up and made his way over to Toboe, his small pupils flicking restlessly from side to side as though he felt he were being watched. He was draped in a long black coat and he limped slightly.
"Be careful, Scar." The man breathed heavily into the taller mans ear. "You know full well what he is."
"A wolf? This little thing? Impossible!" The man named Scar laughed scornfully, mocking Toboe viciously. Toboe suddenly snapped at Scar's wrist, latching on and drawing blood. In shock the man threw Toboe down on the concrete floor with a sickening thud. Toboe whimpered in agony as he realised he couldn't feel his left back leg. When he twisted his neck to scrutinize it, he saw that it was twisted unnaturally, blood seeping from the wound. It was broken, badly.
"YOU LITTLE RUNT! I'LL KILL YOU!" Scar made a move toward Toboe, but the limping man placed a calloused hand on his shoulder, holding him back. Scar glared at him, but the man either didn't notice, or disregarded it.
"What are you doing?" Scar hissed in the Limping mans face, spraying spittle on his black cloak.
"Now you've done it." Limping man glanced over toward Toboe, his expression passive and unreadable. He carried on without waiting for Scar to reply. "We could have sold him to Jagara! Now you've damaged him, he's not worth jack!"
"Why can't I kill him then?" Scar snarled; his eyes bright with fury.
"Because," Limping man started, but was cut of by a low growl. Both men turned to Toboe, who was equally puzzled. I didn't growl, did i? Toboe thought in confusion. Scar stretched a smile over his disfigured face, his eyes gleaming with pure malice.
"If it wasn't you, there must be another." Scar scanned the shadows, hoping to find another wolf obscured by shadows. Toboe scanned the shadows around him too, but he couldn't see anything. Everything was silent, the atmosphere suddenly becoming eerie and desolate. Without warning, a dainty blue-black wolf stepped out of the abandoned building Toboe had left a few minutes before. Toboe sniffed deeply, wondering why he hadn't scented the strange wolf before. Then it hit him. It's a…She-wolf! They were rarer, and Toboe had only seen two living in the city in his 14 years of living there. She stepped out into the firelight, and Toboe admired her sleek fur that shone majestically, as though she were part of the shadows herself. She was almost all blue-black, but the tip of her tail, ears and one front paw were a dark ginger. Something golden was glinting by her ear, but Toboe couldn't quite make it out. She stood proudly, but she was a little smaller than Toboe, so he guessed she was around the same age.
"There you are. Be a good wolfie and don't cause us any trouble, or you'll end up like him." Scar pointing toward Toboe, the wicked grin on his face growing even wider. The she-wolf looked at Toboe, her jade coloured eyes brimming with compassion and anger. She transformed into her human form, which, to Toboe, was even more beautiful. She was wearing khaki shorts that reached halfway down her thighs, with black high length socks that covered her knee's, a small black tank top that showing a bit of her flat stomach, and some worn purple walking boots that were tattered and dirty. She wore a loose dark green jacket over the top, and she sported butterfly earring's that glittered like gold. As Toboe predicted, she was about 14. She pulled back her lips in a violent snarl, and she narrowed her lime green eyes in hatred.
"Let him go." She growled, and even Toboe was slightly scared of her.
"What'cha gonna do? Bite my ankles?" Scar and the rest of his gang laughed hilariously, and Toboe could see that it angered the girl even more.
"No." She whispered quietly, but loudly enough so that they could hear her. Once she had regained their attention, she shape-shifted back to her wolf form. Every man, even Scar, looked petrified and to shocked to move.
"I'm going to kill you."