~Chapter 2~
~Know Your Place~
Matu woke up from his long sleep and was feeling much better than the night before when he had been shot. Right next to him was Skully who was sound asleep and was muttering something in his sleep. It sounded like "tacos". What in the hell were "tacos?, Matu wondered as he went back to sleep, still very tired form his walk back to the city. He would need to get more sleep if he wanted to be rested for the continuing journey to find Paradise.
As Matu slept, he dreamt about more than just Paradise. They were recurring dreams that just kept haunting him every time he closed his eyes. It was like an obstacle that was preventing him from reaching Paradise. He kept on dreaming of himself as a pup in the beautiful grassy plains of where he was born. It was always sunny and bright and he would always wake up in the morning to play with his friends. Then the sky suddenly got black and a legion of armored soldiers entered the beautiful landscape that was his home and disrupted the peace.
Everything got quiet for a moment as time seemed to freeze. The soldiers in black armor seemed to stare down the pack of wolves and the leader gave a signal. The whole squad opened up on the pack and blood flew as the pack retaliated and attacked the soldiers. Teeth met metal as the alpha males and female attacked and howling erupted breaking the silence as it began to rain and blood mixed with the water. Wolf's blood….. Matu was scared and he stayed with his best friend Dega, who was a black wolf with their families. The family watching the carnage ensue, told the young cubs to stay behind and if anything happened to run as far away as they possibly could.
"But daddy…., Matu began, …..I don't want you to go…..", he said as he began to cry. "I want you to stay with mommy and me…." "I don't want you to die…", he said as he hugged his father tightly, and the father responded with an affectionate lick to his face.
"You must be strong Matu…", he said as he looked at the young cub. "You must survive and build your own pack if me and your mother don't make it through this…." "I will always love you as my son, but I must go now…", he finished as he turned his back to Matu and the other cub. "Take care of yourselves….", he said as he ran into the battle, as well as the mother and Matu only watched.
Dega only watched too, as his parents were also in the battle and they seemed to be on the losing end. His parents had taken down at least half a dozen of the armored soldiers, but they just kept on reappearing one after another as soon as one was killed. A lance struck the mother in the neck, who howled in pain as the father bit into the soldiers neck killing him, but not before being wounded in the side himself and blood could be seen gushing out and mixing with the rain.
"Father!", Dega screamed as the parent collapsed and another soldier finished the job by driving the lance into the neck, thus separating it from the spine. "Come on, the mother's still alive…", he said as the same was done to the mother, and there was not a thing Matu or Dega could do. The soldiers then went towards Matu's parents who were starting to struggle with the overwhelming forces, although having killed about thirty of the troops.
The father had a bleeding gash in his side and the mother had a slash in her thigh which she was limping from. They huddled close together as the soldiers armed their lances and Matu witnessed his family slaughtered in front of his eyes.
Since the battle actually began, it only took about ten minutes. When it all ended however, there were no wolves left alive and only three soldiers were still left standing. Father, mothers, pups and newborns were all dead and noting was spared from the onslaught. The plains would be a totally different place when all the wolves became one with the soil. The population of prey would skyrocket over the years and there would be no more wolves in this part of the area.
The commander looked proudly around him as he surveyed the scene around him. He walked around the area just to make sure the were no survivors as Matu and Dega watched quietly. They wanted to kill these three soldiers now checking the corpses of their fallen pack.
"Come on…" "Let's go….", the commander said as he started away from his troops who were still checking for survivors on the battle field. "There's nothing left for us to do here…." "Yes, Captain….", the other low ranking officers said as they quickly walked behind their leader.
The rain continued to pour turning the grass a deep crimson from the soldiers and the wolves blood. There was absolutely no life left here. Everything was as silent as stone. The only thing that could be heard was the sound of falling rain, mixing wolf's blood with the lunar flowers in the plains.
Matu walked over to his dead parents and began softly howling, soft enough, so that the soldiers wouldn't hear him. He cried over his dead father, who was covered in slashes and gashes on his entire body. He felt like there was nothing worth living for anymore. He felt so empty inside, having lost his parents and was only about eight weeks old.
