Hinata
In the hours before dawn, during the dwindling moments of silver moon light and the blood red rays of the sun that begin to mix with the remains of the night, Hinata liked to run the overgrown hiking trail that the humans used to use when he was a child. It was rough and overgrown and not suitable for any humans to be walking it now. Luckily, Hinata wasn't quite human. Hinata would allow himself to take a bit of a jogging head start on two legs before falling onto his curved hands as he gained speed. He would swerve in between trees and roots that had winded their way onto the path with ease. Small branches would whip his face lightly as he passed by and the worn stone under his paws would bring comfort to his ears with their rhythmic thuds.
Hinata would count them.
One. Two. Three. Four.
Breathe.
Start over.
It was coming up. Hinata knew. He had run this path a thousand times before. The tree tops above him began to curve into a tunnel, and the trunks of said trees became more spaced out. Thinning as Hinata arrived at his destination. Hinata smiled. His ears twitched as the birds in the trees around him began to wake up with the morning sun.
Hinata picked up the speed.
Finally, the barrier of trees broke and the ground disappeared beneath him. Hinata pushed his two back legs off the cliff and lurched himself into the air. Soaring for just a moment before his two front paw met the cold forest ground of the cliff across the river valley. Before Hinata could relish his few moments of precious flight, he immediately lurched into a sitting position and howled happily at the disappearing moon. His piercing howl echoed around the trees as he bid the moon a good rest until they could run together once more.
Across the forest, crouched low in a squirrel trap, a hunter turned his head.
Tobio
Ever since Tobio was a child, his father told him stories about the golden wolves.
"Why are they called the golden wolves?" he would ask his father by the fire place each night. His father would smile and say, 'I'm glad you asked, son.' And began to spin tales of the most beautiful wolf to ever grace the forest. Fur like rays of the sun and eyes like orbs of light. The wolf took it upon itself to guard the great forest of all hard. And it did so majestically and with pride.
"Did you ever see it?" Tobio would ask.
"Only once." His father whispered dramatically, leaning close to his son. "On a hunting trip. We chased that beauty for miles but when it came down to it, I could only catch with one bullet. It struck the quick devil just off the hip!" Tobio gasped and smiled at his father.
"I'll find that wolf!" Tobio exclaimed happily. His father, a burly man, laughed and scooped up his son.
"That you will, son! But for now, let's see what your mother has for dinner!"
Present
Tobio turned toward the howl. It pierced the trees in the brink of the morning sun. He had heard it before, but never this close. He turned back to the tangled mess of squirrel traps, and weighed the pros and cons. He could set up the traps and go searching for the source of the howl and come back to some dinner if the fates are kind. But the wolf may be long gone by then. He could abandon the traps and search for the howl instead. But he would run even lower on food than he is now. But he may find the golden wolf.
Tobio scowled and threw his hunting rifle over his shoulder.
"Dammit." He sneered as he climbed out of the trap trench and took off in the direction of the howl.
Tobio couldn't run fast but he could run for a long time. Such a long time, in fact that he may have been running for the better part of an hour before he almost fell off of the cliff.
"Shit!" Tobio cursed as he spun his arms in wide circles, trying to regain his balance and not teeter off the edge of the side and into the river below. Although, truth be told, it wasn't a par drop, and the river was very calm today. Seeing that he had come to a standstill in his hunt, Tobio decided that perhaps he could make up for his forfeited squirrel traps and try fishing instead.
Tobio grabbed a sturdy stick off of the forest floor and pulled out his hunting knife. He began to sharpen the end of the stick into a point as he made his way down the side of the cliff and into the gentle river bed.
As he reached the stream, he sheathed his knife and gave his spear an experimental twirl. Once satisfied he pulled back the bushes that surrounded the stream and halted instantly.
Curled up on a rock, bathing in golden sunlight, sat a boy. Or… Perhaps not a boy. Perhaps a wolf. Or perhaps both. A golden/orange tail flicked back and forth in the sun and the boy breathed evenly as his ears, which were almost lost in his mop of orange hair, laid flat and content against his head. The stream seemed to have lulled this creature to sleep. Tobio slowly set down his spear and slid his rifle off of his shoulder, aiming it at the golden wolf. This had to be the golden wolf. Tobio would have never considered the fact that the golden wolf his father had told him about was actually a werewolf. It made much more sense, however, werewolves were such a rare sight to see now-a-days.
This particular one seemed a bit young to be the wolf his father told him about. Tobio pushed that thought away. A golden wolf is a golden wolf. And this one would earn him enough money to live without fussing with squirrel traps for a good long while.
He took a deep breath and counted.
One. Two. Three. Four.
He cocked the rifle and the wolf was on him in seconds. Teeth baring and shackles raised. Tobio was knocked over in shock and blinked at the wolf as his head slammed into a rock beneath him. His vision began to fade instantly and he heard himself mutter something incoherently. The wolf pinning him to the forest floor stopped growling and sniffed him cautiously. It opened its mouth. Tobio's vision was fading. The werewolf said something to him. He couldn't hear it.
Tobio surrendered his life to the wolf, and blacked out.
