Title: Generation Next
Author: Soulflute
Rating: T
Fandom: Wolf's Rain
Disclaimer: I do not own Wolf's Rain and sadly it is not yet available on EBay.
Summary: 'I can hear…the call of the wolves…' OC-ish story, basically what happened to those two kids at the end of the WR manga. Hopefully the story is better than this summary.
Notes: N/A
Current A/N: This is an old story I found on my computer from before I first posted 'Trigger.' I decided to post it on FF, to see if it would go anywhere. So, here you go.
Old A/N: Okay, so this is my first Fanfiction and I wanted to make it good. *shrugs* Oh well, let's just see where this goes…
If you've ever read the Wolf's Rain manga books (which there are only two of, grrrr) you would know that there are two boys, one blonde and I'm guessing here—one with black hair at the end of the second book whom are just about to start their journey as wolves. I was wondering what happened to them and that's where this idea popped up. Eh, bad summary XP
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Chapter One:
There is Only So Much You Can Tell from a Face
'I can hear them my brother," the butterscotch colored wolf sighed as the small snowflakes flowed down from the sky.
'Yes, let's go,' the sibling of the first wolf responded, his mind already on future plans.
But the first wolf, the younger, clearly wasn't ready to let his mind wander off the first topic, 'I can hear…the call of the wolves. Can you hear them?'
"Scout," the older wolf called to his brother, "We must go now, it's time."
The younger, Scout, nodded, despite the fact that his brother was still ignoring the topic of the calls, "Yes my brother, were shall we go?"
The older wolf rocked back onto his hind legs so he was standing in an almost human-like stance. He felt the fur fade from his body, his claws crawl back into his hand-like paws, and his ears round off. A pale color returned to his fur-less body as it had the few times he had shifted shape before, and the only fur he had now, was atop his head- the butterscotch shade had turned into a shiny coal-black that blew back from his mortal face when a strong wind hit. The older sibling turned to look at his brother, whom was also now in a human form.
The younger brother was a head shorter than his older, his hair was blonde and his eyes-like his siblings- were a deep chocolate brown. While both were in some sort of cloak, the elder's was the color of wheat while the younger's was the color of old blood, but that was where the similarities in clothing ended. The younger was dressed in a pair of tan cargo pants, and long black shirt with some sort of grey vest attached, while the older had a pair of jeans and long black sweat-shirt. They both had a pair of old hiking boots on their feet, already prepared for the journey; the elder had been planning since the day their life took a turn for the worst.
"Marcus?" Scout again asked his elder, "Marcus, were shall we go?" His tongue now spoke in the way of a human.
The elder, Marcus, didn't answer. He continued to look out at the landscape in front of him. Mountains surrounded the area where his brother and he stood. Down from the cliff where the two watched, they could see a young woman a couple years older than Marcus, and a small boy conversing about a topic that seemed to give the woman much joy when discussing.
"What do you think, Marcus?" Scout asked innocently, looking down at the two figures as well.
"About what, brother?"
"Humans," Scout answered as he gently lowered himself into a sitting position onto the cliff.
"Well, brother, I do not understand the nature of your question. What is it that you would like me to think about humans?"
"Well," Scout said his eyes never leaving the woman and small boy below them, "How they are so different from us."
"What is different about them?" Marcus questioned gently, "Besides the obvious of course." He gave a small smile.
Scout chucked, it was rare for his brother to smile when there had been so much sorrow in both their young lives, "The way their life has so little meaning to it. I mean," He pointed down to the woman, "Is that the face of someone whose life has had many hard challenges that are barely able to be overcome? Or him?" He switched his finger to the small boy, "do you think he goes to sleep hungry ever night?"
Marcus nodded, "Your right, but there is only so much you can tell from one face. Humans have so many that express their different emotions. Each face is rare and each time that face is shown it is because of some important reason…" Marcus trailed off, thought about what he had just said for a moment and then added, "Well usually, because of some important reason."
"Explain," Scout pestered.
"Well, when someone is sad about a broken crop, they may show tears or express sadness those first few minutes, but it disappears when they know that their crops will return at one point."
Scout nodded silently.
"But when someone's relative dies," Marcus allowed himself to cough a little, "That death receives a special face. A face that only that time and that death will receive. And since that relative's death and time will only come once, you may never see that face again. Sure when the relative comes up in conversation, there may be tears or grimaces but there will never be anything like that first moment of knowing their death. Do you understand Scout?"
"Sort of," Scout admitted sheepishly, not really ready to admit that the snow had captured more of his attention then his brother's lecture on expressions, "But as you said, isn't that something that both us and the humans have? A different face or expression?"
Marcus nodded, "But with humans, faces come out so randomly and different for the most stupid of things, it's hard to tell when a face is real. Yet with wolves, or at least more mature and wise wolves, we know that is important to never show weakness, which is why we usually don't show emotions, or at least don't show emotions on a high level. A grimace here or a small smile there, but no big production of tears when someone of the pack dies. Emotions are a weakness; good wolves that want to survive don't show weakness. Remember that."
"Yes," Scout agreed, beginning to understand, "We are more serious and complex than the human?"
"Well, yes and no…I guess it depends on the human," Marcus shook his head in a slight confusion, "But compared to most humans, we are a bit more serious and less emotional, which usually helps when hunting. You got to be quiet and focused, not off worrying or whining about some other non-important topic when you're hunting."
"Speaking of hunting," Scout added as his stomach growled, "I saw some rabbit back there…care to join me?"
"But of course, dear brother!" Marcus chuckled, "For it wouldn't be successful without both hunters."
The two shared a quick smile before bolting behind them, another type of wolf sense clouding their earlier thoughts. What they both didn't know was that their journey was starting, even if they were ready for it or not.
A/N: Whoa, I have to say, I kinda liked how this started. Maybe, I will continue it, but before I beg for you to press the green button (too late XD), I just wanted to summarize the chapter for you. I'm known to have most of the story in my head, instead of the paper, which is why I'm looking for a great, friendly beta if anyone is out there looking for a job, to help me out. Anyway, for this chapter I was trying to act deep like Kiba, whom for some odd reason talks very maturely and it hits you right in the chest. Which is why ~Wolf Rain spoilers~ when he died, I almost totally lost it. But, for this story, Marcus and Scout are discussing how easily humans (basically) freak out over the stupidest things (we have all done it, me included), while wolves tend to keep most of their emotions to their self. As you can see, I was just testing a really crappy prologue. Anyway, if you think this story could go anywhere good, press the button below. If you're a beta who specializes in patience and anime, send me a message. (And I promise the 'faces and emotions' thing will play a bigger part in the story later on.)