A/N: Thank you all who reviewed, and those to are following this story. I will try my best not to disappoint you all.

To answer a few questions. Shizuru's age is a bit more fluid than anything, at least that's what I believe. I hadn't given much thought on it. That said during "Present day" Shizuru is roughly in her middle sixties or early seventies. In the "Past", when she's interacting with Natsuki she is an adult, fully grown and out of university. That would put her someplace in her early twenties. That said, Natsuki is quite a bit younger. I view her more around the age of sixteen or seventeen. Someone who looks like a grown woman, but is still very young in several ways.

On the topic of Naru, she's in her middle thirties, so as I said, age is a bit ambiguous.

Anyway, with that (possibly confusing) explanation out of the way, on with the fiction! I hope you enjoy the second chapter!

Chapter 2
(Shizuru POV)

You would watch me with your eyes. You seemed like a confused little puppy, Natsuki. Sometimes, I could see you from the window. I know that I acted as if you were never there, however, I thought it would be best. It wouldn't do, after all, being with someone such as you. It wasn't that I disliked you. It wasn't as if I wanted to cast you aside. Rather, my Natsuki, I believe it was because I simply didn't understand you.

Your eyes were so feral as you studied me. I knew you were there, hiding in the bushes, sneaking away from my seemingly insipid gaze. Sometimes, it was as if I had beaten you. I could hear your voice in the distance a lot, calling out words I'd never heard. Now I know they were names, but Natsuki, it frightened me at first. I wanted to look into your eyes and see something else besides this monster, I wanted to understand why sometimes you were covered in dirt, and on occasion blood.

Now I know those answers. I can justify everything now. It was simply the way you lived.

Natsuki...I watched you too, you know. Not in the same ways, surely. I wanted to understand everything about you, and why you seemed so curious about my home. There were times I lured you. I noticed you came at the sounds of my melodies as they wafted out of the open windows. I would watch as you'd take the food I left openly sitting on the tables outside. There were even times you scooped up one of the tiny cubs that would stray near the yard, carrying it away in great haste...

Were you afraid of me, Natsuki?

...
(Past)

The week passed by slowly as Natsuki watched this human from afar. She hadn't been deeply enthralled at first, Shizuru was after all, a human, just like everyone else. The city was full of them, Natsuki merely had to make a short walk to see the sights of the farm houses. A few more miles after that, she would be in the city. It really was that easy. Still, there was something odd about this house, something Natsuki hadn't been able to figure out. The house had always been there, but the girl had not. In fact, Natsuki had never recalled seeing the woman before. The house belonged to a cranky gentlemen. He always seemed to have a lack of regard for things around him. Natsuki fully expected that she could have lit a fire on his lawn, and it would have taken him weeks to notice it.

She had known him to always been in that house, even back in the days of her youth.

He paid attention to detail, but, it was not nature that he worried about. He was a money hungry man, from what Natsuki could tell of him, during her time in the city. He wanted peace, and often got it when he stayed. Still, as many nights as the lights would be lit with life, there were even more nights the house remained without occupants. It was, what Natsuki assumed the humans called secondary housing. A vacation home of sorts. If this had been the case, which she had assumed log ago, then why was it, she wondered, that this woman seemed never to leave the safety of her property.

Natsuki saw the man leave often, but never the woman, who was far younger.

She was always dressed beautifully, and that hadn't been lost on Natsuki. Her emerald eyes search for the sight often, her eyes seeking to understand this strange person, who insisted, on staying mysterious and elusive. The woman of fawn tresses hadn't given Natsuki the time of day since they first met. For some reason it was eating at her. A loud yawn came from behind Natsuki, and she sat down in the leafy matter under her feet. "The pack hunt?" She asked Rand as he came near her, sitting at her side. It was as if he was telling her the negative. His eyes looking for a moment back across the tiny, shallow river, peering at the sleeping pack. "They need rest." Natsuki told him, petting him as she sat there, leaning on a thick tree, sharp bark poking into her. "We will hunt. Soon."

The wane of the piano came from the building, and Natsuki sighed. "A sad song." She told Rand as he also studied the noise. He was still rather young, and he was far more alert with the new sounds. "Lonely, by herself." As Natsuki said this, the music stopped, as if it hadn't even been playing at all. Rand didn't budge, but she hadn't expected him to care. "You don't like her." She knew something as simple as that. It wasn't uncommon, hatred of humans seemed to be in his blood. "Your dad hated me too. Before your were born." She laughed, though thinking about it, Rand was still pretty young, even if he was fully grown. "I guess it's easy to forget...that some ways, you are still a cub." The creaking of the door made Natsuki jump up from her place, lurching her out of her moment of serenity. "There she is." She told Rand excitedly, playfully arching her back, trying to get a closer look.

