Since this episode ended up being really long, I decided to cut it into two parts; here's the first!


Ruins of Freeze City

Hane crumpled to the stone floor beneath her, her hands clamped over her ears as she squeezed her eyes shut. She could dimly hear someone screaming- Toboe?- but it was drowned out by the mournful sounds of whoever was crying out. Unable to contain herself anymore, she let out a high-pitched shriek of agony, unable to stop as the wailing continued. She could feel tears dripping down her face as she continued to scream, incapable of bearing such an awful sound.

But, just as abruptly as it began, the screams stopped. Hane stilled, her breaths coming out in shuddering gasps as she tried to calm herself, her body trembling from head to tail.

What was that? She thought. What horrible thing could've happened to someone to make them... To make them scream like that?

She stood, leaning against the tree for support as she caught her breath. Toboe. She thought suddenly, feeling her heart contract with sudden fear for the pup. Her ears still ringing slightly, she could barely maneuver her way around, unused to the lack of what was one of her strongest senses, but thankfully, she could pick up Toboe and Tsume's scent coming from above.

Hane leapt, landing precariously on the windowsill. "Heya, boys!" She said, pasting a fake smile on her face as she hopped inside.

Tsume turned towards her, a snarl on his face, but Toboe let out a happy yelp and rushed over. "Hane!"

"What the hell are you even doing here?" Tsume snapped at the same time.

"Hey, kiddo. You okay?" She said kindly, ignoring Tsume.

The smile on Toboe's face wavered, and for a moment, he looked like he was going to cry. "Did you hear it? I wasn't the only one... To hear that sad, sad voice." He whispered.

Hane shook her head grimly. "No, I heard it too." Turning towards Tsume, she said snarkily, "And what about you, dumbass? Did you hear it too?"

"It was probably some old machine breaking down." He growled. "What the hell are you doing here, anyway? I'd have thought you'd be chasing down that wolf you asked me about."

Hane bristled. "I was looking out for the kid, if you must know." She snapped back angrily. "I saw what happened earlier... With the girl. I told you to be careful, kiddo."

Toboe lowered his eyes. "I just... I wanted to see her again. And when I saw the bird, I thought..."

Hane sighed. "Maybe it was for the best."

Tsume snorted. "Yeah. He should've gotten the hint earlier."

Toboe flinched, his amber eyes hurt. Hane placed a hand on his shoulder before shooting a glare over at Tsume.

"Look, as much as I love hanging out with you, we need to go." She said. "Come on, Toboe."

"Wait!" The pup grabbed her sleeve, looking up at her with pleading eyes. "Maybe... Maybe we could just stay the night. I mean, if that's alright with you, Tsume."

The gray wolf stared out the window, arms crossed over his chest. "I don't give a damn about what you do. But this is my turf; I won't let you stay here long."

"Thanks, Tsume!" Toboe looked so relieved, it was as if Tsume had offered him blankets and cookies instead of warning them that he would kick them out soon enough.

Hane shot the kid a questioning look, but turned towards Tsume. "... Thanks." She said gruffly.

Tsume didn't react. Hane scowled. Would it kill the guy to be polite? She sat down on the floor, losing the illusion and heaving a faint sigh of relief as she felt four paws and a tail. She beckoned Toboe over before curling up on the floor, her tail twitching slightly. The pup padded over happily and sat down with her, burying his muzzle in her fur.

"So how d'you meet tall dark and grumpy anyhow?" Hane asked curiously.

"He saved my life. This old man, with a big black dog... He knew what we were. I would've been shot dead, if Tsume hadn't helped me out." Toboe said, his tail wagging happily.

"Hmph. Who knew he had it in him." Hane said, an edge of mockery in her voice as she glanced at Tsume.

Tsume's scowl deepened, but he continued to stare outside moodily. Hane paused for a moment, feeling slightly guilty. Maybe she had been just a little too hard on him... But to be fair, he had acted like an ass earlier.

"So, how long have you been hanging out around here, kiddo?" Hane asked curiously.

Toboe's ears drooped slightly as he laid his muzzle on his paws. "With Tsume, you mean? Not long."

"What about you?" Toboe said, snapping the she-wolf out of her thoughts.

"What?"

"Why did you come here? And meet Tsume? Do you have a family?" He said patiently.

Hane paused for a moment, feeling her heart tighten in her chest. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Tsume look at the two of them for the first time since he had stopped talking. She averted her eyes, staring down at the floor.

"I-uh..." Do you have a family? "I lost my pack... Some time ago. I've been living at Freeze City for about two years now, and I met this guy two days ago." Her quiet voice turned sharp as she mentioned meeting Tsume, still staring unwaveringly at the floor.

"What do you mean, you lost your pack?" Toboe asked, confused.

Hane laid her muzzle on her paws. "It's late, kiddo. You should get some rest."

She could still feel curiosity seeping off the pup, but he was kind enough to not say anything as he closed his eyes. It wasn't long before he was snoring softly.

Hane sighed softly, before letting her eyes close as well, feeling Tsume's stare on her fur like a burning brand. She could almost feel how he wanted to ask what Toboe had said, but was either too pissed off at her, or maybe didn't care enough; she didn't know. She fell asleep soon after, too tired to try and think anymore.

Ruins of Freeze City; The next morning

Hane stirred slightly, her eyes blinking open sleepily as she woke. She could feel Toboe's muzzle on her back as he slept, his stomach rising and falling gently with each breath. Carefully, she stood, making sure to disturb the pup as little as possible.

Sighing, she let her illusion take hold once again before glancing around curiously for Tsume.

Where's the moron gotten to this time? She thought grumpily, walking towards the window. Peering outside, she sniffed deeply. She could scent Tsume, overlapping the reek of the humans he 'worked' with. She sighed, leaning against the wall. His scent was fresh, so he hadn't left long ago, and judging by the wind, he had been headed towards the center of the city.