Hinata
Hinata was minding his own business. Sleeping lazily by the stream. However, if that hunter thought that he was catching Hinata off guard, he was wrong. This wasn't his first time guarding the forest. His mother had done it before him, and her father before her, and so on.
Hinata had that hunter pinned before he knew what was happening. Teeth baring and claws ready to strike, he was on top of him before the Hunter realized what was going on. Blood began to flow steadily from his head and the hunter gazed up at the wolf with lidded eyes.
"What gorgeous eyes…" He mumbled. If not for his sharp ears, Hinata may not have caught it. Said ears perked up in surprise and his growling died down.
"Hey…" Hinata asked. "Are you alright?" He didn't answer. Instead, the hunter passed out in a bloody head beneath him.
Getting the hunter back to Hinata's cabin wasn't easy. He was much heavier than he looked, and Hinata was far faster on four legs. But he managed to haul him back and lay him down gently on his bed, which was less of a civilized bed, and more of a best of blankets and pelts from prey to keep the wolf warm at night. Hinata used some old clothes that didn't fit anymore and managed to bind the hunters head wound with moss to absorb the blood and some nightshade leaves to break his fever.
When the hunter was treated, Hinata sat back on his hind legs and watched him sleep for a moment. He didn't look harmless. He had taken his gun from him when he passed out at the stream and tossed it into the downward current. It was far gone by now. Take away the hunters gun and he became as docile as any normal human. He had clean kept black hair and a slim figure that went well with his height. Hinata took a few hesitant steps toward him and sniffed him experimentally.
He smelled like fireplace ashes.
Since it had taken him a while to get this guy back to his cabin and the sun was already beginning to dip through the trees. Hinata realized that besides the tattered clothes that the hunter had on, he had nothing to really protect him from the cold of night.
The hunter didn't have a gun, and his ears were so sharp if he tried anything, Hinata would hear it and be on him instantly.
Hinata patted onto his bed and curled himself into the hunter's side and let his soft fur press against his torso.
As he began to fall asleep, he vaguely noticed how good the hunter smelled.
Tobio
He jolted awake to the sound of a loud howling right off to his right. Tobio flailed in the strange mass of fur and fell backwards onto a hard wooden floor. The howling was cut off instantly and a ball of orange fur peaked at Tobio from the bedding.
"You're awake." The werewolf said. Tobio blinked up at him, briefly stunned by the bright golden eyes that looked down at him.
"Do you need help?" The wolf asked. Tobio scrambled upward and faced the wolf, his hand immediately went toward the empty space where his gun should be.
"W-where am I? Why didn't you eat me?" Tobio asked. The wolf's face scrunched up in disgust.
"Why would I eat you?" Tobio didn't answer. His hand came up and felt the bandage on his head.
"Y-you helped me?" Tobio asked. The wolf gazed at him as if thinking about something and his face lit up instantly and he turned his back to the hunter.
"W-well, you looked so pitiful just lying there bleeding!" Tobio regarded the werewolf. It was his first time seeing one. The werewolf had the basic shape of a human, but his feet seemed to morph into those that worked better for running on four legs, and his hands seemed to curve into claws. The werewolf's tail was large and fluffy, and seemed to trail up his spin ad into his mop of orange/golden hair which partially covered his large ears. His overall stature was small, and agile.
"I suppose a thanks are in order." Tobio said.
The wolf regarded him for a moment before breaking out in a large smile. Tobio's heart skipped a beat.
"Don't mention it!"
One month later
Tobio had been around the wolf for almost a month now despite the fact that he had gone back to his own home. He would wake up at the crack of dawn to a far off howl at the fading moon and he wouldn't be upset. Because if Hinata's cry had not woken him from his sleep, he wouldn't be able to lean out his window and watch the sun rise into the sky.
It became routine.
Tobio would wake up with Hinata's cry to the moon and he would stumble down into his kitchen and put a kettle of water to boil on the open flame stove. Then, he would trudge out to his meat locker and grab a few slices of dry and salted meat for breakfast before starting some oat mash to go with it.
It was usually around this time when Hinata would come bounding in through the door, clothes askew, hair in all directions, and tail wagging happily.
And every time Tobio had to rest his erratic heart.
After eating, Hinata would curl up somewhere in Tobio's cabin or his yard and sleep in the sunlight, stretched out like a cat. Sometimes, Tobio would find it in himself to join him. Like today for example. Hinata had chosen a place in the yard where the sun shone through perfectly and created the most wonderful pocket of heat to nap in.
Hinata was asleep the second he discovered it. Tobio watched Hinata sleep for a moment before biting his lip and slowly walking over to the werewolf whom he had befriended almost a month ago.
He dropped down to Hinata's side and the warmth of the light began to sooth him immediately. He shifted in the tall grass for a moment before Hinata rolled over and snugged his nose into Tobio's chest, and clenched his small hands into his shirt.
Tobio's eyes widened and his forced himself to swallow stiffly and as he hesitantly held Hinata in return. His hesitance melted into ease and he began to relax into a deep sleep while clutched his precious golden wolf to his side.
