Chapter Three - Starlight: Part One
Stars shone brilliantly above the leafless canopies.
She looked up at the stars and vainly hoped the moon was going to come out; her ears perked and she looked behind her to see the white wolf coming to join her in her star-gazing.
He slightly hesitated on saying something, 'I just came to see where you were; thought you ran off to the town again.' He mused, his amber eyes shining in the darkness.
She nodded and smirked slightly, looking up at the sky again. 'Nah, I've been here, just thinking.' She replied quietly.
He sat down on his haunches at her side, his gaze leveling at the shining lights in the blackened heavens.
'What were you thinking about?' He asked.
She smiled a little as she recognized the north star. 'Not much.' She lowered her gaze and looked at him.
'Hey, you never told me where you were headed, once you leave this place.' She pointed out, perking his ears.
He looked at her with something like a wistful glaze in his amber eyes. 'To Paradise.' He said.
She lifted a brow, curious. 'Paradise?'
He nodded and looked up at the stars again.
'We're trying to get to Paradise.' His eyes lowered slightly. 'We tried in the past, but it didn't work out and we basically lost everything, including the beacon that was said to lead us to Paradise.' He explained; his voice was subdued once he finished explaining his tale to her.
Her silver eyes looked sympathetic; she looked up at the stars.
'Sounds like a rough journey.' She mused aloud.
He shrugged and smiled a little.
'It wasn't too bad; I made friends along the way,' he said, indicating his pack, 'and we ended up finding each other after our journey was over.'
She nodded and smiled slightly. 'Are all wolves supposed to find Paradise?' She asked.
He looked at her.
'If you think you can make the journey, then yeah.' He replied.
She looked at him and smirked, 'I'm pretty sure I could.' She lowered her gaze slightly at the ground. 'My pack, though, I don't know if they'd want to up and leave this forest to go look for Paradise.' She mused.
He raised a brow slightly.
'You're the leader, right? If you want to go find Paradise, I doubt they won't follow you.' He guessed.
She lowered her gaze again and huffed.
'Yeah, maybe you're right.' She laughed a little. 'Kind of ironic, considering I was ready to fight you this morning when we ran into each other in town.' She mused again.
He smirked and huffed as well, 'I felt the same. Though for what it's worth, I'm pretty sure I could've beaten you at a fair fight.' He quipped, the smirk playing on the corners of his chops.
She raised a brow and then smirked. 'Oh really?' She wondered, her voice dropping to a growl.
Before he knew it, she rolled him onto the snowy ground, her paws pinning his shoulders down as she looked down at him triumphantly, her tail wagging.
He blinked his surprised amber eyes and saw her grin, her silver eyes as bright as the stars overhead.
'So what was that about beating me in a fight?' She wondered lightly.
He made a face before a light bulb turned on in his head; he growled and punted her off, rolling in the snow until he had her on her back with her belly in the air and her neck exposed to his teeth.
She looked up at him with slight bewilderment, annoyed that he rolled her onto her back instead, his paws pinning her to the snowy ground beneath her.
He wagged his tail in the air, smirking.
'Try to keep your guard up, wolf girl.' He growled.
She made a face before she pushed him off, grunting and leaping onto his back, grabbing his ear in her teeth and holding onto him as he tried to get her off.
He rolled, knocking her off his back and making her yelp slightly as she rolled to land on her side.
He padded closer to her, his amber eyes somber. 'Nikki…?' He began.
She struck, extending her left hind foot at his gut and tossing him back as he fell back in the snow a few yards away.
She pinned him to the ground, a growl in her throat as she bared her teeth threateningly, her lip contorted into a snarl as she stared down at him.
He met her stare boldly, slightly panting from scuffling with her.
She whined softly and smirked, grabbing his ear and tugging with a growl.
He chuckled, looking up into her shining silver eyes amidst the soft black fur that covered her body.
She looked down at his strangely gentle amber eyes, her insides shrinking at finding he looked exceptionally handsome like that.
Nikki released his ear, shaking her fur of snow as she reluctantly got off him.
Kiba watched her walk away, getting to his feet and also shaking snow from his fur, before he followed her lead back to the clearing.
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Slight heat dashed across her cheeks at seeing him shift into his human disguise.
Wild brown hair framed his pale face and those same glacier blue-greenish eyes stared calmly at her; a loose white shirt hugged his well-built torso, halfway covered by a faded brown leather jacket with green on the cuffs and high collar; faded blue jeans covered his slightly-lanky legs and black sneakers protected his feet.
Great Moon, he was very handsome in his human guise.
She shook her head and sighed.
'No, you're not going like that.' She said, earning a look from the male alpha.
He sort of made a face, earning an amused look from the black she-wolf.
"And why not? It'd be easier if I went like this." He indicated his human illusion.
She smiled slightly, straightening to her feet from lying on her belly.
'Because, O stubborn one, the people in the town have already seen your human face. If they see you again, lurking around up to no good, they'll get suspicious.'
A light glint appeared in her silver eyes. 'They haven't seen my face, though.' She added, straightening to her full height and shifting.
He watched her limbs stretch into a human woman's frame and he widened his eyes slightly, a slight blush staining his pale cheeks.
Straight jet black hair framed her olive-skinned face, falling to her shoulders gracefully as striking sky blue eyes smiled smugly at him; a navy blue parka covered her lithe torso, partially covering a loose gray shirt that had buttons adorning the low collar that flashed the skin of her slightly ample breasts' cleavage; black wool leggings covered her legs, a black belt with silver studs hugged her waist, and scuffed black combat boots protected her feet.
She was beautiful even in her human form; he cleared his throat, catching the rather smug grin easily overtake her full lips as her sky blue eyes smiled.
"Okay, fine, you can do it. Come on, let's get moving." Kiba grumbled, reluctant to allow defeat at the hands of a cocky she-wolf, as he led the way out of the clearing.
Nikki laughed softly and smiled after his retreating form with a shake of her head; "typical male," she mused aloud, bounding after him into the snow…
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He poked his head up from behind a broken down car, amber eyes surveying the calm main street of the town.
She also poked her head out, looking at him as he ducked back behind the car and nodding.
"I'll go like this, you sneak around the alleys; I think the butcher hasn't opened the shop yet." She instructed quietly.
He nodded and smirked slightly at her, his wolf face lightening as he wagged his tail, 'You got it, wolf girl.' He growled in the same tone, disappearing from her side at a quick run.
She watched him run into the nearest alley and smiled to herself as she let her eyes linger on the raised white tail that bobbed in the cold air like a flag.
"Confident one, isn't he?" She muttered to herself, straightening to walk into town, slipping her hands into the pockets of her blue parka as she hummed an unfamiliar song aloud.
review please. thanks!
["Starlight" - MUSE - Black Holes & Revelations (2006)]