Hane frowned slightly, but shook her feelings of uneasiness aside. It wasn't any of her business what he did. Besides, it was probably something shady anyway. She sat down on the windowsill, one of her legs dangling on the outside as she leaned her head backwards.

Closing her eyes, she breathed in deeply. Strangely enough, Tsume's scent was kind of... Nice, in a weird way. It was, of course, wolfy, but there was a tinge of some sort of spicy smell to it that reminded Hane of the exotic powders humans sold to make their food taste better. And something else... She wasn't sure what it was, but she would be lying if she said it wasn't pleasant.

But... Something was wrong. Something was... Missing, that made the whole city smell just a little more dirty and filthy. Where's the scent of lunar flowers gone?

"What are you doing?" A mildly curious voice said from behind her, with an edge of sarcasm.

Hane sighed regretfully before opening her eyes. "You know, I was actually enjoying my day until you showed up."

Tsume eyed her, before tossing a brown paper bag towards her. She caught it easily, and opened it to find a hamburger.

Raising an eyebrow, she said mockingly, "Wow. I guess you do care."

Tsume snorted, but didn't say anything else. Walking over to Toboe, he prodded him with his foot. "Get up, kid." He said emotionlessly, dropping another paper bag on his chest.

Toboe yawned and stretched, his nose twitching as he smelled the burger. "Food?" He mumbled, his eyes opening.

Hane grinned at him. "Yep. Eat up, kiddo."

She took a bite of the hamburger. It wasn't exactly a bison, but compared to some of the stuff humans cooked, it was pretty good.

"So, what are you gonna do now, Tsume?" Toboe asked curiously, looking up from his burger. "Do you have somewhere to go?"

Hane looked at the gray wolf expectantly.

"Who knows." He said, shrugging slightly before biting into his food.

Toboe was silent for a moment as he glanced downwards, his eyes turning sad. "I wonder if I'll ever see Leara again... Hey, do you think it would be okay if I went to visit her?!"

Hane grimaced. "Toboe, no offense, but I don't think that would be the best idea... I mean, after what happened..."

Tsume scoffed. "You saw that look on her face, didn't you?" He said cruelly.

"She was just, uh, a little surprised, that's all!" Toboe defended himself, looking down at his hamburger again.

"You can't be serious!" Tsume said, his voice irritated and sardonically amused at the same time. "She was pissing in her pants!"

"She was not!" Toboe snapped back, losing his temper for the first time since Hane had met him.

"That girl was reeking of it." Tsume said, a smirk on his face.

Hane felt a snarl come onto her face. This idiot was really starting to piss her off.

"Why do you have to lie about everything?" Toboe said, his amber gaze fixed on Tsume. "You heard that sound too, didn't you? You can't say you didn't, because Hane heard it too! And it must have made you feel sad! So stop lying, and just be honest with yourself!"

Hane looked at the pup, impressed. She didn't know the kid had it in him. Tsume, however, scowled. "Fine, whatever. If you wanna go, then go! It's not like I care what happens to you."

"Sounds good to me!" Hane said, getting up. "Regret meeting ya, Tsume. See you around!" Hopefully not... She thought inwardly.

Glancing around, she noticed Toboe was still sitting down. "So, why did you save me, then?" Toboe asked, his tone fierce. "If you really don't care, then you should've just left me, or pretended not to recognize me! I mean, we're not your friends or anything..."

"Toboe," Hane said, her voice hushed. "Come on, let's go."

"You're right." Toboe and Hane both looked at Tsume, identical looks of astonishment on their faces. "You're not my friends."

Toboe scowled. "Yeah, I forgot, you're only friends with humans. It's easier that way, isn't it? 'Cuz no human is ever gonna be as strong as you. They'll do whatever you tell them to!"

"You don't know what you're talking about!" Tsume said savagely. "You don't know what it takes t survive in this city, how dangerous it is! Nothing!"

"Actually, I do." Hane said coldly, stepping forwards. "And I, personally, don't need to rely on humans for help. And somehow, I'm not a total bastard."

Tsume growled, deep in his throat. "Go on, then. Let's see how well you do on your own. Beat it!" With his last words, he threw the remainders of his hamburger at Toboe.

He didn't seem to care, but Hane snarled anyway, her maternal instincts taking over. "Watch it!"

"You should get out of here too!" Tsume shot back, golden eyes blazing with fury. "Before I kick your ass into tomorrow!"

"Really?! I'd like to see you try, twinkle-toes!" Hane spat.

"Hane!" Toboe was tugging insistently on her sleeve. "Please, can we just go?"

Hane glanced at Tsume, and sighed. "Whatever." Opening the door, she pushed Toboe ahead of her. But before she exited, she turned towards Tsume.

"How can you live like this?" She demanded, waving her hand at the wrecked room. "Working with humans, sleeping in this dump, being a total asshole to everyone you meet, even your own kind! What kind of life is that?! How can you stand being so... So..." She fumbled for the right word. "...Alone?" She finished lamely.

Tsume stared at her for a second, before putting his hands up. "Hey, I'm sorry."

Hane heard Toboe's gasp of surprise, but refused to look away.

"I'm sorry I ever got mixed up with a bunch of morons like you two." He finished, sitting on the sill and putting his hands behind his head.

Hane felt slightly disappointed, but she wasn't surprised. "Let's go," She sighed to Toboe before stepping outside the room. She paused for a moment, glancing back at Tsume, before slamming the door, her strength making it tremble and cracks appear in the wall as it closed. Following Toboe, she only just managed to hear Tsume's muttered words, "I'm sick of friends. Who needs 'em?"


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