A/N: i don't own Wolf's Rain; Nikki belongs to me.
[key: 'wolf speech'/ "human speech"]
The Sharpest Lives - Pt. I
Normal girls would be sleeping off a day's worth of the mundane, or in certain cases they would be prowling the night selling themselves to earn a paycheck.
But she wasn't normal.
The chilly wind bit at her cheeks and nose; furrowing the scowl on her brow, she flexed her knuckles on habit before digging her hands into the deep pockets of her black jeans, blue eyes peeled for any sign of her company's return.
The mission should've ended sooner than now; don't tell me they ran into trouble…
'You're still not old enough to come with; besides, gigs are usually life-threatening.' His familiar amber stare flashed in her mind.
She stomped her right foot's heel into the snowy floor of the alcove to fight the instinctive chattering of her teeth. Onii-san, hurry up.
And then she heard it.
The low thrum of an aircraft cut through the soft howl of the winds like a dagger's blade; she looked to the cloudy night sky and watched as a large airship flew past the city's gates, the shrill buzzing of the machine's engines ringing in her ears hollowly.
She hated that noise.
Watching the airship continue onward to the upper-echelons that housed the nobility district, she huffed and spat in the moving aircraft's wake, eyes narrowed.
A more raucous noise sounded in the minutes that followed, perking her ears; she looked to the frozen wasteland beyond the city's gates as two jeeps were coming forward from the darkness, the headlights dying down, but she knew by the giddiness that had entered the atmosphere that the crew had returned.
She sighed in relief, finding herself smiling as the men hopped from the jeeps to unload the supplies they'd pilfered, trotting forward to welcome them back.
"Nice slip-up back there, Gehl." One of the guys lightly cuffed the redhead boy on the back of his head as he passed by.
The boy winced and grumbled, "Thanks, Chen…"
"Well, there's a nice sight. S' sweet of you to welcome me back, Nikki." Another of the men wolf-whistled at the passing girl.
She snorted and shot him a rude hand gesture, rolling her eyes. "Piss off, Sedo." She passed by Gehl and smiled kindly at him.
"Ouch, still the stone-cold bitch, I see." Chen snickered, eyeing her curved frame approvingly.
"Lay off, you lot." Their leader advised blandly, shooting his two cohorts a mild glare.
"Whatever you say, Tsume." Sedo complied with a shrug, elbowing Chen, leaving him to carry the heavier box of supplies as he trailed after the others, the latter traipsing after him.
Tsume's glare shifted to a scowl before he exhaled and looked at the girl, "Sorry for the wait."
"Don't be, I'm perfectly fine freezing my ass off waiting for you lot." Nikki rolled her eyes, sidestepping as he led the way after his crew's wake, following until she was at his side loyally.
"Sarcasm won't get you far, Nik." He remarked, hearing her huff, smirking at her.
They passed through a few more alleys until hitting the wider alley that passed by a run-down bar that had a weird scent, seeming to get stronger as they came closer to the shabby place.
There, that was the source.
Time seemed to slow down as he looked down the narrow alley near the bar's closed door, amber eyes finding and resting on a black dog that looked a little too wolfish for his liking; his hackles rose up in a silent bristle as he noticed the dog was glaring at him through the clearest blue eyes he'd ever seen.
Just as fast as it had slowed, time jerked forward in no time, and the dog started barking madly, fangs bared, yanking and squirming against the leash tying it to the red fire hydrant near the door.
"Oi, Tsume!" Chen called after the irritant of the dog had booked it at top speed.
Nikki looked at the dog a second longer before she hurried after him, Sedo, Gehl and Chen following.
::::::l oOo l::::::
"What's all the commotion for…?" She grumbled, quirking a brow at the sight of her brother's crew surrounding the aged oak rooted to the decrepit slab of concrete, glancing at him as he came forward.
"What is it?"
"It's a dog, but I don't think it's gonna make it."
Both brows lifted when seeing him stiffen as he seemed to catch whiff of the "dog", before the surprise melted from his stern features. "Tsume…" She began.
"That is not a dog. Pull it out." He ordered gruffly with a slight nod of his head at earning a few wary glances from the men.
The guy closest to the tree's hole where the animal in question resided reached forward to touch said creature.
Like lightning, the dog lashed out with a resounding snarl, fangs snapping at the man and cutting him down; as the second one fired arrows at it from the crossbow he had in hand, the animal lurched forward to tackle him, teeth ripping his throat out like a hot knife through butter.