Again, Shizuru seemed to ignore her. "Can she not smell?" It was Natsuki's only thought as she left the safety of the trees. She couldn't have guessed a better reason to be ignored. Then again, Natsuki felt the wavering in the pit of gut, knowing well she may not be accepted. Who would, after all, wish to speak to someone such as her. "You, girl..." Natsuki waved at her. "I thought you wouldn't come back." It could have also been fear, and that too, Natsuki would have understood.

It was without hesitation that Shizuru glanced at the woman garbed in little more than a pelt. It was long fur, and mangy at that. "I do have a name you know." Shizuru told her slowly, as she put water into the flower pot. "You can call me Shizuru. My family lives here." She noticed Natsuki seemed to understand her, the deep frown upon her face, something that made the taller woman of fawn hair and crimson eyes pause. "Do you understand?" Shizuru asked slowly. "My name..."

It was a fixation that had her so out of sorts. She was a huntress, she lived among animals, she'd learned to be acutely aware of her surroundings. However, she lacked the ability to follow a conversation. She stood there, keeping an eye on the woman in front of her. The formality, the accent, it sounded a bit different than Natsuki was accustomed to hearing. "You live here, with family?" She had to take her time so that she could fully understand. "So does mine, I with them." Natsuki told her, pointing to the forest.

The only thing Natsuki could pull forth from their current conversation, was that they shared the same territory.

That puzzled her. "You ran away before." Rand wasn't anywhere to be seen and she felt alone. She wished Lobo or one of the other wolves would stand by her side, giving her wordless praise, or quiet encouragement. Still, wolves did not go seeking company in large groups. At least, not the type of company she sought to gain. "They scare you away?" Natsuki had observed other wolves, their interest when seeking out someone for themselves, a mate of their own. It had been her drive for a while, perhaps, a bit too long. "You ran from your territory?"

"They're wild animals." Shizuru told her calmly, looking at Natsuki as though the young woman had completely lost her common sense. "Although, I assume I could be mistaking you for a human." Shizuru hoped the woman was fully comprehending her, but in the back of her mind, she didn't know if that was entirely the case. "You seem to look just as feral as they do." Shizuru stood there for a moment, before setting the watering can down. This girl wanted pleasantries it seemed, yet, she had not yet given a name. "So, tell me, do you have a name?"

"Name?" Natsuki said, searching the girl's eyes for some level of confirmation. "Shizuru." Natsuki repeated pointing at her. "Name is Shizuru."

"Yes that is mine." It was then Shizuru realized what was happening, and she changed her speech pattern. "You don't understand my dialect?" That was likely the culprit, but thankfully, it was also easily enough fixed. "Is this better?" She asked reigning in her thick accent just a bit. Natsuki nodded, a bit dumbfounded. "Wonderful. Now then, I shall ask you again, do you have a name?"

"Doesn't everyone?" She could understand this better, whatever it was the woman was doing, it helped. Though, her voice was not nearly as beautiful, and that troubled her a tiny bit, longing for the sweet melody of Shizuru's voice to come back. "Natsuki, is name. When I was kid, damned brat, and little shit...also my name." Natsuki shrugged at the sad look that produced. "What? I say something wrong?" She wished she could form her words to fit the situation properly, she did know many after all. Still, she was not practiced in conversation, at least, not with others who spoke.

"Who would dare call a child such horrible names?" Shizuru asked softly, anger welling deep in her eyes.

"Kid who steals." Natsuki said bluntly. "People, they don't like that. So, I was on my own, I was called that, a lot."

"Do you have family?" Shizuru asked, and Natsuki pointed in the woods. "No..." Shizuru shook her head, and Natsuki turned her head to the side, missing the point entirely. "No, not them Natsuki. A proper family." Natsuki still looked confused, though a sadness began to show in her emerald eyes. "People, Natsuki." Shizuru said, pointing at herself. "Do you have a family, made of people?"