"Daddy….." "Daddy….", he cried, as he licked his face in a futile effort to wake him up, thinking he was just resting. "Please wake up….", he said as he kept on trying to get him to open his eyes. "Please, daddy…." Wake….. up….." "Dad…." "Don't leave me….." "Don't….." "I'm scared to be by myself….."
He tried with his mother who was not moving either and nudged her head with his. It was the same. She was not moving and was still as a rock. "Mommy….", Matu said in his sweet little voice, now feeling more empty than ever. He was now alone except for his best friend. They were still pups and were not very good at taking care of themselves.
Dega was having the same problem trying to "wake" his dead parents up. They would not budge even though he tried countless times, before Matu finally pulled him away from them. This whole ordeal was starting to leave him empty and he was not the same cheerful pup he once was. In fact he was like someone who had no reason to live anymore, a tragic soul. He started to change in his personality, with pure rage and depression mixed into one powerful emotion.
Matu, now with this new sense of anguish and revenge, dove after the soldiers and Dega followed. The soldiers barely had time to react as one of their throats were torn into, despite the attackers still being pups. Dega took the next one…. Or tried to as he was caught off guard and received as slash to his side. Even as the soldier tried to finish Dega off, Dega rolled out of the way and his lance met the dirt and stuck into it.
As he tried to pull it out, Dega lunged forward and ripped his neck out in a violent spray of blood. The captain just looked on like he was impressed, as Dega lunged forward at him once he was finished with the other officer. It turned out to be a fatal mistake as the captain placed his lance in front of him and was impaled before he was thrown violently to the ground, breaking some ribs.
"DEGA!", cried Matu, as he lunged at the captain, who was trying to fend him off, with even more hate and depression than ever before. He dodged the captain's blows who was impressed with the pups agility. "You bastard!', he yelled, as he could hear the pup's heavy breathing behind him even as he fought. "I'll kill you!" "For everything!"
"You've lost everything…", the captain said as he landed a sharp blow on Matu's shoulder, that only slowed him down a little, as he retaliated and bit into the captain's thigh which made him stagger and he held on until he back handed him onto the ground with an iron glove. "You will meet the same end as your friend he said as he readied his lance and aimed it at Matu. He drove it down into his position….. And missed as the blade hit the soil and stuck as he struggled to get it out.
Matu took this opportunity, leaped forward and bit into the captains iron neck guard with ferocity, his teeth biting into his flesh and piercing his jugular. "AhhHhh!", he gurgled in his helmet as he staggered around with Matu holding on, not letting go. He struck Matu's side with an iron fist, but the young pup refused to let go. Matu started to grind his teeth on the captain's jugular as he continued to stagger and gurgle in his screams. He finally passed out, dropped to his knees, and fell onto his back with Matu still clinging to his throat, not letting go until his jugular stopped gushing blood.
Ten more seconds passed until the captain finally bled out and Matu let go with blood dripping from his maw onto the wet plains. He rushed back to Dega who was bleeding profusely from the wound in his chest. He looked into Matu's eyes and knew himself he was going to die. He was young, yes, but he knew his time was coming to en end and he would join his parents.
"Dega, please stay don't die…." Matu said to his friend who was bleeding at his paws. "I- I'll take care of you….." He laid on top of the fatally wounded cub to try and suppress the bleeding. It helped a bit, but the blood was still oozing onto Matu's chest. "Please…." "I-I don't want to be alone…." "Everyone including my parents are dead…." "I-I need you…..", he said as he continued to hold onto Dega.
"Matu…." "You're my best friend….." "And you're…. very smart for just eight weeks…." "We…..both are for our age….. "I know you don't want me to die but….. ….I can't survive with this wound…" "I want you to….. …..promise you'll continue to survive….." "And be a strong wolf like your father…."
"Dega don't talk like that…" "I promise you'll make it…." "Just don't talk anymore…." "Please….."
"It's….. not that bad….to die….", Dega said as he closed his eyes. "I love you…. Matu…." "Good….bye…." His breathing ceased and he was gone.
"De-ga….", Matu said between clenched teeth as he struggled to get up, despite his wound in his shoulder. He finally got up and looked at Dega. "Dega…." "DEGA!", Matu screamed as he bawled at his best friends loss. "NOOO!