Her eyes sharpened in awe as the dog –no, this wasn't a dog at all; this was a wolf—regarded the horrorstruck crowd through narrowed gold slits, blood staining his muzzle contorted into an angered snarl, teeth bared.
Another wolf…?
"How interesting." She perked up slightly at hearing the drawl in his voice, looking at her brother to see he was now in the wolf's sights, gold glaring at amber.
Snarling, the white wolf glowered at him and watched him slowly back up until he took off in the direction of the old tower with the wolf giving chase at top speed.
"Damn it!" She hissed, sprinting after them before any of the others could think to follow, the speed she had been taught was her greatest weapon kicking into gear as she put her slightly-short legs to work and hurried after the two wolves to the old tower.
Loud snarling and brief barks came from the top when she finally reached them; looking up from regaining the air back into her lungs, she gaped slightly at watching the two males fight, blood and fur flying into the air.
Reality flew back in a pinch to remind her that someone might come after her soon, and she shook out of the awe and slight fear at watching the two males duke it out, springing into action.
Tsume punted the wolf away with a sharp headbutt, baring his teeth as the wolf lunged again, before a growl came from the side and a blur of black and blue came into view, shoving the wolf away roughly.
The stranger growled lowly and bared his teeth, gold eyes glowering into the determined set of blue eyes the color of the sky, the pretty face framed with a mop of thin black hair.
"Enough, both of you." Nikki snapped, a hard scowl forming on her brow, her words meant not only for him but for her companion she was protecting.
'Idiot, move out of the way.' The gray wolf growled behind her.
"Get ahold of yourself before the guys come, lunkhead." She countered, briefly surprising the stranger at seeing that she understood their speech.
Tsume snorted and glared at the stranger, watching him glare back before turning away to leave the rooftop, favoring his left hind leg.
Nikki watched him leave; she didn't know if it was pity or if it was sympathy, but she looked at her brother and offered a brief smile before following the injured wolf.
The wolf scowled slightly at his reflection, scenting that wolf nearby, though it didn't entirely smell like him, but there was a touch of female scent there too… 'You're not very sneaky.' He commented.
Furrowing her brow at being caught, the girl sighed and slipped out from behind the alley wall to approach the wolf, regarding his various cuts and the conspicuous injury to his left leg with hesitation she quickly dashed to leave sympathy present. "I get that a lot." She replied.
He sized her up briefly, appraising that even though she had some curves, there was a subtle indication that she was lithe on her feet, possibly a thief too, like her 'brother'. He furrowed his brow when regarding her placid sky colored stare, shrugging past her, slightly favoring his leg again. 'Why're you following me?' He asked at hearing her boot heels clacking softly in his wake.
"You should have your leg looked at." She noted, slipping her hands into the pockets of her blue overcoat and sidling to his right side.
The wolf snuffed, looking at her out of the corner of his eye, 'You're a human, y'know.'
"I'm aware of that, but what's that got to do with things?" She shrugged.
'Humans fear wolves, so why don't you act human?' He demanded, starting to feel just the slightest bit annoyed with her obliviousness; why didn't she turn away, and why was she so close to that Tsume guy anyway?
"Well I'm not afraid of wolves. I never feared them, even when I was little. Besides, you're interesting." She added, smiling at him.
This confused the wolf; he raised a furry brow. 'Then why're you so close to that Tsume guy?' He asked.
She blinked once at the strange question before chuckling, smiling sheepishly. "I know this's gonna sound weird, but he raised me, and because of that, I think of him like my big brother." She explained.
'…You're a strange human.' He muttered, shaking his head slightly.
She scritched the back of her head, pursing her lips. "It might be nice to learn the name of someone so judgmental." She groused.
He couldn't fight the amusement creeping onto his features. 'Kiba.'
"Nikki." She answered with a slight nod.
'Strange name for a strange human.' He mused aloud.
She huffed, scowling. "Shouldn't you look like one, by the way? Onii-san always looks like a human so he doesn't blow his cover." She asked dryly.
'I wouldn't be showing my wolf's pride if I were to look like a human. Besides, your brother can do what he wants with his life; he's obviously thrown away his pride by hanging with those other humans.' He replied stiffly.