Natsuki shook her head. "Died." She sighed out a puff of air. "I was little, car went off road. I lived." She smiled then, trying her best not to seem saddened by the memories. "Farmers, and cops tried to give me...new family." She struggled with how best to explain, but her voice wasn't as pained as Shizuru had expected. "I ran away. Stole, did bad things...but, I was okay." A deep growl came from the nearby bushes, and Natsuki simply looked in the direction of the hot tempered wolf. "That's Rand. He's just a big cub, that's all."

"Rand?" Shizuru said softly, still in awe of this girl and her beast. "He's awful big to be considered a pup." Shizuru laughed nervously, backing up just a bit, not wanting to perturb him. "Not a very nice puppy, now is he?"

"No, not a pup." Natsuki told Shizuru. "Cub...the name for a baby, is cub. Pup for a dog, cub for a wolf." He sat down, golden eyes sending daggers at Shizuru as he continued to grumble. Natsuki rolled her eyes, sending a loud, aggressive tone his way. He didn't seem to want to back down, and finally, she scolded him. "Enough!" She barked loudly in the tone, something akin to dog. It seemed as if almost immediately he began making small noises, occasionally letting out a tiny high pitched yip. His ears lowered, as he made himself look as tiny as possible. "Only a cub, see." Natsuki said again. "People, wolves don't like people."

"You're a person too." Shizuru realized the statement sounded a bit offhanded, but she couldn't help but stare at the big, black wolf. His eyes glowing a deep angry golden color. "He could very well tear me to bits. What is he afraid of?"

"Rand still young." Natsuki said. "Not like Lobo, who is wise, who understands ways of world. Rand looks big, but he has lots to learn...the paths, he does not know."

"The paths..." Shizuru repeated, looking back at Natsuki. As she tasted the word that fell from her lips, she couldn't say she understood the implication. "Do you always talk in riddles?"

"Do you not understand?" Natsuki shot back, a smirk on her face. "I was supposed to be stupid one."

Blood red eyes rolled as Shizuru ignored the insult. "You speak very well, having been raised by wolves." Shizuru finally sighed, sitting on the wood of her porch. "Amazingly well in fact." She hadn't expected this woman to speak a single word, let alone to be able to hold some measure of conversation. It was rusty, yes, but the fact was that Natsuki had an understanding of human language, even if she hadn't placed it into practice often.

"I lived near city...a long time." Natsuki said as she recalled the memories. "Heard the humans, I learned what words meant...learned how to speak better. I am not good." Her guard seemed to lower the more and more she talked, and Shizuru wondered why. Was it trust, or something more? She couldn't tell, but she could hear Natsuki slowly become more confident in speaking. "Still, sometimes, words...I feel lost. I can't say...what I...what I want to say. Sky and the grass do better job." Natsuki leaned down next to the nearest flower pot. "Rose, it speaks the color red." She pointed at it. "This ones does. Rose is more pretty then red, sounds nicer. As if it knows...exactly what to say, at just the right time." Natsuki shook her head. "Not good, not like flower."

Shizuru nodded numbly, her eyes looking at the plant that sparked that rather deep, if not childlike view. It was interesting, the words held held merit, a glue among the broken and often battered sentences Natsuki spoke. Shizuru realized she'd been ogling the girl, and the little rosebud, a bit longer than she'd intended on doing. Searching for answers that couldn't be found, she gave up. "You speak perfectly fine, Natsuki." Shizuru said trying to regain composure.

Natsuki still disagreed. "No human can...can do...do it like that." Her brows furrowed, she couldn't think of how to piece her words, it annoyed her, finally, she just let her tongue slip, her annoyance getting the better of her. She mentally damned her language for all and sundry. What would it matter anyway? This woman was clearly not interested or she would be more receptive, and Natsuki felt as if she'd been doing something wrong. "My family can...better. Rand can speak, without words. How he...how Rand can be my friend, even if...he can't talk."

"So would you care to tell me about these 'paths' of yours then?" Shizuru asked, looking at the girl of emerald eyes, trying to figure her out. Shizuru let her crimson eyes burn into Natsuki's fur that she garbed. It was not the pelt of a wolf, and she found herself interested further at the skills Natsuki kept, even if they were not overtly obvious. "Or, would you rather go back to your home. It looks as if he misses his master."

"No..." Natsuki shook her head. "I'm not..."

"Then sit down, tell me about these 'paths' you've been talking about." Shizuru prompted again.

