Something of a prequel to Wolf's Rain. By fate, two lone females cross one another and, despite some major differences, come to be close friends. Kinjíru and Yurúsu, forbidden and forgiven. (I don't own Wolf's Rain, but Kinjíru and Yurúsu are mine. Please give me credit if you wish to use them.)
From A Time Before
A lean, massive grey wolf padded softly through the shadows on the outskirts of the town. Something had drawn her here, to this town, this wretched, hopeless place. Slipping into the dim light momentarily, one could see a long scar running the length of her left side from shoulder to hip. Where it had come from only she knew, but one had the feeling, just watching her, that whatever had given it to her was no longer among the living. Suddenly she turned and paced back a few steps to an old jail. The building gave her an unusual feeling, one she didn't like. Still, there was another feeling as well. The thing that had drawn her here, whatever it was, was in there.
Kinjíru sat outside the door several minutes, debating whether or not she should go in. Her grey tail whipped back and forth in frustration. She didn't know what was in there, and she didn't feel like getting in yet another fight to the death. Then again, nothing had made a sound from inside. It was possible that the being inside was friendly, hurt, even dead. No, she shook that last thought away. Some life force had called her to this sorry excuse of a shack, and it hadn't gone out yet. Uncertain about how she should proceed, Kinjíru backed off a few steps and studied the building a little more closely.
The door was open a thin crack, just enough to the point where it wasn't latched. So what was inside was either hurt or locked up, else it would've let itself out long before she arrived. Kinjíru was hardly a coward, but she'd learned not to trust anything or anyone. Now though, it looked like she'd have to put a little faith in what was going on and just go in. Stepping forward, she placed a paw on the door and pushed. The door swung open easily, revealing only an old desk and chair. The scent of dust and fresh blood came flooding out. Kinjíru moved slowly inside, only to be stopped short by the sight that greeted her.
A white wolf, some smaller than herself, was lying half-dead in the single cell. The thin light from the door and a tiny, barred window reflected off a pool of blood. Kinjíru nodded slowly to herself. It all made sense now. One of her kind was in trouble, in desperate need of help. So that was why she'd been drawn to this desolate place. The snowy creature before her was stained crimson and there was blood everywhere. Small wonder she was even still alive, and no surprise she couldn't break herself out of the pathetic excuse for a cage. She had no strength left, only an impressive will to survive.
"Hey," Kinjíru moved closer to the bars. "Can you hear me?" The white ears twitched in reply, and pained blue eyes opened to meet soft brown ones. "Who....are you?" The grey wolf smiled slightly, she wasn't too late, not yet. "My name is Kinjíru, and yourself?" The white one tried to push herself up, but collapsed back into the red pool beneath her. "Hey now, you just stay down. Are you trying to kill yourself?" For a moment, no answer came. Then, "my name....is Yurúsu." "Well Yurúsu, what say we get you out of here, hmm?" A bit of a smile showed on the white lips, "sounds good."
"I'll bet. Now, let's see...." Kinjíru set her fangs around one of the bars and tugged. The old metal groaned and gave way even more easily than she had expected. She worked at it a moment until she could slip through the bars. Once on the other side she put her weight against the cell door and pushed. Having suspected that either the rusty hinges or the decrepit lock would give, she was mildly surprised when the thing fell off all together. "Well, that works now doesn't it," she said, more to herself than her new companion. Kinjíru went back to the door and checked to make sure there was no one on the street. What she had to do was best done with none to see.
No one saw the grey haired young woman leave the old jail a few minutes later. Nor did any watch as she walked off, a large white wolf in her arms. Kinjíru sighed to herself as she left. This wasn't the sort of thing she did on a regular basis. In fact it was about as far from it as she'd ever strayed. She was a loner, not a pack wolf. But she couldn't just leave Yurúsu there to die, could she. No, she shook her head, she couldn't. Loner or not, she was still a wolf, and here was another who needed her. And therein was the feeling she couldn't shake. Someone actually needed her, for the first time in her life. And she wasn't about to give that up just yet.
Chaos: Well, how'd ya like it? Serious I know. And it's gonna stay that way. For anyone wondering about the title, Kinjíru is Japanese for forbid and Yurúsu is Japanese for forgive. These two are relevant to the characters in Wolf's Rain, but if I tell you who they are now it'll spoil the fic. If you figure it out, good for you. If not, don't worry. I'm giving it away in the last chapter. Hope you enjoy it. Later!