A/N Apologies for the delay, I wanted to try and get a bit ahead before posting. Anyway, yes I am going to continue this one, and I hope not to disappoint people. There's a few rough bits here and there, but just ignore those, ne? Thanks all for the interest people have shown so far and without further ado...On with the Show! *Dramatic Flourish*
Darkness. Greys, that's all there were. Greys, shades between black and white. Shifting masses, and still shapes. One drew close. Too close. Sniff. Smells of sweat, of blood, of something bad. Hackles rising, a snarl coming up from deep down. Threat. This thing is a threat. Bite. Snap. Kill threat. Can't bite threat. Can't reach. Cold branches, but stronger, in the way. Jaws can't get passed. Frustration. Threat still here. Threat not going away.
A strange sound. Harsh. Cruel. Bad. Laughing. Threat is laughing.
Sounds. Incomprehensible sounds. Lips and mouth moving. Creating odd sounds. Speech? Communicating? Harsh sounds. Harsh voice. Not liking the voice. Instincts say bite. Instincts say run. Flight or fight? Cold branches in the way. No way for flight, so must fight.
Can't reach. Must kill. Threat not leaving. Threat still making sounds. Threat's lips twitch, corners turning up, blunt fangs bared. Warning? Challenge? Must answer. No challenge goes unanswered. Hackles rising higher, lips curling back. A growl. A snarl. Stay back. That's what those actions meant. Threat not moving back. Staying still. Fangs still bared. Eyes gleaming in triumph. Why? Fight for dominance not started yet. There is no winner until teeth sink into flesh. No winner until blood is drawn. The loser is the one that surrenders. Not fighting. Can't reach. Not answering the challenge. So am loser. Lost. Lost a challenge.
Rage. Rage rising from deep down. Wanting to bite. Need to hurt. To maim. To kill.
Threat going. Threat leaving. Threat gone. Relief. Sadness. Alone. All alone. Want to howl. A hollow sound. So lonely. Waiting here. Laying down. So sad. So…alone.
The fields lay still and silent in the dark of the night. The three quarter moon was yet to rise in the pitch black sky, and any late time revellers would have to make their way either in darkness or with the help of a lamp. Such lamps were placed all around the festive tents of Garderobe Circus, lighting the way for any of its acts that would make a trip to and from Fuuka.
But those that normally made such trips were snoring peacefully in their cots, murmuring in their alcohol induced sleep. Nothing out of the ordinary moved. Such a simplistic night. A night that did not harbour dark secrets. A night that did not hide mysteries. A night that did not allow illegal happenings to make themselves at home. If only tonight was such a night.
Shizuru sat just within her tent flap, listening to the snores of her tent mates, the constant sounds giving her thoughts a time with which to flow, soaring in and out of the elongated beats.
She would often sit at the exit, watching the night, wondering what it would be like to be out there, alone in such darkness. But every time her thoughts wandered close to making her move her foot twitched, reminding her of why she could not go.
A simple anklet made of beaten copper, much used and abused, the coating of false silver long ago faded. Such a simple thing, and yet so heavy a burden to carry around. She sighed and leaned her head against the trunk, eyes out of focused, images of another place filling them.
The Ring. The place where she acted her part of the perfect woman. The so-called Fallen Angel. She snorted derisively to herself, safe in the knowledge that none could see her mask slip.
The Hell Wolf. Her partner within the Ring, and yet the Fallen Angel must act out such a tragedy with unmasked wickedness and glee. A devil in disguise. Shizuru's frozen heart cracked at the thought of such a fine specimen being broken, used for the entertainment of humans. Thoughts as those were rare and far between for her, and normally spared for the exotic animals broken and trained by the Beast Master. Sometimes not even for they.
Yet never before had an animal caught her attention as the one plaguing her thoughts now. Viridian eyes that watched with mixed fear and rage, tempered with curiosity and suspicion. Shizuru had watched the wolf prowl from the cage, snapping and snarling as the poles prodded at the dark indigo flanks, avidly, like a deer caught in the headlights.
A fine predator that sent shivers of fear down one's spine at the mere sight, prowling death that was just waiting for the lowering guard to strike. Hardly something that set people at ease. And yet…
Shizuru frowned, curious to know more about the latest purchase of the Ring Master. Bought barely a month ago and seen only by the Ring Master and his Beast Master in the intervening time, the Hell Beast was something surrounded by rumours. Even Shizuru, its supposed partner, had only seen it a few hours before the act when the Ring Master had murmured his instructions to her. Training for said act without its second half had proved a challenge in and of itself.
Shizuru shook off the disjointing thoughts, leaving only one to remain. One which may prove to be one of grave folly, and yet her body seemed determined to act on it. A single foolhardy thought.
She must see the beast...now.
And so she rose, silent as a cat, the copper anklet cool against her skin, a cold reminder of the wrongness of her actions, and yet they felt so right.
Shizuru kept to the shadows of the camp, avoiding the well lit main thoroughfares. No eyes watched as she snuck under the tent flap containing the beasts, the whispering trees hiding any trace of sound she made.
The creatures were all soundly asleep, save one in the centre, far from the others. A cage standing alone, like an island of solitude within a sea of despair. And within the cage two viridian eyes watched, never shifting from her darkened form.
Shizuru felt a shiver of fear trail up her spine. Never before had she felt such a mix of fear and thrill. Adrenaline pumped through her veins as she edged closer, stilling here and there as the shape within shifted causing the eyes to move upwards, more level with her crouched self.
Barely a metre from the cage she halted, gaze locked with the beast's. A low growl was rumbling from the cage, threatening to become louder.
