Kaori: We don't own Wolf's Rain.
If any humans had been walking through those woods, they may have seen four young men and a girl pass by. If they looked a little more closely, they might have noticed something strange about the way they moved, the way they spoke to each other. But no one ever thought to look more closely.
The animals that cowered in the brush saw the four young wolves and the girl pass by, moving pointedly toward some distant goal. The roots of the trees felt sixteen paws and two gentle feet pass over them.
Someone's stomach growled.
"Why are you all looking at me?" Hige said.
Silence.
"You know what this pack needs?" Hige said, trying to spark something even remotely resembling a conversation.
Kiba and Tsume stiffened, but Toboe said, "What?"
"Girls."
"I should have known you'd say that," the young pup said.
Silence.
"You have to admit, it would be nice to have girls around," Hige attempted.
"We have Cheza," Toboe said.
Hige sighed. "It's just not the same."
Tsume wrinkled his nose. They didn't need anyone.
Tsume hadn't had much exposure to girl wolves, and he didn't think much of the ones he had met. There are only two kinds of women, he thought. Either they're cowardly and submissive or loud and overbearing. Tsume didn't particularly care for either.
"We definitely don't need any girls," Tsume said aloud.
"I bet you're gay," Hige muttered.
"I'm not!" Tsume shouted. "Not that there's anything wrong with it, but I'm not," he added.
Was he?... No. As much as he disliked women, he was definitely not attracted to men.
"Hige, what's 'gay' mean?"
Hige sighed. "We'll tell you when you're a little older."
Cheza stopped short and Toboe nearly ran into her.
"What is it, Cheza?" Kiba asked.
"We have friends here," she said. "But, no... wait. Something is wrong...." Great teardrops began to fall noiselessly from her blind red eyes.
"What is it? What's wrong?" Kiba prompted.
The wind shifted.
Hige's nose sniffed the air. "I smell blood," he said.
Toboe mimicked him. "Human blood?"
"No," Tsume said. He had also caught the scent. "Wolf blood."
"They are coming our way," Cheza said.
They heard rustling in the bushes about 100 yards off. Five heads whirled in the direction the noise had come from. Two silver-grey wolves staggered into view. They were very similar, undoubtedly siblings, but one had a completely white face. They were both females.
"It looks like you got your wish, Hige," Kiba muttered.
The grey-faced one stumbled. The white-faced wolf nudged her back onto her feet. As they drew closer, the four wolves could see that blood dripped down the coats of both strangers.
"Sh-should we help them?" Toboe asked.
"What can we do?" Kiba shrugged.
The white-faced wolf collapsed, her sister following. Hige and Toboe nodded to each other. They charged through the bushes to the two injured strangers.
It wasn't until moonrise that the strangers woke. The white-faced one lifted her head and blinked blearily around. She had white bows tied around her ears.
"Don't worry," Hige said, "We won't hurt you. My name's Hige. What's yours?"
"Artemis," she said. She had great, soulful blue eyes. She gave the impression of being about sixteen, just over five feet tall, with freckles, straight brownish hair, and soft features. The illusion came complete with a long, lacy white skirt and a sky blue sweater with a hood. She also wore blue suede clogs, and the ribbon around her ears seemed to be in her hair.
Shakily, she tried to raise herself to her feet. But she whimpered and sank back down to the ground.
"Oh, are you going to be all right?" Toboe said. "We dressed your wounds, so they should heal soon."
"Let me see," Hige said.
Artemis lifted up her sweater. Even Tsume gasped. Just below her ribcage was a nasty, semicongealed hole big enough to fit a paw in.
"Looks like you missed one," Tsume said.
"How could we not have seen that?" Hige said, bewildered.
Kiba gaped. "No wonder Cheza's still crying," he said, rubbing her back comfortingly.
"It's old," Artemis said, wincing, "so it wasn't bleeding much." Her legs were shaking.
"Oh, Artemis," Hige said softly, putting an arm around her shoulders to support her. She swooned and fell back into his arms.
Submissive, Tsume thought, automatically labeling Artemis in his mind. He rolled his eyes.
Artemis' eyes snapped open. "Where's my sister?"
"Shh. She's right over there," Hige said.
"Well, those two seem to be getting along well," Tsume muttered. Kiba glanced at him reproachfully.
"Try not to startle her," Artemis said, worriedly. "My sister is... a bit... unusual. And she's very protective."
"We won't bother her," Hige said, reassuringly. "Toboe, are there more of those leaves?"
Toboe brought the herbs to him. Hige began to lay them over the wound in Artemis' stomach. "These will help you heal faster," he said.
"Thank you," Artemis said, blushing.
The grey wolf stirred. Artemis and Hige didn't notice. They were too absorbed in eachother's eyes. But a low growl pulled them out of their reverie. Artemis drew in a sharp breath. "Athena," she said.
This is what Athena saw: Her sister, lying on her back, exposing her stomach to a strange, plump brown wolf, who was leaning over her. She growled again. Out of the corner of her, she saw something move. She lunged.
Tsume was pinned to the ground, on his back, the silver-grey wolf growling in his face. She's strong, he thought, surprised. Maybe stronger than I am.
"Athena, it's all right!" Artemis cried, scrambling to her feet. "They're helping!"
"Oh, be careful!" Toboe said.
Athena glanced at her sister. She paused. Tsume saw her hesitation and lashed out. The two wolves rolled over each other and Athena was the one being pinned down. She snarled and nipped at Tsume's nose. Tsume yelped. They rolled over again. Kiba grabbed Athena by the scruff of her neck and tossed her off of Tsume.
"Both of you, stop," Kiba snarled. "You're upsetting Cheza."
Athena looked back at Artemis. She growled again and sat back on her haunches.
"You shouldn't go around like that," Tsume said. "Humans have eyes, you know."
Athena tossed her head.
"Please, Athena," Artemis begged. "They aren't our enemies."
"'Unusual', my ass," Tsume growled. "She's crazy."
Athena growled again. "You may be right, Artemis, but I'm not nearly as trusting as you are." She stood up, suddenly seeming to walk on two feet. She looked several inches taller than her sister, with a harsher face. Her hair was wavy, tangled, as if it hadn't been brushed in years. She wore a black beaded shirt that exposed her back and much of her stomach, a long, ripped brown skirt, and under it, colourful, baggy pants. To a human's eyes, she would certainly appear crazy.
"Artemis, what were we doing here?" Athena suddenly said.
"We were running away from the man with the shotgun," Artemis said.
"What man?" Athena looked confused.
"The man with the big black dog," Artemis said.
"Oh, yes. I remember. But we're looking for someone, aren't we?"
"Yes. You remember, don't you? We're looking for-"
"Apollo," Athena said. She suddenly was completely lucid. "We're looking for Apollo."
"Who's Apollo?" Tsume asked.
"Our brother," Artemis replied. "We haven't seen him in over a year."
Athena looked off into the distance. "He said he'd meet us," she said.
"Where?" Kiba asked.
Athena closed her eyes. "Paradise."
Thank you for reading my story! Please review.
Kaori: Thank you!