"Well that 'wolf's pride' crap won't save your ass if you get caught." She countered, quieting her voice when they passed through a dingy marketplace, straightening her posture and pretending as if he were her pet dog instead of a supposedly-extinct wolf.
Kiba regarded her strange actions with another lifted eyebrow, shaking his head and huffing. 'What would a human know of wolf's pride…?' He started to ask snarkily before catching whiff of gunpowder coming from behind them.
The quiet click of a gun being loaded resounded in the air, making them both freeze; a growl rumbled in his chest as she turned to stare at the nose of a shotgun being wielded by a grizzled old hunter with a black dog at his side, inwardly cursing her bad luck as she recognized the dog to be the same one from the other night.
Damn.
Loud barking sounded as the dog bolted forward to attack the white wolf that bared his teeth menacingly, ready to fight; she distinctly saw the old man lift his gun at him and made to draw her dagger when the wolf bit out 'run!' and threw her for a loop.
"You're not serious…" She began, perking up as the dog jumped the distance between them; the wolf snarled and snapped at her heels.
'Hurry!' He growled, glaring at her, and she could swear she saw concern flash in his stare.
Nikki glared back before she took off down a side-alley, continuing to run even as the gunshot went off in the marketplace behind her that made her cringe.
"Idiot."
::::::l oOo l::::::
The intimidating sight of the police department's geometric building loomed high overhead.
Squaring her shoulders, she exhaled and rubbed her temples, grumbling, "I must be out of my mind…" She ascended the steps.
"Oi, you lost?" Blinking once, she looked back to see a familiar pudgy boy with wiry brown hair looking at her with something like curiosity and confusion swimming in his garnet eyes.
She sighed slightly and smiled at him, pausing. "Hige, what're you doing here?"
He smiled back, trotting up the stairs to come to her step, "I was gonna ask you the same thing, actually. Don't tell me you finally got smart and wanted to turn your brother in." He joked wryly, elbowing her.
Even though they were both clearly different species, Hige was her friend and things had been that way between them for the last six years. Of course he flirted, but her tomboy nature usually made his 'sweet words' bounce off like pebbles from steel.
"No I didn't," Nikki rolled her eyes and punched him affectionately, chuckling. "A friend of mine got caught and I came to spring him. Barge in and sneak him out; simple." She informed, continuing to make her trek.
Hige blinked once before trotting after her, sidling to her side. "Easier said than done, Nik," he caught her wrist, forcing her gaze to meet his. "Is he… y'know?" He didn't need to spell it out.
She sighed and nodded. "And a very stubborn and idiotic one, to boot." She replied, shirking free to near the spinning doors.
He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed, "Cripes, I'm startin' to think he's not the only one… Wait up!"
It was surprisingly easy to break into the place; people that saw them guessed they were part of the cleaning crew.
So when they located the room where he was –thanks to the tan wolf's ever-keen nose—it was blessedly clear of life save the wolf that rested in a cage to the back of the room.
"This's your guy?" Hige asked as she stepped inside first, following, sliding his hands into the pockets of his hoodie.
Nikki nodded, smiling slightly as she crouched infront of the cage. "Yeah." She reached to slip a couple of fingers past the bars to stroke the top of his muzzle.
Rousing, Kiba opened a gold eye and was met with her softened blue stare; he snuffed quietly, 'I told you to run.' He said, his words moreso a scolding than voicing his relief at seeing she was present.
She blinked and then scowled, feeling a vein twitch on her brow. "Some gratitude would be nice…" She grumbled, distinctly seeing amusement flash in his eyes. "You would do well to not be so snarky when you've got a bum leg and shoulder, by the way."
"Man, you really screwed up." The tan wolf mused as he shuffled forward to plonk down next to her, keeping the girl from threatening the injured white wolf any further, smirking bemusedly. "I mean, I've seen one of us get caught before, but never this badly!" He added.
The white wolf leveled him a dry look, 'I can get out of here whenever I feel like it, y'know.'
"Ah-huh, so why're you still in there?" He asked cheekily.
He shrugged slightly, 'Just needed a place to rest for a while, that's all.'
He chuckled a little, "I'm Hige, it's nice to meet ya."
'So why're you in here, anyway?'
"No reason; it smelled like something interesting was gonna happen, so I just followed my nose. Y'know? 'Sides, I got nowhere else to go, and the princess here obviously wasn't coming in alone…"
'That's not your true form. Why do you hide yourself?'
