Author's note: This takes place about a week after Kiba, Tsume, Hige and Toboe finally found Paradise at the end of the final episode of the series. Now a young wolf will follow in the footsteps of the others to find Paradise himself.
They say that there is no such thing as heaven when you die and that your soul just wanders around aimlessly with no purpose whatsoever. I've traveled to the ends of the earth just to prove this theory wrong. I've been traveling for as long as I can remember, evading hunters who want me dead, just following where my instincts took me. I always seemed to reach a dead end when I thought I finally found a sacred haven where I thought I could live the rest of my life in tranquility. Where the lunar flowers bloom endlessly and I can dance in the light of the full moon.
But I keep on wondering to myself. Is it even worth it to keep on looking. The voice in my head says: Keep looking. You'll find it. Look to the moon. Follow the scent of the lunar flowers. Let your heart guide you. And so I keep on searching, following the scent endlessly, even if what I find is just death itself. I will keep on looking, until I can find a place which I can truly call…. Paradise.
A white wolf could be seen, limping through the snow towards blaring horns ahead of him. It looked like he was wondering around without a purpose, but upon closer inspection, you could see in his green eyes, that there was a look of determination in his eyes. At the same time, they looked very tired and empty. This was a wolf who looked like he had just been in a fight with another pack. If you looked at his side however, you could clearly see a bullet lodged in, leaving a trail of blood as he walked.
The wolf had approached the intersection with the cars at the stop light and sat on the sidewalk waiting for it to change. He seemed to know how the city worked well enough to know when to cross the street. The people in the cars seemed to stare at him as he walked across the intersection and onto the other side of the street. They seemed to be wondering what a wolf was doing in the city. Hadn't they all been extinct and hunted down over the last two hundred years?
"Dude…., said one man to another in a car, as the wolf walked in front in front of them, …..is that a wolf? "Shouldn't they be extinct? "They were hunted down about two hundred years ago…."
"I don't know what you're talking about man…..", said the other who just saw a limping young male with dark brown hair tied back in a pony tail with bangs in his eyes, wearing skinny jeans, a white shirt and Nike sneakers. Around his neck, he wore a studded black collar. He did not see the same white wolf that his friend saw walking into an alleyway.
"You don't see it? "It's right there!", he said pointing to the wolf that had just disappeared in the alleyway. "Jesus Christ!" "You don't see many of those now, especially a white one…."
"You're drunk and stoned, dude….." "Here lets get you before you kill us both…." "I'll drive he said as he took the wheel before the light turned green and he started driving. "No more dope or whiskey for you man…." "Understand?
"Y-yeah…." "You're right….", he slurred. "I'm drunk and stoned at the same time…." "I'm seeing wolves dude…." "Fucking wolves….." Ha ha ha ha….." "Ah…"
"Yeah, I'll drop you right off and walk you inside ok?, he said worried.
"Yeah…" "Okay…..", he said still slurring.
The white wolf found a nearby roof to lay under and was on the verge of passing out from blood loss. It seemed for him, his journey was at an end. He didn't know if the bleeding would stop or not. The bullet went pretty deep.
I guess this is it. I never though I was gonna be shot. Damn it… God damn it….. It's getting cold now. Real cold….. I'll just…..sleep now…and wake up….later…..
The young wolf started to close his eyes when he was awakened by a sound nearby. It sounded like footfall, like padded feet, like another canine somewhere. He turned his head to stare into another wolf with ice blue eyes. This wolf was black as night and walked over to the white wolf with a look of concern on his face. It sniffed the white wolf, which responded with a snarl.
"Hey, I just wanna know if you're okay….", it said as it backed away some, afraid of being in a scuffle from the white wolf. The black wolf looked the white wolf over some walking around him, yet keeping his distance. The white wolf just watched him carefully. More than anything, the black wolf wanted to help, but didn't want to risk getting attacked.
"Man, you look pretty beat up…..", he said as he laid down on his stomach. "I've never seen one of us a beat down as you….." "What happened?
"I was….." "Looking for some way out of the city…" "I went south of here…." "Only to be shot by people in armor….." "I barely got away with my life after taking down five of them…." "Now I'm back in this hellish city….." "I need to leave….", he said as he started to get up. "Uh….", he said as collapsed immediately and just lay still, a pool of blood spreading from where his stomach was. "Ah…."