"NOOOO!", Matu screamed as he woke up from his nightmare, waking up Skully as well. "No…." "No…" "No, no, no, no…" "Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah….." He began to whimper as he started crying more.
"Matu, are you okay?", Skully asked as he put his paw on Matu's shoulder. "You were screaming…." "It was absolutely blood curdling…" "Was it a nightmare? "What happened? "You're covered in sweat!"
Matu stopped crying as he looked at Skully with his emerald eyes, who had a look of fear in his eyes. The white wolf was trembling, sweating, crying, and panting. Skully was clearly concerned for Matu's sake, but to ask him a rhetorical question "are you okay?", pissed him off to no end. And a nightmare was not what Matu had. It was pure torture what he had experienced.
"What the hell do you think?", he said in an annoyed tone. "Do I look…..okay to you? "Ha, ha…." "I'm beyond…."okay" right now…" "Maybe you don't know the difference between okay and bad…." "The sooner you figure that out, the better off we'll both be….." "Just….." "Leave me alone…..", Matu said as he walked off leaving Skully by himself.
"MATU!", Skully yelled as the white wolf walked farther away from him. "I was just worried about you when you were screaming!" "I didn't mean to offend you by asking such a stupid question!" "But what else was I supposed to say, huh? "I may not know much about you!" "But I can tell you one thing!", he continued as Matu kept on walking. "You can't let the past eat you up like it's doing!" "It'll end up making a darker and less wolf than you already are!" "And I see a lot of that in your eyes when I look at you!" "You're a wolf that just needs help!"
"What do you know about my past!", Matu yelled back at him as he turned around finally facing Skully who was about a hundred feet away. "Nothing!" "You know nothing about my past or what I've been through!" "You don't seem to understand that!" "Yesterday when you met me, was just out of pure luck I was in a good mood!" "I'm really a dark depressing animal that no one would care to be around!" "I don't see why you wanna hang around me and follow me on my journey! "You don't know me that well and I think you're just trying to make me feel better about myself!" "Nothing will ever make me feel better about myself!" "I'm cursed to live through these nightmares, which will only be erased when I find Paradise!", he finished as he turned his tail to him and continued moving through the long, narrow alleyway.
Skully just watched the beautiful white wolf walk away and wanted desperately to follow him and make him feel better, but he kept his distance. He didn't want to make him feel worse for himself, and he thought he just added to his problems. Wherever he was going, he sure hoped he would find true happiness. Maybe they would meet again on better terms. Then again, he didn't know. All he probably did know was that Matu had a serious problem with his past and he was really being eaten by it. He talked in his dream for crying out loud.
Skully was now out of clear sight, and that was a good thing. Matu did not want to be bothered right now. This was one of his solitude moments he was having right now where he just wanted to be isolated from everything around him. He kept on walking and was suddenly approached by a group of huskies. Three of them to be exact. They stopped him from moving any more forward.
"Well, well boys….", said one husky in a gruff Hispanic tone, who seemed to be the leader. "Look what we have here…." "Looks like we got ourselves a stray wolf wandering in our alley…."
"Yeah, Netsu…." "It looks like he might have wandered off and got lost from his pack….." "How sad…."
"Wait a minute….", said another husky. "Aren't wolves supposed to be extinct? "It's said that they were wiped out by humans two hundred years ago…." "I can't believe I'm looking at one…."
"How right you are Mete…..", said Netsu who walked a bit closer to Matu. "And to see a white one is quite a rare sight to see….."
"Why don't you mind getting out of my face? "Before you have a real problem on yourself….." "I refuse to have a quarrel with any half breeds…." "You simply aren't worth my time….."
"Say what, homes? "Did you just call me and my boys "half breeds"? "I don't roll with that at all, man…." "Not at all…." "Now you just picked a fight with the wrong crowd man….." "We own this turf and you're gonna pay for saying that…", he said with a snarl.
"I was just stating the truth…", Matu said with wit in his tone. "Technically you are only half wolf…." "Now I won't ask you a second time to move out of my way before I simply push past you, and if you so much as lay a paw on me, I'll rip it right off…."
"You're crazy man…", said Mete. "It's three against one…." "There's no way you can possibly win…", he said with overconfidence in his voice. "Just turn back the way you came and we can forget about this….."