"Shh, easy there. I'm not going to hurt you." Shizuru cooed, hands raised in a placating gesture. The rumbling stopped, the eyes slanting at an angle, as if the beast was tilting its head in confusing. Shizuru could almost hear the condescending tones. What do you think I am, a wounded dog?
She smiled warmly, chuckling to herself. Giving animals voices, whatever next?
"It's alright. Here, see." She put out her hand close to the cage, her breath catching as something wet and cold touched it. A long inhalation later and a warm tongue lapped against her hand. Shizuru giggled softly.
"I don't think my hand tastes very nice."
The wolf snuffled her hand, as if disagreeing.
Shizuru drew closer, her other hand petting the soft fur of the wolf's head.
She wasn't sure why, but something told her that she could trust the wolf to not bite her, almost like a sixth sense. Foolishness indeed, but…still…
Shizuru pondered on the strange feeling as the wolf leaned further into the caress, and was…was it purring? A wolf purring? Shizuru shook her head in amusement, completely baffled over the strange creature that seemed to have bonded with her.
"What a strange one you are."
The wolf paused in its attempts at coercing her hand to stroke more, before snorting softly and going back to the hand.
"Can you understand me? What am I thinking, of course you can't. A mere figment of my bored imagination." She smiled sadly.
The wolf tapped her chin with its muzzle, viridian eyes filled with…was that concern? Curiouser and curiouser.
"You really are baffling me. We've met each other twice, for a scant amount of hours, and already we seem to understand each other." Shizuru's face broke into a wide, genuine smile. A smile so rarely given that few even knew it existed. A gift from the gods. "You are an enigma to me, my little puppy."
The wolf snorted, head moving backwards in shock, apparently appalled at such a term.
"Ara are you not my puppy?"
The wolf shook its head firmly.
Shizuru smiled, heart warming to the wolf's strange antics. "No, not a puppy. But still mine."
A rumbling came from the wolf and in the semi darkness Shizuru could see its shoulders shifting uneasily. It seemed to be grumbling about her term of possession.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to tease you so." Shizuru murmured, scratching behind an ear. Ara, I'm holding a one side conversation with a wolf. Is this a sign of madness? She muttered in her mind.
The ear she was scratching jerked up, pivoting in search of something.
"What is it? Is someone coming?"
The wolf growl softly, head moving away, its attention fixed elsewhere. The head darted back and nudged her away.
"Alright I'm going. Stay here, I'll try to visit again." Shizuru whispered.
The wolf grunted, watching with concern as she left.
Shizuru vanished into the night back to her tent, wondering just what had happened in those all too brief moments.
"How was your purchase?"
Reito Kanzaki looked at the half shadowed speaker, trying to see more of the features, all without seeming to.
"Well received. I must thank you for tipping me about such a find."
"No need, no need at all. It was my pleasure."
Reito poured himself a glass of wine, swirling it around in the glass. "Why did you tip me about the wolf anyway, Nagi?"
A smirking set of teeth flashed in the dark corner. "Because it was a curiosity I couldn't pass up."
"What are your people planning?"
The smirk widened. "That's for them to know, and us to not."
"Talking in riddles again?"
"I would never speak in anything less."
Reito set the glass down, half drained. "Send those masters of yours a message. First District or not, I will not let any of my acts fall into their hands so long as they are worthwhile. Am I understood?"
A gleaming grin. "Why, of course."
"Get out of my sight then. Our business is concluded."
Reito turned his back decisively, and when he looked behind him at the darkened corner there was no one in its midst.
Reito mulled over his glass of wine, staring deep into the colour. A colour reminiscent of another member of his little entertainment troop.
Shizuru Viola, another tip of Nagi's. in truth there were many little 'tips' from Nagi, and each had been well worth the trouble of obtaining them. Gathered one by one over the years and tricked into an unbreakable contract with him, and now those twelve investments were paying off exceedingly well.
He smiled happily, well and truly satisfied with the money tallies. There was nothing quite like seeing a nice large divide between the income and outcome, particularly when it was in the positive.
He leaned back, bringing the glass to his lips and taking a long draw. Life was good. It was very good.
In a land far distant, a range of mountains hummed with the Wolf's Song. Their private serenade to the moon. A song filled with sorrow and pain.
Atop those ranges a wolf pack ran, loping across the snow, snapping at the shifting drifts, howling on the protruding outcrops. Running. Always running forwards. Forwards to the one taken by humans.
And following behind the racing wolves a small group of humans trekked, swapping from vehicle to vehicle depending on the terrain. Continuously following the wolves.
"They seem to have found something, Miss Alyssa."
The young woman – who could have barely been out of her teens – glanced up from the computer sitting on her lap. She nodded absentmindedly.
"Yes, let us hope they have found our missing cub."
"Do you think that the cub survived?"
The golden haired woman turned her full attention to her companion. "She is of the Searrs Pack, Miyu. The wolves of the Searrs Pack are far superior to normal wolves. I would have thought you'd learnt that having studied them with me for the passed two years."
Miyu bowed her head. "Of course, Miss Alyssa. I was only voicing a concern."
Alyssa looked out the window of the helicopter, catching brief glimpses of the Searrs Pack – her pack – below them through the foliage of the trees.
"None will hurt my pack, Miyu, and live to tell the tale."
Miyu wisely stayed silent. For even she, a human with the understandings of a robot, could understand the underlying threat in that statement.
"They will rue the day they ever heard about my cub. And let them pray to whatever god they worship that they never learn of our world, for even hell itself shall join in the slaughter."
The interior of the helicopter dropped by several degrees and the unique cyborg felt the need to shiver under the piercing blue gaze.
And outside, a single howl filled the night. Louder, stronger and more pained filled than the others that had come before.
Hold on my cub. Wait for us and survive, my Natsuki.