Hey guys! My first Wolf's Rain fic, and it's of my beloved Toboe! I have always loved Toboe's loyal nature, and his determination. However, in this story his determination might get him in trouble! Poor Toboe , but I love it when you need to be taken care of! Anyway on to the disclaimer!
P.S. No one has pointed it out to me yet, but I wanted to say that, yes, I know the wolves are wolves all the time, and have human illusions, but their transforming into humans worked a lot better with this story, so I did that.
Disclaimer: The only thing I own is the plot line I suppose, though its been done many times in different ways. I wish I owned Wolf's Rain though! What fun I would have with Toboe…..Be afraid!
Golden, baleful eyes stared up at the red moon, rising just out of reach. The frigid air whipped his short brown fur, blowing the gentle white snow flakes around. Toboe could feel the traitorous heat in his face, telling him of the fever he had managed to hide for the last few nights. About three days previous, he had managed to step on a jagged rock, slicing his paw all the way open. He could have let the pack know, he could have complained. If they had known, he would have been sleeping now, instead of standing guard. If they had known, he would have been getting better. Instead, he was steadily getting worse.
His long tongue lolled out of his mouth, as he began to pant with the exertion of keeping awake. He wanted so badly to close his eyes, to slip away into dreamless, solid sleep…
No! The pack trusts me to keep watch. I have to protect them. They would only worry if I fell asleep. I can't burden them.
Toboe sat, managing to keep himself awake, until the sun broke the horizon. His sight was blurred and unfocused, his veins boiling with fever. The distant sound of the others waking up pounded in his head. He shifted to human form, but regretted it quickly. The transformation caused his stomach to lurch, and he knew he needed to get away from the peering eyes of his pack.
"Morning, guys. I-I'm going to go hunt. Be right back."
Hige nodded sleepily, and his stomach growled loudly.
"Bring some back for us will ya, Chibi?"
Toboe nodded quickly, his head pounded from the motion, and ran out into the snow. Once out of sight he collapsed on his knees, feeling the bile rising in his throat. Gagging, tears forming in his eyes, his stomach emptied. He coughed, and swallowed come clean snow to cleanse his mouth of the taste. Now he really did need to hunt. He struggled to his feet, and changed into a beautiful brown wolf. The snowy landscape stretched on forever, giving the small wolf a sense of hopelessness. Luckily, the wind blew scents around him, and he quickly picked up the smell of pray. He followed the stale sent of hare to a nearby burrow. Digging down, he found three small starving snow hares huddled together. He killed them quickly.
Trotting over the hill to the cave, the three rabbits dangling in his mouth, Toboe heard Tsume and Kiba talking. They turned and saw him, ending their conversation. Toboe placed the hares at Tsume's feet, backing away.
"Good work, runt. I'm surprised you weren't scared of them," Tsume chuckled, coldly. Toboe's ears flattened in disappointment and shame. He hated being scolded, but Tsume's teasing was the worst. He knew Tsume cared about him, but he had a funny way of showing it…
Hige bounded over to the pile of meat and took one happily. He consumed it quickly and sat back against the cave wall in human form, a look of satisfaction on his face. Kiba walked over and inclined his head thankfully to Toboe and took a hare as well. He placed it on a rock, and ate it carefully, savoring it. Tsume took the last hare and walked to the back of the cave.
"Uh, Tsume…," Toboe began, planning to ask for a piece of the hare.
"What is it, runt?" Tsume snapped, looking down at Toboe. Toboe tucked his tail between his legs, his stomach hurt so bad…
"Nothing, Tsume…Just…enjoy it."
Tsume looked at the pup a bit confused at this remark, but sat down and ate the hare just as quickly as Hige. Kiba watched him eat, waiting for him to finish.
"We need to keep going. We've stayed too long anyway."
Hige and Tsume got up obediently, Hige stretching before transforming. Toboe nodded and followed Kiba out of the cave. They started off at once, Toboe quickly falling behind. Determined to keep up, he gave an extra burst of speed and caught up to Tsume, who trailed just behind the others. Toboe kept up the pace for miles, and the sun soon began to set. Kiba looked back to check on the pack.
"We need to run through the night, we can't risk falling to far behind Cheza and the Noble."
Hige and Tsume accepted this proposal without hesitation, and, determined not to be burdensome, Toboe followed suit. Toboe's stomach ached with hunger, and his head throbbed angrily. Yet somehow he managed to match pace with Tsume.
Night came slowly to the young wolf, who wished only for the light of morning, and the promise of a meal, and maybe some rest. He was now struggling to keep up with the older wolves, his chest tight, and vision blurred. Black dots danced in front of his eyes, as he ran on through the night.
Hour after hour, he fell further and further behind, until he could hardly see the blurry gray dot that was Tsume. His pain finally overcame him and he slumped to the ground, defeated.
Tsume was the first to notice the small wolf's disappearance. He sped up to Kiba, and stopped him.
"Toboe fell behind. We have to go back and find him!"
Kiba spat in frustration, but nodded, concerned. The three ran back. Tsume pictured the small wolf's smile. He would laugh. "I fell," He'd say, and then get up and run with them. Tsume knew, a gut instinct perhaps, that this was definitely not what happened. Yet, it was reassuring to picture it in his mind.
The small slumped form of the brown wolf appeared in the snow and Tsume ran to him, adrenaline rushing. The pup was breathing heavily, short, uneven breaths.
"Oi. Chibi. Wake up," Tsume demanded, shaking him; it would be easier to help him if he was in human form.
Toboe opened his large amber eyes and stared up at the blurry outline of a man. The man smelled like Tsume, and his hands felt warm like Tsume's too. Toboe shifted to his frail human body, anticipating what Tsume wanted. The older wolf unbuttoned Toboe's shirt, letting it fall open and reveal the pale, stretched skin beneath. Toboe's ribs showed through his lean muscle, and bruises appeared on the side on which he had fallen. Tsume rolled his onto his back, but Toboe's stomach rejected the motion, causing him to roll back over and vomit what was left in his empty stomach.
Tsume realized how sick Toboe was, and perspiration broke out on his brow. The kid was dehydrated and starved. Hadn't the runt eaten this morning? He remembered Toboe's odd hesitant comment. Had he taken Toboe's food?
Hige and Kiba crouched down beside Toboe, but Kiba read the look on Tsume's face and signaled to Hige that they should be left alone.
Tsume felt Toboe's forehead and immediately withdrew his head. The boy was burning with fever. How was this possible? The answer came as Toboe struggled to get up. His hand left a small red spot in the snow.
"Toboe, let me see your hand."
Toboe obeyed silently, and fell back down, holding his hand out to Tsume. The slice stretched from the base of the boy's pointer finger to his wrist, and was hard and swollen.
Tsume was panicking. He gently rolled Toboe onto his stomach, and lifted him onto his back.
Toboe needed help, and fast.
Me: Well that was lovely, don't you think? A bit of drama from Toboe and Tsume. I should have the next chapter up soon, it is entitled "Pain of the Heart". Thanks for the reviews so far, and please do your part to help make the author happy. It's just one little review away!