Chapter 1
Sunlight streamed through the tall, twisting grass above him as Kiba opened is blurry eyes. Unfamiliar to the area, he crawled out from under the bush to survey the place. Sand. A veritable desert lay before him with the faint outline of trees in the distance. Curious, he heading out for the oasis. It took hours for him to reach the grass and the small lake beyond it. Immediately he drank, attempting to sooth his dry throat. An interruption came when someone giggled at him from the other side of the water.
"Who are you" His baritone came out dark and suspicious of the female crouched on the opposite bank.
"Who am I? No one important. But my name is Fay. What's yours?" she replied her fingers twirling around the hip length strands of her white hair. Violet eyes watched him with a gleam an interest and enjoyment.
Kiba didn't reply. Choosing to instead to wipe the water that had trickled down his chin away with his wrist.
"It doesn't really matter. This place doesn't care who you are or were you came from." Still, her eyes never wavered.
"What do you mean by that?" Kiba finally spoke up, still not willing to trust her just yet. Even as her reflection showed a whitish-gray wolf with gold eyes.
"Can't you tell? In this world, everyone can be free!" His eyes widened in surprised then narrowed, not liking the sound of it. Nothing was free. He stood and walked around the lake, ignoring her getting to her feet and following him. Halfway up the hill, he paused to glance behind.
"Don't follow me." he almost spat at her. The feeling of being followed was familiar but he didn't know where the feeling came from. It down right annoyed him.
"But why not?" was her innocent answer.
"Aren't you terrified of me?"
"Not a bit."
"I"m an unfamiliar wolf you know?"
"Well, isn't that right Captain Obvious?" She answered with a question of her own and he let it drop. She wasn't going to stop and he was going to ignore her until she lost interest. Kiba continued his climb but soon noticed she wasn't following and turned to satiate his curiosity. She was no longer behind him. He would have moved to find her only to turn at her laugh. She was in front of him now and gave a small beckoning motion before turning away. Confusion clouded his mind, he hadn't heard her move, as Kiba jogged to join her at the top. The sight was amazing. Animals of all kinds rested and grazed in a slightly wooded glen besides another lake with mountains rising beyond them.
"Is this Paradise?" he gasped in wonder.
"Paradise?" Fay questioned.
"A place where you can be free. I've been searching for it my whole life"
"If that's what you think it is, then it must be. This is a Paradise just for you." came her reply and she turned with a slightly pained expressions drawing his attention from the scenery. It was when she was sure he was looking that she switched from human to wolf and yipped playfully before taking off; Kiba hot on her heels. Finally he caught her and pinned her beneath him, violet eyes wide and white hair spayed about in the grass, both gasping. He hesitated before pushing off her, slender fingers grasping his wrist before he pull away.
"Kiba? Can you stay here with me forever?" she asked meekly. His heart pulled two ways as he pulled her up. Part of him whispered yes while the other shouted no.
"If this really is your Paradise, would you stay with me like this?" she tacked it onto her previous question.
"I'm not sure. Don't you have a pack"
"A pack?" her expression was pained but it cleared away quickly enough that he could've swore it was all in his mind.
"It's just us here. Are you scared?" she posed mt back to him, flicking her hair behind her ear.
"I''m not scared. Of anything. Not even the thought of death scares me. Since I was born, death has been nipping at my heels. It's as if my very birth had some how called it there." he ting him setting himself explain his memories to her. The pack. The fire. The airship. Being found, cared for and raised by a shaman. And the discussion of his existance and fate with his care-taker.
"I spent every waking moment searching for it. For where I'm meant to be" His eyes opened to catch her shifting his bangs from his eyes with a caring gaze.
"It's so strange, being able to talk about everything that's happened to me. I guess, I've just never really opened up to anyone before. Not to my friends. Or even Cheza. For the first time in my entire life, I'm finally at peace. It's here. This is Paradise. It must be." Kiba let his gaze drift to her own sad one.
"I was searching for Paradise once. After my mother died and, at a young age, I was left to fend for myself. I lived for years on nothing but hope and a fairytale. Then I met my friends. They weren't wolves but they followed me anyway. I couldn't find them when I woke up here. I was lonely before I met you." She smiled and they wandered together for a while. Bending, Kiba picked up a flower to see it rapidly die in his hand and Fay extended her hand to him with a smile.
An owl appeared to him in his dream and a soft voice called out for him.
"Kiba"
"Who's there"
"Kiba, KIBA" The voices roused him and he stood to search the darkness of his sleep for their source.
"Who's there? Where are you? I can't see" A deep hoot echoed fro behind him and he turned to see a familiar owl.
"Who are you? Where are you? I don't know. HOOOoooo" and it flew off into the shadows.
After a dream like that he woke to search out his new friend. Fay was sitting in the meadow with an owl circling her as she played with the grass.
"Kiba. What's wrong?" Fay's soft tones reached out to him as he sat besides her and she leaned against his back
"I can't remember. I've been hearing all these different voices but I can't remember who they belong to. I feel like I should know, but I can't see their faces"
"I've noticed that your memories fade little by little, and then you get used it." her lilting response came after a brief hesitation.
"Little by little and little by little still, then little by little." The owl cooed.
"Don't worry, Kiba. I'm with you. I'll always be with you." Fay nudged his shoulder and he smiled.
"Sure"
"Where are you? Who are you? Whether alive or wheater you're dead. There is nothing. Nothing matters. The answers are buried beneathe the Sand. HOOOOoooo!" The owl cried as he flew off the pair.
They sat beside eachother in companionable silence and watched the water when a wind kicked up and blew sand their way from the other side of the lake.
"I feel strange" Fay whimpered and drew his worried eyes to her.
"Why? What's wrong?"
"I don't know" and then they were separated and he was gazing at the lake from the darkness and her voiced echoed him from a place he could not reach. In the distance he heard a kind of chanting.
"I wanted to be with you forever. I realize now, this place, It isn't Paradise. Not the one we were searching for. It's a world where time doesn't move, and you lose all thought and memory."
"Why are you doing this."
"We have to go." Her voice was so sad.
"No wait! Come with me!" he cried out and she fell silent for a moment.
"I'm not sure I can. I don't know where I am or where you are." He could hear the tears in her voice.
"Fay! FAY!" He strained to be heard over the chanting.
"Goodbye Kiba. Maybe, we can see each other again"
Fay fell silent and he gazed at the different worlds displayed before him.
"Kiba. Kiba. Do you know who this one is? Kiba. Remember." A white flower bloomed somewhere in his thoughts.
"Cheza."