Hinata
Hinata was scared. He had gotten up from his nap and had been delighted to see that Tobio had joined him. He regarded the sun in the sky and decided he really needed food. He knew Tobio kept dried meats in his shed or he could go hunting. His joints were still a little stiff from the nap and decided he would have some of Tobio's cured meat, and replace it when he was feeling up for a hunt.
Hinata pulled himself off the ground and walked over the shed, pulling the squeaky door open with a yawn.
Hinata was scared.
Guns were lined up on the back wall, animal heads were mounted in display on slabs of wood, traps of all kinds were hanging off the walls as well. Snares, and starvation traps. Foot traps, and den traps. Kill traps, and pelt traps. It was like a murderous shop for the dammed.
Hinata let out a shuddering breath and took a step backwards, his ears flattened against his head.
"Hinata?" He heard Tobio's voice call from their napping spot.
Hinata couldn't look at this. He couldn't look. He couldn't-
"No! Don't look at that!" Tobio's hands covered Hinata's eyes and he pulled the small wolf backwards and out of the shed. Both of them landed on the grass behind them. Hinata had begun to cry and clutch to Tobio's shirt.
"How!" Hinata sobbed. "If you are the one who kills everything, why didn't you kill me? You had so many opportunities. Were you waiting for the right time?" Hinata accused in anger. Tobio held him tightly against him and tried to calm his sobbing.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. You weren't supposed to see that." Tobio muttered.
"Why didn't you kill me?" Hinata demanded.
Tobio gently grabbed Hinata's face in his hands and gazed into his golden eyes as they reflected the rays of the sun like they were made for that exact purpose.
"I seem to unexpectedly found myself in love with you." Hinata blinked up at Tobio. He was so shocked that the tears halted in his eyes, and his sobbing ceased at once.
"I also love you…" Hinata said resting a hand on Tobio's face also. "But I cannot be with a hunter." Hinata muttered pulling away from Tobio. Tobio grasped onto Hinata's hand and pulled him to him once more, this time, in a gentle kiss. He allowed one hand to continue to cradle Hinata's face as the other hand came around to the back of his neck and allow him to kiss the werewolf more deeply.
"I won't be a hunter anymore."
Hinata smiled and laid his head on his love's chest and breathed in deeply. His was as warm as the sun.
Tobio
The town was bustling and noisy. Tobio didn't like it. He preferred his safe cabin in the woods with his mate, Hinata. The people ran back and forth to jobs, family, banks, and saloons. On his way out from his job as an information broker for the Sherriff, he noticed that the town call sale was happening by the gates that led to the forest.
"JUST A SMALL LITTLE CUB IT IS! PERFECT FOR HUNTING FOLKS. PERFECT FOR GUARDING. PERFECT FOR JUST SIMPLY SHOWING OFF. YOU'LL NEVER SEE ANOTHER WEREWOLF FOR AS LONG AS YOU LIVE AND CERTAINLY NOT AS DOCILE AS A NEWBORN ONE!"
Tobio's eyes widened at the announcement of the item for sale. Not item, no. Person. Werewolf. A small baby werewolf was cradled in a show girl's arms as she walked around the outdoor wooden stage. A small crowd of people had gathered to see the werewolf child.
Tobio pushed through the crowd and toward the front of the stage and leaned up toward the announcer as far as he could.
"I'll take that child." Tobio said. The announcer looked down at him from his spot of entertaining the crowd.
"Oi, I haven't even started the bidding. And these werewolves are wild animals you know."
Tobio brought out his cloak purse and dumped out his entire month's wage he had just received. It was supposed to be used to buy a new furnace for the cabin, but Tobio couldn't let this small baby werewolf be sold to humans who didn't have the slightest clue on how to care for one.
"300 gold pieces." Tobio said. The salesman's eyes widened and he knelt down to shake Tobio's hand.
"Didn't think there was a soul in this village that had that much money. You got a deal." Before Tobio could blink, his purse was snatched up, and a small bundle was pressed into his arms.
The crowd muttered in disappointment and dispersed, and the sales troupe packed up as well. Soon, Tobio was standing in the middle of town holding a sleeping werewolf baby.
Tobio tried to settle the lump in his throat as he pulled back the thick cotton swaddle the baby was wrapped in.
It was a pale child, with messy blonde hair and blue eyes. It looked nothing like either him or Hinata. But indeed, it was a werewolf. Pointed ears sat upon the child's head and his nose had that of a doggish feature to it, similar to Hinata's.
He uncovered the baby further to noticed that it had no clothes on. Tobio was glad it was mid-summer. He came to find that the baby was a girl. A small, female werewolf, and her tail was large and bushy like Hinata's- no- like her new father's.
Tobio smiled and bundled up the baby once more which gazed at him curiously before starting to fuss as babies do.
"Let's go introduce you to your other father." Tobio whispered to her. The baby laughed and began to fuss with a flower that was stuck in Tobio's jacket. He had picked it up on his way home from a shop for Hinata.
"Hana." Tobio muttered. "Your name is Hana."
Let me know what you think of this one shot in the reviews! Also, this story is based off the werewolf!hinata art by craziiwolf . tumblr . com