A/N: Wow, my first chaptered fic in - what, nearly a year now? - over here, at least. I've got the first four chapters of this absolute monsterdone, and the fifth seems to be growing with no intention of giving up. It may evan have to be a two-parter. le sigh Sometimes, I hate my brain. Okay, this might not be a particularly original idea, at least intially, but give it a chance, okay? If I even get the damn mutt finished, I promised all will be revealed. Okay, onto chapter one - Memory, Coffee, Rain; otherwise known as why I should never try to write Kiba. Enjoy!

RUNNING IN DREAMS

The dusty bones of broken buildings, bloodscent in the air

Watch for the glitter of nothing gold, and sense the memory tear

Running in your dreams to a place that can't be found

Reeling in the vertigo of what isn't sky, but can't be ground

See your story stretching back

Snow and ice and dust-worn track

Take care to change to a different tack

When all you know still fades to black…

Chapter one - Memory, Coffee, Rain (aisu)

"Off through the new day's mist I run
Out from the new day's mist I have come
I hunt
Therefore I am
Harvest the land
Taking of the fallen lamb…"

- Metallica, 'Of Wolf and Man.'

The white wolf was howling. It hurt. Everything hurt.

"Cheza! Cheza! Where are you?" He was bleeding from a dozen different wounds, and he had feeling that at least four ribs were broken. "Cheza!"

It was dark but there was a faint light up ahead. He took a few steps forward, then hesitated.

There…there was something wrong. Something he needed to remember…

"Kiba." The light was growing brighter, now – so bright that it hurt to look at, brightest white tinted with lilac. He knew that voice. "This one is sad that you are not happy."

"What?"

"Find the others…"The place was darkening again now. "Find the others and you will find yourself."

"Cheza!" He finally found the strength to move, and bounded after the dimming light, but it was too late.

"Cheza!" Kiba gasped awake in his tiny bedroom, with the rain hammering on the window pane outside. He blinked blearily at the clock. It was about 7:00 am, and on a Saturday. Urgh. How long had he even slept?

After a about half an hour of staring at the ceiling, he decided there was no use whatsoever in staying in bed, and hauled himself out of bed. He checked his pager - there weren't any emergencies at work, not that they'd inform him anyway – before dragging on his old jacket and going outside, into the rain.

Why does it always seem to be raining, here? He wondered, peering through his already soaked hair at the stoplights before crossing the street. A few other pedestrians were giving him odd looks because he didn't have an umbrella – in this city, it was like wandering around without a shirt – but getting wet was something that had never particularly bothered him.

He stood under the awning of the 'Pawprints' café, and shook himself off like a dog before entering. He'd always privately thought was a pretty dumb name, but they did good service, and it was so close to the flat that he could never be bothered to go elsewhere.

"Hi, how are you? What can I get you today, sir?" Someone asked perkily as he slumped into the nearest booth without looking up.

Rummaging in his pockets half-absently, he answered, "Just a coffee, please. Black, no sugar."

"Sure thing! Coming right up!" He felt the server bustle away, and finally found what he was looking for: a few scraps of paper and a pencil stub. Now, if he could just recall that dream…

Ten minutes later, Kiba groaned and put his head in his hands. It was no use. All he could remember was a few random images – a white wolf, blood, and a soft light. He took a sip of coffee while staring at the few doodles he had. It made no sense whatsoever, but he was sure it was meant be important.

Someone had turned up the TV behind the counter. "And in other news, the notorious criminal gang known simply as The Claw pulled off several devastating raids on high class establishments in the Lowell district of the city last night, leaving three civilians dead and others injured. Two gangsters have been, luckily, taken in for questioning. Police InspectorYaiden has issued a statement saying that any guests of such places must keep their valuables close at all times, and that security will be tightened by over forty-three percent. Rumours that the gang itself is in turmoil over the recent spate of daring raids are as yet unfounded, but…" He tuned out. The only thing news like that meant to him was that there would likely be more jobs at work - maybe they'd even take him back. People were more likely to hurt themselves from panicking over such things than from the actual events. He went back to staring at the drawings.

"Hey, those are really good. Are you an artist?" The server was back with his bill, and was peering over his shoulder at the rough sketch of the wolf.

He looked up and coughed out a small laugh. "No, I'm a paramedic. Aren't you a little young to be working here?"

The kid wasn't much older than fourteen, Kiba guessed, maybe fifteen at most. He looked oddly feminine, as well, with a chin-length bob of mousy-brown hair and a slight, delicate frame. Then he somewhat ruined the image by wrinkling his nose defensively.

"I'll be fifteen in May, and it's not like I'm actually getting paid or anything. I'm on vacation and Granny lets me work here because I've got nothing better to do." he shrugged. "Anyway, if you're a paramedic, shouldn't you be out, I dunno, paramedicking?"

"I'm on leave." Indefinitely, he stopped himself from adding just in time. The kid was a total stranger – you didn't go blurting out your lifestory to total strangers. Still, there was something familiar about him…

"Toboe! How many times must I tell you? Stop bugging the nice customers!" A sharp, if slightly age-cracked voice echoed from somewhere in the recesses of the kitchen, effectively derailing Kiba's train of thought.

Toboe made a face, then called back, "Sorry, Granny! Keep forgetting!"

To Kiba, he said, in a low voice, "I'd better go. She gets cranky when I don't do what she says right off. But the coffee's on the house, just this once, okay?"

He straightened up and grinned brightly. "Maybe you could come 'round and show me some more of your pictures sometimes? Our flat's just above this place."

He nodded dumbly, and the kid was gone in an instant.

"Find the others, and you will find yourself…"

He started, and turned around. There was someone else in the booth behind him. "I'm sorry, did you just say something to me?"

The sandy-haired man shook his head, mystified. Kiba shrugged and left some change on the table (He didn't want Toboe getting in trouble. The kid was weird but clearly well-meant, and Kiba already found him likable, in an odd way) before walking out into the rain once more.

Just another ordinary day.

A/N: Once the day is over and done, the night and the twilight too,

The cub and the wolf returned to their holes, you may find find time to review.