"Oh man!" "Are you ok?", the black wolf asked with concern in his voice. "Just stay still please!" "You'll hurt yourself far more if you keep on moving…." "Just stay still and let me help you…."
"I don't need any help….", the white wolf said simply. "I've been shot many times before and I was always able to take out each round. "I've had to raise myself with no help when my pack was killed by the Nobles. "I can take care of myself….", he finished. "Uh… ah…." he groaned as he started to get up again, walked about two feet and then collapsed again on his side. "Ah…." "Ow….", he complained as he rolled back over on his side, panting.
"You won't be going anywhere with that bullet in your side….", the black wolf said, shaking his head. "You gotta get that bullet out…..", he said with a bit of worry in his voice. "Here, let me help y…"
"No!", he said, refusing to have any help from a stray. "I've….. …..gotten myself in this mess and I can get myself out…." "I've… ….been through far worse…." "Believe me…..", he said as he turned his head to his side in an attempt to remove the bullet. He didn't have enough energy to even put his mouth to the round. He just collapsed back again. "Damn it…."
"You're gonna bleed to death if you don't get proper help…." "Please….." "Just let me help you….." "I won't let another one of us die just because they're to stubborn to require any help….", he said with worry in his voice. "I'm gonna continue to stand here all day until you let me help you….." "So get used to me occupying a bit of your space…."
The white wolf seemed to let out a sigh as he revealed his wound to the black wolf. The wound was bright red and there was no telling what kind of bacteria the bullet had, as it was handled by humans. "Fine….", he finally said as he lay in front of the other wolf which was now approaching the white wolf's wound.
"Make sure not to make too much noise while I pull it out ok?", the black wolf said as he put his muzzle to the wound in the white wolf's side. "I'll try to be quick ok?", he said with the bullet in between his teeth. He put both of his paws on the other wolf's belly to try and reassure him as he slowly pulled the round which was embedded deep into the white wolf's side, eliciting a sharp painful howl from him.
"Hey, be quiet!" "You'll draw attention….." the black wolf said as he looked the white wolf in the eyes. 'You have to be able to take the pain, at least until I get the round out…" "Okay?", he said as the look on his face was enough to warm even the cruelest of hearts.
"That's easy for you to say…." the white wolf said as he relaxed himself again and the other wolf went back to extracting the round. "Just be sure not to….. KILL me ok?", he said between screams as the black wolf pulled the round out carefully. He had been close to death plenty of times but always had gotten out of it one way or another. However, tonight, he may have died if he hadn't accepted help from the wolf which was doing his best to help him out.
He seemed like he was taking his time, but was actually being careful as he extracted it, so he didn't hit any organs as he pulled. The round was a huge caliber, as far as the black wolf could see and was therefore extra careful. In one final, short, quick pull, the round was extracted and the white wolf let out a painful howl, which the black wolf quickly muffled with his mouth.
"Mmmph….", the white wolf said in surprise as he locked lips with the black wolf. It seemed like a kiss, but the wolf was only trying to stop the white wolf from drawing any attention to them both. Deep in the black wolf's mind, though, he really didn't mind locking lips with the white wolf who was really blushing across the nose at this point. As soon as the wolf stopped howling, the black wolf broke the lock with the white wolf and sat down on his hind legs.
The white wolf was at loss of why that had just occurred, but didn't complain, as he did help save his life. The white wolf just continued to lay there on his side, looking at his wound which didn't seem to hurt anymore, and right next to it was the huge bullet that had made it. Why he was not dead yet, he didn't know. But he was glad he wasn't.
"I'm…. …..sorry I had to do that….", he lied. But it was the only way to stop you from drawing attention to us both. "That….wasn't a kiss by the way….", he lied again. "I was just muffling your howl so no one could hear. "We still need to clean that wound, he said quickly changing the subject, as he approached him again. "It'll get infected if we don't….."
"Uh….." "Yeah, ok….", he said as he lay still again and let the black wolf get near his wound again, now trusting him a bit. The black wolf put his muzzle to the white wolf's wound and began licking it, getting rid of any bacteria that may have come from the bullet that was fired by the human. The white wolf just relaxed and let him work, even though it felt weird to be cleaned by another wolf. He was usually the one to clean his own wounds (and not to mention clean himself), but he had barely had any energy to do so.