Matu sighed before he said it again. "Move out of the way….." "I don't want any trouble with any of you, but if you wanna pick a fight with me, all of you are going to end up dying….." "And I'm not afraid to shed any blood if I have to…"
"We're not gonna let you pass…" said Netsu, as he stood his ground. "Know your place…."
"No…" "Know your place….", said Matu whose eyes burned into the leader's in front of him. "When it comes down to it, you're just a mutt, who needs a master to take care of him. "You may have more knowledge of this place than I do, but you still have only have the pride and smarts as a wolf. "You're only a half breed, nothing more and nothing less…." "We wolves don't need owners to protect us…." "We have each other to take care of us….." "You're kind is so disorganized you can hardly keep a pack together. "Therefore you rely on humans to make sure you're safe and nothing bad happens to you….."
The three huskies just stared at Matu as they realized the cold hard truth of his words. They however did not want to accept them as they continued to hold their ground and continued to stare into Matu's soulless stare, as if they were mesmerized by his cold passion in them. To be blunt, Matu knew they were scared but the were hiding it by trying to stand tall.
Unknown to Matu, Skully was watching the whole scene unfold from a rooftop. He was really intrigued by how Matu didn't seem to be flinching at the three huskies in front of him. Next to wolves, these were the kind of dogs you didn't want to mess with. They were also common as pets in the city. "I hope you know what you're doing, Matu….", he said as he kept on watching not wanting to get in the way unless he had to. Even then it would probably be a bad idea, as Matu said he didn't want to be bothered.
"This is our turf and you're gonna have to get by us to get outta here….", Netsu just said with clear fear in his voice, "Either that or turn around…." "Mete, Gato, make sure he doesn't get by…."
Matu just shook his head as he pushed by the group. Mete put his he paw on Matu's shoulder in turn. Bad idea. In a flash, there was a painful, loud yelp and the next thing Skully saw was the husky's paw in Matu's mouth. The husky was on the ground writhing in pain, blood coming from the severed stump.
"Mete!", yelled the other two in unison. "Aw, that's it boy!", snarled Netsu who lunged at Matu and Gato joined in as well. It was a full brawl between one wolf and two huskies. The huskies were more burly and large, and if they got a hold of Matu's neck, it would probably be the end. Matu being the smaller wolf though had more agility. Gato got a hold of Matu's side, tearing open the wound that Skully had taken care of and the white wolf staggered. He was not out of the fight yet, as Matu retaliated with a bite to the husky's forearm, causing him to stagger as well. Netsu came up behind him in an attempt to grab his throat, but Matu heard him and stepped out of the way, and Netsu grabbed Gato's throat tearing out a chunk of flesh and fur, eliciting a howl from the husky.
It was deep, but Netsu reacted from his mistake soon enough to avoid hitting Gato's jugular. They both resumed their attack positions to the staggering white wolf and attacked again, Gato pinning Matu to the ground as Netsu prepared for a bite to his throat. Matu delivered a powerful kick, forcing Gato off of him and Gato flew several feet as he met Netsu and they fought with ferocity. Gato was trying to catch his breath as he watched the two fight. Skully was still watching from the rooftops as Matu seemed to have this fight under control.
Matu was starting to tire after a while and decided to play smart by letting his guard down for a split second. Netsu fell for the trick and aimed at Matu's jugular again, but his muzzle only met pavement. Matu took this opportunity and reacted to the stunned husky, biting down into his neck, hitting his jugular in a spray of blood. Netsu let out a howl and struggled with Matu trying to get him off, slashing at his attacker that was now on top of him, and in a blood lust state. The slashes were only superficial and barely even scratched the top layer of skin through his fur, as he was starting
The husky stopped moving after about fifteen seconds and just like killing the commander as a pup eighteen years ago, he didn't let go of the throat until the blood stopped pumping out of the tender, meaty vein. After the blood stopped pumping, he let go of the throat, licking the blood from his maw, and looked at the husky who was wheezing from the powerful kick to his chest, that had probably broken a couple of ribs. He then looked at the husky who had died from bleeding out of the stump from his wrist. After he was sure that the wheezing husky would not bother getting up to come after him, he continued walking forward towards the scent of water.