"So I don't end up where you are. See, people here are terrified of us –aside from her— so, y'know, if we look like them, they pretty much leave us alone."
'Living a lie; just so you can die a miserable death in this city?'
"Gotta do what you can to survive, right? Keep lookin' like that and you'll be back here in no time. It draws too much attention."
'Have you given up your pride as a wolf?' He straightened slightly to bare his teeth in annoyance.
He blinked once before smiling wryly, "You're a strange one, all right. But having pride doesn't count for much if you're dead, ne?" He stated, seeing the annoyance slip from his face to be replaced with slight surprise.
She smiled a little, cringing when loud sirens went off shortly after, jumping to her feet and looking at the doors of the room. "Damn it. Come on, we need to get out of here." She declared.
The white wolf growled as he bit down on the bars of his cage, and she watched with slight amazement as he bent the bars at enough of a wide angle for his body to slip out of his prison. He shook his fur before straightening to his full height, his form shifting and changing from that of a white wolf with gold eyes to a boy that looked her age with unruly brown hair and striking glacier-green eyes.
Kiba regarded her slightly slackened jaw expression with a smirk. "Look human enough now?" He asked.
Cheeks coloring cherry red, Nikki coughed and cut her gaze away, huffing. "Shut up before I give you a black eye to go with your bum leg." She growled, lifting a hand to tuck her black hair back as she drew up the blue-gray hood of her coat.
Hige sweatdropped, rolling his eyes and trodding ahead of the two. "C'mon, let's move," he urged over his shoulder.
The trio slipped out into the chaotic corridor with the tan wolf in the lead and the girl and white wolf at his heels; one particular cop barreled past them and clipped the shoulder of the girl, catching her off balance.
Kiba grabbed her waist, making her squeak, pulling her close and ignoring the dark blush on her cheeks as he muttered to her, "Pretend you're helping me walk." He could walk fine on his own, even with his bum leg.
Nikki scowled slightly but complied nonetheless, sliding her arm around his shoulders. "Crafty flea-bag." She mumbled under her breath, ignoring the apparent amusement her words warranted from him.
::::::l oOo l::::::
'Aren't you cold?'
She looked over at where the two wolves slept, briefly surprised to see that he was awake, shrugging and looking at the expanse of the rundown buildings around them, glancing once or twice in the direction of her brother's hideout. "Not really." She replied, brushing some of her fringe out of her face before turning to sit down next to him.
The white wolf raised a furry brow momentarily and looked at her, 'I guess you heard what I said earlier, about Paradise.' He mused.
"Yeah; even though I've never heard of it, it sounds like it's better than this place." She shrugged, smiling a little at his gold stare.
Kiba's left ear twitched. 'Thanks for helping me escape.' He added, lowering his gaze out of something she pegged to be mild embarrassment.
Nikki blinked once before smiling again, shrugging. "Don't mention it; kinda owed it to you for what happened in the marketplace." She lifted a hand to gingerly pat his head, feeling him slightly stiffen.
His furry face morphed into something like a pout, though when she started scritching behind his left ear, he snuffed in defeat. 'You're a strange girl.'
"Like you're one to talk, tough guy." She giggled quietly, rubbing behind his right ear with gentle fingers, smiling at noting he was starting to relax. "Aww, good puppy."
Kiba growled slightly, shooting her a look. 'Shut up.' Why did she have to start scratching…?
Nikki grinned cheekily, resuming petting his head and watching his ears flick aimlessly, gold eyes closing.
He opened an eye when feeling her stop petting, hearing her yawn as her head rested against his shoulder, her fingers curling absently in his fur. He smiled a little, closing his eyes.
A/N: now before you guys start chewing me out in regards to this, YES i'm aware i'm spamming you lot with stories but i needed to get this off the ground before it drove me crazy so there. also, i'm really interested on how this is going to turn out. it's been a long time since i've made a story with a human thrown into the tumble known as the Wolf's Rain universe, and in the past the stories haven't kicked off well, to put it lightly.
but yeah, chapter two is in the works and there's just a bit more sexual tension thrown in and according to the forecast, it'll continue until.. hell, i'm not spilling the climax point just yet! you'll just have to read and be good patient readers, okay, duckies? (:
constructive criticism or feedback would be well appreciated here, so feel free to give me a holler. thanks, and later!
