The moon... You are not normal tonight are you? You hang in the night like a bleeding wound... Are you upset? Has something happened...
A young wolf sat on the edge of the water. Her violet eyes searched the reflection of the moon on the smooth surface of the pale, shimmering pond. She snarled and ripped out the grass beneath her hands. Ever since her exile, of which she didn't deserve in the slightest, she has been upset, angry and mostly, alone. Her uncle, Shikane Shizune, tried to talk her pack into forgiving her sin and putting her mistakes behind them... Boy, did that go over well...
Her father set her off without a thought, branding her for life. The scar still lingered on her wrist... the large black shadow of his claws where they impaled her on her pale skin cut through her memories like a blade through flesh. The look in her fathers eyes as he set her on her own was imprinted on the young wolf's mind, and the anger in his face as well.
Her old leader, a young, black haired wolf, beat her senseless for sticking up for one of her pack mates. The pack mate, named Darvi, had refused to hit Shiba with the whip Shenja, the leader, had instructed him to use. He was automatically sentenced to death. Shiba couldn't stop it even though she tried. He died when Shiba was being beaten by Shenja for 'sinful behavior'. It was awful being one of the only two females in your whole entire pack...
The wolf's tail swished back and forth unhappily. Her claws swatted at the surface of the water, causing ripples of disturbance. She could hear every sound i this strange territory which she didn't belong. Her nose sniffed and picked up all the scents of these unknown woods. The scent of the wolves which lived in this area, the flowers around her, and the smell of blood everywhere. She couldn't get that rancid smell out of her nose no matter how much she tried to replace it with other scents. It never worked.
The bell on her purple choker rang out sadly when she stood, jingling through the heavy air like a wolves melancholy howl. She looked around, scanning the land she had been inspecting and living on for the past few weeks in secret. She was probably trespassing, but if it kept her safe, then she didn't care. Her long, cloth wrapped hair, blew around in the wind and her soft features sharpened in the rugged light of the moon.
The air was sticky and she felt suddenly very tired. Her pointy ears twitched and heard the rustle of leaves being disturbed by... paws. Six pairs of running paws/feet, advancing in the cold, sticky air of the dark night. Great... she though, Toys.
The wolf whipped around to come face to face with two demons like her and four mangy, scraggly, brown wolves. They were skinny and scrawny and looked as if they hadn't eaten well lately. The demons were also thin and dirty. She wrinkled her pointy nose. The wolves smelled of rotten meat and mud.
"What is your purpose here?" one of the demons asked, coming closer to the female wolf. He seemed wary of her, a little scared as well. He was young and didn't look very strong. She snickered.
"Well... I didn't know it was against the law to sit down on the ground... I'm am so sorry." She flicked her bangs out of her face and grinned wolfishly and them, baring her fangs as well, just for an added bit of the danger-factor.
"Don't be a smart ass!" the other yelled. He was bit more brave, and he held a sword in his two hands. She wondered if he would use it? "Now, why are you here? You're trespassing on the land of the Southern wolf tribe!"
The female's eyes narrowed at the mention of 'Southern tribe'. Her father had told her to hate the Southern wolves. She had no idea why though...
"My apologies, men," She said, bowing slightly. They raised their eyebrows in confusion.
"Well, we still have to take you to our leader." the taller, more burly one directed, pointing his sword at her. It shook slightly, "He'll want to know more about your presence."
"Whatever is needed, gents." She stood back up straight and followed the slightly mangy wolf demons into the woods... She stared at their backs and made faces behind them the entire way, pulling innocent "I didn't do anything" pouts when they turned to make sure she was still there.
--
"Kouga... we found the wanderer!"
A tall, strong looking wolf turned from who he was talking to, a lanky looking, brown haired pup, to look a his comrades at the entrance to his cave. He eyed the female suspiciously, watching her yawn and stretch, seemingly unafraid of the strange wolves around her.
"So, Demon Girl." He spoke, and his voice made the female shiver. In a good way, "I have seen you lingering on my land for some time now. What have you been up to on my land?"
"My business is none of your business..." She replied, staring down the leader, her violet eyes trying to bore hole into his own. He strode up to her and held her chin in his hand in an iron grip. His skin was surprisingly smooth, unlike Shenja's rough, calloused fingertips which he loved to run against her skin so much... The thought made her shudder.