Skully jumped down from the rooftops, startling Matu, who was still in a defensive mode waiting for any more surprises. Not seeing that Skully was a threat, he just continued walking forward as Skully followed. "Were you watching me this whole time?", Matu said as he was still angry at Skully's misunderstanding of his pain and aguish.
"Yeah that was so awesome how you took out three huskies at once! "When you told that husky he'd lose a paw if he touched you, I knew it was gonna get bad if he did something stupid. He was clearly trying to impress Matu, but it wasn't working. "And then you took it off in a flash, my eyes could barely follow you!"
"I guess it just goes to show you not to mess with a wolf who carries a troubled past with him….", Matu finally said. "I told them not to fuck with me…..",he said as he continued walking.
"Remind me not to piss you off…", he said as he kept his pace with the staggering wolf. "Your wound opened up again….", he said worried, looking at it. "You might need to stop to rest…."
"I'll be fine…", Matu said as he continued walking towards the smell of fresh water. "It's getting better and tonight's a full moon, so any wound I received, no matter how serious, will be healed under it's gleam…." "I am thirsty though….", he said as he licked his muzzle.
Unknown to the two, the husky who had almost been knocked out cold had gotten back up and was sneaking up behind the two wolves. He walked past the two bodies and silently vowed to kill the two wolves especially the white one.
They had just made it to the exit of the alleyway and Matu looked at Skully. He was just about to open his mouth to apolgize for being mean earlier, when Gato jumped him from behind, knocking him to the ground. This time, he pinned his legs under his own so he wouldn't kick him off and held his shoulders firm. He dove down to Matu's neck…..
And was intercepted by Skully, who had tackled him off Matu. At the same time he was knocked off the white wolf, the black wolf latched himself onto the husky's throat puncturing his jugular, eliciting a gurgled howl from the mutt. He didn't let go until the husky stopped gurgling and afterwards helped Matu back to his feet.
"Thanks…..", Matu said as he smiled at Skully. "I was gonna say before I was jumped by that husky, I'm sorry for being so rude to you earlier today…." "You just have to understand, I lost my family at a very young age and it haunts me almost every day…."
"I understand…..", said Skully who smiled back at him. "I lost my family to hunters too, and I have nightmare about it as well. "So I know we're you're coming from. "Now let's get us a drink okay?", he said as he let Matu stay close to him, so he would avoid falling over.
"Yeah…." "A drink….", he said as he let the warm fur of his friend mingle with his. It felt good on his own fur as he tried to control a hard blush, but in the long run, couldn't help it. Skully didn't seem to be paying attention to it though as he just let Matu stay closer to his side.
"And I'll show you around the city too okay?", he said as they were near the river's edge now. "They offer some great food here, but I would advise you keep your true form hidden in this big city or you would likely be shot on sight…"
"Obviously….", Matu replied as they finally made it to the water's edge and Matu began lapping up the water, while Skully stared at him. He's so mysterious, and so handsome. Such a handsome wolf. But I can't bear to show him my true feelings. I don't know what he would think of me, he wondered as he walked up to the river edge and began to drink the water as well. I just wish I wasn't so nervous to let him know how I truly feel about him. And I really wanna know more about him, what makes him so depressed and so lonely.
This wolf seems to care a lot about me…., thought Matu, as he continued to lap of the delicious water. I want to let him know how I truly feel about him. When I'm with him, it's like there's someone who cares about my existence. Someone who understands my pain. Someone who feel what I feel. Oh, Skully…. You remind me of my best friend Dega so much. So cheerful, so happy, and I'm just a depressed, shadow of my former self, whose just trying to find happiness again. You seem…to make me happy again…. Like it's Dega I'm seeing from oh so long ago….. But I know he's dead and nothing can bring him back. And I….had such feelings for him…. Feelings I couldn't describe…. And he was taken away from me just like that… I wanna let you know how I truly feel but…..
I'm afraid to say it…..,they both thought simultaneously….. How do you really feel about me? How can I let you know how I feel without embarrassing you? I guess only fate will decide….
They finally finished their drink and headed back into the city with clearly passionate feelings for each other.