Edit 3/8/11: Hello there! After forgetting about this fic for a while, I've re-posted it with some edits to improve the story and its readibility.
So, bolded text means that a character is speaking in their wolf form.
Disclaimer: Wolf's Rain belongs to Keiko Nobumoto, BONES studio, and Bandai Visual. I hold no claim to any part of it.
They were in another decaying town, surrounded by more decrepit humans. There was no life in the place. There was no life in anything these days. Everything was breaking down, crumbling back into the earth from whence it had come. And it seemed as if everyone were content about it happening.
It made Tsume sick. It was one thing to see humans forced into desperation. But to see them in no better state than the world around them was disgusting. Did they have no pride left? Or had they given up their will to live?
Their pitiful condition was repulsive. If anything, it helped him to despise the Nobles even more. The Nobles were an autocratic group of humans who thought that they were better than anyone else was, and amassed armies to impose their will. And, their internal power struggles were reflected onto the citizens. Hundreds of people could die due to a Noble's rage at a simple manner.
And now the Nobles were sitting around, stuffing themselves and trying to steal Paradise while the rest of the world died.
Paradise. The one true haven that the world could offer, if there was one worthy to open it. None of the Nobles fit that description at all. Only wolves were able to open the gateway to Paradise.
Wolves, like Tsume and the rest of his pack. He didn't care much for them, but they were a pack nonetheless, bound by what they were and what they had to do. Which was to reach the real Paradise, not an illusion conceived by those damn Nobles.
"Hey, d'you think we could find some food here? We haven't eaten in ages." Whined the porky one, Hige. He was always hungry. It didn't make sense, what with all the meat he had on his bones.
"I dunno. I can't smell a thing." Toboe, the pack's tagalong runt, sniffed the air. "The air is almost dead here."
"Everything here is dead."
Kiba. Gods, how that stupid white wolf got on Tsume's nerves. Everything, from his face to his infallible instinct to his whole nobler-than-thou attitude just pissed Tsume off. What made him so much better than the other wolves? Really, nothing did. He was forced to stoop to the same levels as the rest of them.
"Then we obviously have no chance of finding anything here. Let's get going." Tsume trudged ahead of the pack, but stopped suddenly. He had smelled something very interesting.
"Tsume? What is it?"
He dashed off, following the scent and leaving the others behind. He must track this down.
He soon found the source. There was a young woman sitting huddled against a wall. At first glance, she would have seemed to be any ordinary human. Her clothes were plain and ragged, and her long black hair was stringy, lank, and filthy. Her skin had the same pale, waxy look as the other haggard humans.
But then she looked up at him. The moment he looked into her violet eyes, he knew.
This girl was a wolf.
She leapt to her feet and started gesturing wildly, her mouth open in shock.
"You—you're a wolf?" He asked incredulously, earning vigorous nodding. "What are you doing here?"
She put her hands together and put them under her head, miming sleeping.
"Hey…can't you talk?"
She shook her head. She couldn't talk. She started moving her hands again, speaking in sign language.
"What the hell are you trying to tell me?"
She dug around in her pockets, eventually producing a tiny chalkboard and scrap of chalk. She scrawled something down on it and handed it to Tsume.
It read, I've never met another wolf before! What are you doing here? What is your name? And…when you leave, may I come with you? My name is Shizuka.
"I'm Tsume."
Shizuka extended her hand. He stared at it, then gave her back her chalkboard. She shook her head, and put out her hand again.
"What are you trying to do?"
She sighed, grabbed Tsume's hand, and shook it. He pulled rapidly away, as if he had been shocked by static electricity.
"Don't do that!" He snapped.
She cleared her board, then wrote, Why? That's called a handshake. It's something that humans do when they meet each other. I thought it would be safer to do that instead of the ordinary greetings of our kind.
"I doubt that. These humans are so blind to the world; they wouldn't notice us unless we bit them."
She nodded, and then glanced around. Seeing that no one was nearby, she dropped her illusion of human form. Her fur was light gray and matted. Finally, now we can speak without the board. She was speaking in the manner of the wolves, a mental projection of sorts. It required no actual vocalization, a good thing for Shizuka.