"A wolf follows paths...the seasons make us." Natsuki plopped down on the grass, like she'd been scolded. She didn't know how she could say things correctly. She knew the meaning would be lost. "In the cold, leader moves the pack...better food that way. In the warm, the leader finds shade. In storms, the leader finds protection. The path is our life." Natsuki said, though she found it increasingly harder to speak with this woman. "Humans call it..." She knew the word, she'd heard it before, but she still struggled with it, trying to be sure it was the correct one. "Migration...I think."

"Yes we do." Shizuru said, she wanted to get closer to the girl, and she did so, inch by inch, until they were near. The smell of wilderness was pungent, and Shizuru moved away, the stench was a bit repulsing. "So, you migrate often?" She asked, trying to act as calm as possible.

Natsuki shook her head, the woman didn't understand. "Not like that. It's the paths. Sometimes we walk for hours...others, we walk only a small bit, and lay down in the grass. The paths tell us." Natsuki said, pointing to the forest. "The path says where to go...and when I follow it..." Natsuki sighed, feeling lost. She wanted to share it, to give apart of her precious journey, to impart her wisdom. "I realize, it's a calling. It isn't migration...it's deeper. My heart...it tells me where I must go." Natsuki smiled brightly at Shizuru. "The path, it is life. My life, Rand's life...your life."

Shizuru was speechless. Her lips narrowed a bit, trying to understand the innocent stare that emerald eyes kept giving her. Natsuki didn't look as if she was being perverse, still, there was something there...something Shizuru didn't trust, and she sighed. She wanted to know this girl more, to understand her better, but she was unable. "My father will be home soon." Shizuru told Natsuki, though she didn't want to part ways just yet.

"Your father, he...not like..." She growled upset at herself. She knew she could do better than this. "He doesn't like Rand." Natsuki understood that much, she knew it as soon as Shizuru said the words, it was time for them to go. It was better to hide then get caught. She dared not put her family in danger. "Will you come...to the forest...tomorrow?"

"I will come outside." Shizuru nodded. "However, I can't go into the woods. Your family doesn't like me."

"Afraid of you...yes." Still, Natsuki fount it difficult to get up. She didn't want to leave. "But..." Natsuki grabbed Shizuru's hand, feeling how soft it was, she liked the warmth. "My family...humans kill them, because they are...dangerous. Humans hurt them. The humans are bad. Not my family." Natsuki heard the cried of the wolves echo in the forest, a reminder she'd been gone long enough. She made a loud noise, and Rand did the same. "We have to hunt now...pack is hungry." Natsuki waved as she disappeared.

"Sunrise!" Shizuru yelled, as it seemed to carry on the wind. "I'll be here..."

…
(Shizuru POV)

I understood you perfectly that day, my Natsuki. You were wise, so much so, I wonder if you even knew half of what you were saying. It fell so freely from your lips, imperfectly, as if you hadn't the mind to think of it. Instead, you just spoke, freely, and without regard for what I may have thought. I could see your struggle, and yet, you pushed through, trying to talk as best as you could. You lacked grace, and poise. In fact, I fully believe you had tumbled around in the dirt before I came outside. You looked as though you had.

If you did, I'm sure you took it as great fun.

I wanted to feel sad for you. I felt like I should cry for you. Still, as I saw you and Rand leave side by side, I knew you were completely okay with your situation. I might have even decided that you were happy that day. Something about you, it was filled with light. You were so beautiful, and your words were more eloquent than you'd ever realize. Nature is a beautiful thing, and you embraced it. As you would always say, nature speaks for us. We have no need for words, but they are nice, aren't they...my Natsuki.

We talked like that for quite a few days, I recall.

I would get up early and dine with my father before he left for his leisurely activities. I would step outside and you'd be there, someplace, hidden in the trees. Sometimes, I wonder if you'd been sleeping there all night, but you'd always say that you hadn't. You'd always insist that you were with your pack. Sometimes though, I think you were merely trying to hide the fact that you loitered around more than you should have.

Thank you, for your kind words...you've no idea how happy they made me, my Natsuki. I may not have trusted you, and I was still a bit worried about you, and your less than tame friends. Still, it was your words that planted the seeds of friendship...things were always that simple for you, weren't they?

I hope you guys liked that chapter... I've done a once over edit on it...but I will likely have to come back and revise again...that honestly wouldn't surprise me.

Edit as of 10/29/12: Second edit of it done. Yeah, not as bad as I thought it might be, Still pretty depressing though as far as the errors. Meh, what can ya do... they call it drafts for a reasons. Anyway, chapter 3 is being written as we speak, though I have no idea when it will be posted.