"It'll be my business when I decide to kill you..."
She laughed, "Alright, boy!" she succumbed, putting her hands on her hips and jutting out her bottom jaw, "The truth is... I've been exiled for a sin that makes no sense at all. I did an 'unthinkable' act in the words of my pack mates..." She looked the leader straight in the eye, even though there was a considerable height difference now that he stood at full height, "I denied being the leaders mate!" She almost spit in the wolf's face she got so mad. But she knew that it wasn't his fault. She had made the mistake of making her own opinion known. Note to herself... Never express ones own thoughts to a deranged, horny, psychopathic wolf demon. Not a good idea.
The wolf let go of her face and took a step back and pace, "Whats your name, girl?" He looked her over slightly, his eyes twinkling a bit. She noticed they looked... hungry. She smiled.
"Shibalba..." she wrinkled her nose at the name and laughed, "But call me Shiba." Her own name brought distaste to her mouth. Her mother had thought of the name, trying to stick to her fathers Japanese culture. Yeah, a Spanish wolf trying to stick to Japanese culture. Hmm.... great.
"Shiba..." He seemed to taste the name on his tongue, reveling in the feel it gave to his mouth, before walking away from her, "How would you like to be a part of our pack?" He turned back around, "But if you say yes, you can be out as soon as you give me a reason... Your choice." His eyes twinkled when he looked at her.
Shiba thought for a moment, looking around at the strange wolves. They looked all tough and gruff but she was strong, she could handle them! She clicked her tongue before saying, "As long as I'm not beaten, yelled at, scratched, bruised and have a SAFE place to sleep at night, than yes." She lowered her head to remember all the things that went wrong at her old home. The leader spoke to her, popping her out of her thoughts.
"My name is Kouga. You'll know me as your leader, but not your choice maker. You make your own decisions, whether they be bad or good ones." He smiled at her, "Welcome to the pack, Shiba."
Shiba spent the rest of that night staring out at the waters surface in front of the cave. Her fingers played with the wet substance in absence. She could hear the loud gushing of the waterfall behind her, and she was happy for that for it let her not hear her own, masochistic thoughts. Her hand started to get cold so she brought the long, slender hand out of the freezing water. She turned her palm over, looking at her markings. Three long, black streaks strayed on the back of her hand. Each hand had the same marks, one hand black, one hand white. The white marks seemed to shine in the darkness.
She leaned back and lay in the long, soft grass. It had been weeks, maybe months, since she'd felt any bit of safety. Even though she knew she wasn't really safe, she had a strong feeling of ... belonging, for once in her life. She didn't know why. She just did.
She pulled off the ring around her finger. Shenja had given this to her when he had asked her to be his mate, in front of the whole entire, male, pack. She had openly said no, and stole the ring back from him when she was exiled. She laughed. He was probably still fuming about the absence of his one of a kind ring which cost him probably more than an arm and leg form one of his underlings.
A man sat down beside her, making her jump. Her chocolate brown tail wrapped instinctively around her body.
"Sorry!" Kouga apologized, "Didn't mean to startle you..."
"Its alright," She answered, sitting up. Her tail loosened and curled around her knees as she got comfortable, wiggling her bottom so she wouldn't sick on a rock. Kouga held himself up with his elbows, and looked at the female demon intently, watching her try and get comfortable. Shiba looked at his eyes and realized they were a shocking shade of her favourite blue. They seemed to analize every inch of her body and it made her smirk.
"What tribe are you from?" He asked.
"We were rouges... Left over demons from other tribes brought together by my father, Daisuke Shizune. His brother, Lord Shikane, was a fox demon, and my father was half fox half wolf. I am one quarter fox and the rest wolf.
"Lord Shikane has a daughter, my cousin Shikyo. My father's sister has another daughter, Shiruba. We've never heard from her for nearly one hundred years..."
Shiba's voice trailed off. Her eyes burned with long overdue tears... The secret burned at her chest. She had been with Shikyo too much... The kitsune never cried, even when in great pain... Barely even showed her own, personal emotions... She was becoming more like the kitsune every day.
"I see... Large family... strange one too." Kouga drawled. "I hope this will be better than what you had... anyway. I'm sure it will be." he seemed to be talking to himself more than anyone else.
Shiba laughed a bit. "It will be..."
"Yeah?"
"Yes..."