"So, why are you here? This place is dead. Everyone can smell it."
I stay because I used to be welcomed here. I only wish that I were again.
"Lemme guess. Someone almost found out what you are."
No, it wasn't that. What happened to me is a long story, and far too personal for two people who just met. She stepped closer to him. But, if you let me stick around, I'm sure that I'll be able to tell you someday.
"Hm."
"Tsume!"
Someone shouted, causing Shizuka to instantly raise her illusion. A group of three young men came around the corner, startling her. She turned and ran as Tsume's pack approached.
"Tsume? Who was that?" Toboe jogged up to Tsume. "Who was that girl?"
"She was like us…but she was different."
"Different? How?"
"She couldn't speak."
Something suddenly registered with Tsume. When Shizuka had dropped her illusion, there had been a disturbance in the natural flow of her pelt, right across her throat. It might have been due to something being tied there, but it could have been a scar. He couldn't tell.
"Really? She couldn't?"
"No."
He had to see her again. There was just something about her eyes that drew him in and held him fast.
"I have to find her again." He said aloud, startling his companions.
"What happened? This is unlike you, Tsume." Spoke Kiba in his stupid I-know-everything voice.
"I don't know. But I think she could be valuable to us."
"Was she cute?" Asked Hige. "She better be, cos it's been way too long since I saw a pretty girl."
"Appearance doesn't matter." Tsume actually thought that, if she cleaned herself up and got some food in her, Shizuka was beautiful. "Now, can you track her or not? I should have her scent on me."
"No need, I can smell her just fine. She went this way." Hige lead them after Shizuka's trail, Tsume close on his heels.
"She should be in here." Hige stopped at the door of a ramshackle apartment. "I wonder if she'll have food."
Tsume shoved past him and knocked on the door.
A minute passed, and then Shizuka came to the door. She was visibly startled by seeing Tsume again, and hurriedly beckoned the wolves inside. She locked the door behind them and shut the blinds on her windows before dropping her illusion.
What are you guys doing in this town? She asked.
"We're only passing though. We had hoped to find something to eat, but that hasn't been going well." Kiba responded, not at ease about being indoors.
Ah, you'll have a hard time doing that here. There's nothing left for miles around. I'm honestly lucky not to have starved to death by now.
"But that means that you know where to get it."
I do, but it's not a pretty sight. Don't worry; I'll get something for you. She sat down in front of them. Now, I can tell that you're not just here for the culinary experience. Why did you leave wherever you came from?
"We're searching for something."
For what?
Toboe piped up, "For Paradise!"
Shizuka was so shocked she nearly fell over backwards. P-Paradise? You mean it's not a myth?
"I…don't know for sure." He looked down. "But I know that, with Kiba, we'll definitely find out."
"That's why we're here." Kiba continued. "I smelled Lunar Flowers."
You're not alone. I heard that dozens of wolves have come here because of the scent. But there are no flowers here—believe me, I've looked. No one comes anymore because of that.
"Then we'll move out very soon." He drifted slightly towards the door.
And then what kind of hostess would I be? Please, rest here tonight. I'll go get you food. Shizuka raised her illusion, grabbed a canvas bag hanging by the door, and left her apartment.
"Hm, Tsume, I guess you did have a pretty good hunch about her." Hige was sprawled on a chair. "She's cute, huh? And she'll get us food!"
"Looks like I'm not the only one around here with a good instinct." Tsume glared pointedly at Kiba. "When have I ever lead you guys wrong?"
"I have never been at blame for any attacks on us." Kiba's face was flat.
"Oh really. If you hadn't shown up, we would have never had to leave Freeze City."
"I wasn't the one purposely agitating the humans."
"Knock it off, you two!" Toboe put himself in-between the two older wolves. "We all would've had to leave some day. We're not meant to live in places like that."
"Says the pup raised by humans in that place."
"Toboe's right. Back off, guys." Hige got up and went to back the little wolf. "Can we save the internal power struggles for when we're not hungry? Cos arguing actually does make you hungrier, you know."
