Wolf Pack

Most other Hollows longed for strength. They gazed at us in envy, wanting so badly the power that the two of us held. And what made them angry, was the fact that we didn't even want the power. To us, strength and power just got in the way. It prevented us from doing anything. As we walked by, other Hollows died from our very presence. And eventually, the others became afraid of us. They would see us approaching, and then immediately run off and hide. In the end, we saw nothing but the sand, and no one but each other.

In every wolf there is a longing to be a part of a bigger pack. You will rarely find a lone wolf, living isolated from all the others. There is always the tug to be in a family, the longing to be with other wolves. No wolf can survive on its own. Any wolf that does will die. But they don't die from hunger or thirst, though. They die from loneliness.

We are wolves by nature, and wolves by heart. We couldn't take the loneliness. We tried to join other packs, but every time we did, the others all died, leaving us alone again. We made a pact with each other. We could go anywhere, and do whatever we wanted, but wherever and whatever, we would always do it together. We would stick with each other until the very end. We would be together forever.

"Starrk!"

The tall brown-haired man let out a grunt as a sudden force landed on his stomach, knocking the air right out of him. A giggle let him know exactly who it was, and he groaned. With his eyes still closed and his head still relaxed against his mountains of pillows, he said, "What do you want, Lilynette?"

Lilynette laughed again, her single pink eye gleaming with mischief and happiness. "Nothing. I forgot."

Starrk lazily opened on hazy blue eye, and stared at her. This had to be the happiest he'd ever seen her at. It had only been a few months since Aizen had found them, but already Lilynette was bounding around and making new friends. Starrk was pleased that she was cheerful and healthy, although to his annoyance she had also become somewhat of a prankster. Now she took it to the extreme whenever she was waking him up, and always had something to say about his constant sleeping. But he was sure that she was simply teasing him. The two were family, after all. They were their own pack.

"I thought you went off to bug Barragan's Fraccion." Starrk said, both eyes now open.

"Yeah, but they got really boring. They were all picking on that tiger guy, and they didn't even notice me, so I went over to Harribel."

"What'd you do there?"

"Her three Fraccion were arguing, so that got boring too." Lilynette rolled over and flopped down next to Starrk, curling up into a ball with a sound that seemed like a cross between a giggle and a sigh. "I'm really glad we decided to come here, Starrk. It's so great, with all the other Espada and Arrancar."

Starrk gave her a sideways glance, and grunted a half-agreement.

"We're not alone anymore," Lilynette turned over so that her bright rose-colored gaze bore into him. "Aren't you happy?"

The taller man just shrugged. "I agree that it's nice here. But there's something about Aizen that bothers me a little."

Lilynette sat up, staring at him in confusion. "Aizen? But he's the one who gave us this home. Plus, he said that once we killed off all those Shinigami, we'd get even better stuff." She blinked, a sudden look of realization coming over her. "I get it! You're just scared, aren't you, Starrk? You're worried that we might not win, and then we'll be all alone again, right?"

Starrk glanced at her, and opened his mouth to say that that wasn't entirely true, but all of a sudden Lilynette pressed up against him and said, "Don't worry, Starrk! We'll definitely win. We're the Primera, there's nothing that can beat us."

He stared at her, her face buried into his shoulder as if trying to reassure him. While what she had said was touching, it wasn't why he was bothered about Aizen. There was something shady about that former Shinigami that made Starrk wary of him… but there was no point in worrying Lilynette. So he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and muttered, "I know. We are wolves, after all."

Lilynette turned her head slightly, so that her single eye pierced into him, but still remained pressed against him, behaving as a wolf pup would do to her alpha-male father. "Wolves are the greatest animals ever. They're fast, and strong, and loyal. Nothing can beat wolves, so nothing can beat us."

Starrk squeezed her gently. "That's right."

The wolf's biggest flaw is its desire to be with others. They don't want to be alone, and will do anything in their power to prevent that. If a fellow wolf from their pack dies in battle, they will retreat, having no want to continue the fight. But out of loyalty to the pack leader, they will continue. They will fight to the end, avenging their fallen pack-member. Loyalty to the pack is the main thing that fuels a wolf, and it was the one thing that fueled us.

We were the Primera, and our greatest fear was being alone. But then we found a pack, and we pledged our loyalty to the pack, and to the pack leader most of all. And we fought for them. We fought for our pack, and for the alpha. We fought, and we died.

But now we can say, with pride in our voices, that we died for our pack. For our wolf pack.