Chapter One: The Boy in the Bar
Ame sighed as she fiddled with her feather necklace. She hated being in her human form for so long, but she knew it was only necessary to deceive the humans. As she stood up, she felt the cool breeze run against her skin, and started to walk into the bar.
She'd made it her daily trip into the bar, even though she didn't buy anything. She enjoyed the warm smell of alcohol in the air, the bustling of the drunken shouts, and her friend Quent. She and Quent would talk of hours upon end- not about anything in particular, but just idle chat. Once in his drunken state, he had told Ame about how much he hated wolves, and how he could tell one from a mile off. He had also mentioned that he once had a dog named Blue, but he didn't know where she was now.
'I wonder if it was the dog that did the seeing', she often wondered, as she knew that Quent hadn't detected her yet.
Sure enough, as she went in, Quent was sat at the bar with a shot of whiskey in between three fingers, when suddenly, he looked up,
"Ame! Good to see you!" He smiled, Ame taking a seat next to him, all the while smelling his reeking, over-the-limit breath.
"Hi Quent! Great to see you too!" Ame smiled back, her sensitive nose going crazy.
"You know what, Ame?" He asked, his speech beginning to slur, "You've been in here so many times, yet you've never bought a drink or anything. You skint or something?"
"Well," Ame started, looking at her feet. What could she say? She was always too well dressed and clean to be skint; what would she do without saying she was a wolf? "I just eat before I come. I spend more money on clothes than I do on food. I don't like the taste of alcohol." She said, only afterwards realising that she had spouted superfluous words. Luckily for her, Quent was still drunk.
"Well then, I better be getting off," he said, Ame feeling confused, "I know I'm about 3 times over the limit, and if I drink any more, I'll drink myself to death. So I'll see you." He said, stumbling out of the old pub. She watched him walk out of the pub as she again, fiddled with her feather necklace. Suddenly, as she stood up, a young, pale skinned, dark haired man walked into the pub, making Ame sit down again. As she stared absentmindedly, he made eye contact, during the process of which, he sat in Quent's original seat.
"Hey." He said, looking into the bar, not staring at any of the beverages in particular.
"Um… hi?" Ame said, as she smiled at the stranger. What was she meant to do now? Carry on the conversation? Wait for him to make the next move?
"I'm Kiba," he said, turning his head and again, looking at her, "And you're a wolf." Suddenly, Ame's body froze. How could he tell- she wasn't able to. Was he like Quent; a drunken man who could spot a wolf from a 'mile away'?
"So? What business is it to you?" She asked, trying to sound hard, yet a hint of fear arose in her voice.
"I'm just saying that I'm a wolf too. I saw you a couple of days back and decided to follow you. It's not too weird." He said in a 'matter-of-fact' fashion. Realising that the only danger from this guy was a case of 'stalkerishness', she told him her name,
"I'm Ame, and I'm perfectly fine on my own." She said stubbornly, turning away from the stranger.
"Well OK then," He shrugged, staring to stand up, "If you want to come with me, meet me at the Old Tavern Pub at around 8 tonight." He said, walking off.
Ame let her shoulders loosen for a few brief moments, looking absentmindedly at her bracelets. Although she didn't want to trust this stranger, she felt weirdly compelled to cooperate with him and join him on his mission- whatever that was.
"You havin' somethin', love?" The bar tender asked, as Ame looked up at him. The man was old and fat, a few tattoos that were now crumpled on his arms, and obviously new to the establishment; the regular bar tender knew what her answer would always be.
"I'm alright, thank you." She smiled, as the bar tender began to walk away, when suddenly, Ame stopped him, "Although, I would like some directions to the Old Tavern Pub please. I'm meeting a friend later."