"Keep out of this, Hige!" Tsume growled. Any more of his meddling, and things would certainly come to blows.
"I will not! Besides, who knows if either of your instincts is right? We could very well be in a trap right now."
"No." Tsume, to his own surprise, found himself backing down despite how much he wanted to tear a few chunks of fur off the other three wolves. "This isn't a trap. There's no way that it could be."
"Huh? How can you tell?"
"Shizuka is not going to betray us. I can tell right now that she's not capable of it."
Toboe started to ask, "Shizuka? Is that her name?" but was immediately drowned out by Hige exclaiming, "You just met her! There's no way that you can know that about her yet!"
"Have you seen her eyes?"
That caught him off guard. "What?"
"Her eyes. There isn't a speck of malice or deceit in them." Her eyes were the clear, trustworthy eyes of a child, and yet there was a deep, captivating sense to them. Those were the kind of eyes that reflect everything about a person's character. Tsume had never seen eyes like hers before.
"So she has pretty eyes! So what?"
"She wouldn't do anything to us. We're the first wolves she ever met. If we were in danger, we'd be dead by now."
"Did you hit your head or something? When did you start trusting anyone?"
"She's different."
"Different? You're insane!" Hige was this close to hitting Tsume across the face to try to bring the old him back. But, at that exact moment, the object of their argument burst through the door. She slammed it shut behind her, clutching her bag to her chest and breathing heavily.
"Are you alright, Shizuka?" Kiba asked. She nodded, then went to her small kitchen and dumped the bag's contents onto a counter. She had managed to get an entire ham and some slightly wilted herbs.
"Wow! Where did you find this?" Toboe exclaimed, eyes wide.
She dropped her illusion. Let's just say that a certain shipping truck will never know what hit it.
"Oh. Did they chase you?"
For a bit. But I escaped by running across the rooftops. Still, this is too much talking. Let's eat. She raised her illusion again and divided the ham into five pieces, keeping the smallest for herself. She was the only one who garnished it with herbs and ate it from a plate—the other wolves ate like wolves, allowing their true forms to be seen.
When they finished, Shizuka had a question for them.
May I come with you guys?
"Why do you want to?" inquired Kiba, no hint of his already formed decision showing.
I want to come with you guys, wherever you go. I have nothing to risk by leaving or staying here.
"You have your life. Is that not worth risking?"
Everybody's gonna die someday. It doesn't matter when or where. Besides, I think that I can be valuable to you guys.
"How so?"
I'm very fast, and I can figure out how to get food no matter where we are. And I'm good at dealing with humans. I've lived with them my whole life, and I've found that they pity me because I'm mute. And I'm determined—I'm not afraid to get the things that I want or need.
"And what is it that you want or need?"
To come with you. I can feel it in my bones that I'm meant to follow you.
Kiba sat back. "I'm not one to go against feelings as strong as yours. You may follow us, if you like. But I'm warning you now that the road shall be long and hard. There is no guaranteeing that we will succeed in our quest."
I know that. That's why I'm coming. I can handle it.
"What does the rest of the pack think?"
Hige sighed. "I guess I can't go against what Kiba's judgment says is best. Runt?"
"Sure, I'm happy about Shizuka coming with us!" Toboe beamed. "I think that she's just what we need. What about you, Tsume?"
"Yes. I believe that she should come." He wanted to go to her, to stare into her captivating eyes forever, but he forced himself to stay back. The emotions he was experiencing were completely new to him. His better judgment was against him saying it: as a small female, she would be lesser in strength and stamina than the larger males. She might be like another Toboe, except much quieter.
But he couldn't leave her here. He didn't understand why, but he could tell that there was something connecting their fates. She was obviously going to play a key role in their journey. He just wished he knew what that role would be.
R-Really? Thank you! She jumped to her feet, ears pricked. I know that I won't let you guys down. Her tail was wagging vigorously. So, please rest here for the night. We've got a long trip ahead of us.
So, how was it? All forms of review are accepted and encouraged.