The black wolf just kept on licking until he felt that every infectious organism had been taken out of the wound. After that he backed away from the white wolf and sat down on his hind legs, looking at him. The white wolf was a mysterious one and truly, probably the most amazing wolf he had ever seen. His fur was like the winter snow, and his eyes were like sparkling jade in the sunlight. His fur was a little ruffled, probably from all the running and fighting. Head fur on his head was quite long enough to be considered as bangs. The studded black collar on his neck really caught his attention as did his pierced left ear and a bracelet on his left foreleg. Truly and odd yet beautiful wolf.
"You done staring?", the white wolf said as the black wolf snapped out of his daydreaming. "You were out of it for a while and I was wondering if you were ok…", he said as he slowly and carefully got up to sit on his hind legs. It was still painful, but tonight was a full moon, and by the morning he would be up to full stamina. For now though, he would have to rest for a while and think of his next step towards Paradise then. He wrapped his tail around his paws as he stared back at the black wolf.
"Yeah….", I'm fine…..", he said as he continued to stare. "I was just admiring how rare it is to see another wolf, let alone a white one. "I haven't seen another wolf around here for a long time. "You know we're all but extinct now right?", he said as he leveled his eyes to the white wolf's.
"Yeah…." "I know….", he said as he continued to stare at the black wolf not letting his eyes off of him. "That's why I know I have to continue to survive…." "To continue searching for eternal bliss…." "Where I can never be worried about thoughts of corruption and chaos within a place survivable by only us wolves…." "Right now, I'm just going by instincts. "It was a hard journey from the start with many obstacles in my way. "But as each day goes by I know I'm getting closer to finding pure sanctuary…."
"So where do you think you'll find this "pure sanctuary"? "Where is it?
"In Paradise…." "Legend says it's a place only us wolves can find…." "Other wolves who tried to find it, ended up dying before they even finished. "It's very dangerous, but I know if I follow my heart and let the full moon guide me, I can find it….."
"Paradise…..", said the black wolf with excitement in his eyes. "It sounds like my kind of place….." "I'm sick of all this chaos and fear in the city….." "I want to be able to live in a place that's as beautiful as the place you describe. "Would you mind if I come with you?", he said as he looked deep into the white wolf's eyes.
The white wolf seemed to put on a half smile as he looked at the black wolf. "Sure….", he said cheerfully as he was starting to show his true colors, having now met a friend he could communicate with. "The more, the merrier…." "Just remember…." "I started this journey on my own and it'll be dangerous for the both of us, just like it was for me when I began it….." "Would you be willing to risk danger at any cost to find this place of eternal bliss?
"You bet! "I'll be glad to leave this city and search for a place where I can finally live in peace!" "I've been waiting for so long to see another wolf and I've finally found one!" "This is so amazing!"
"I'm sorry I forgot to ask, but what's your name? The white wolf was so caught up in being arrogant and rude the time he met the black wolf, explaining about the wonders of Paradise, that he had completely forgot to ask the wolf his name.
"I'm Skully…..", he said with a cheerful tone, as he walked over to the white wolf. "Who are you?, he said, tilting his head.
"I'm…. Matu…..", the white wolf said as he continued to gaze into Skully's eyes. "And I'm going to find Paradise, whatever it takes…." "I don't care what danger I put myself in, I'm going to find it…"
"How are you so sure you'll find it?", asked Skully as he lay on his paws. He was a bit disbelieving on how such a place could exist.
"I'll just follow the scent of the lunar flowers and let the moon shine the way…..", he said simply. "I just have to believe in myself and trust my heart…" "I feel it…." "Just wanting to be found…" "It's waiting for me to bathe in it's moonlight lit fields. "Nothing will stop me from finding it…." "Nothing….."
The young wolf was confident in himself that he would find this eternal bliss as he looked up to the full moon and smiled, the rays beckoning him to follow. But he waited. It was best not to rush things, because that was how he made his most mistakes. I can't afford to make anymore, he thought as he looked at the orb in the sky.
"Hey….", said Skully as he walked up to Matu…." "We'll make it together….." "And if we're lucky, we'll meet more like ourselves…." "Come on…" "We'll stick together the entire way Matu…."
"Yeah….", he said as he continued looking at the full moon. "We'll make it to Paradise together…." "I'll make sure of that…" "And we'll look out for each other as we search for it….."