Pain... His whole body was in absolute pain, and yet he doesn't know why. He then realized he is in his wolf-form, and is crouching down over hard-earth. His ears perked up to the sounds of lightning striking, roaring thunders, growls and whimpering of... Other wolves? And in front of him, he could hear snarling of an older wolf... And in his eyes, he saw a giant black-wolf in front of him... A full-blooded Werewolf, and he looks ready to kill the half-blooded Were. Dick, though he slowly felt himself backing away a bit, let loose his snarl at the older-wolf, even showing all of his fangs to let the black-wolf know he won't go down that easily. As he kept snarling, the older-wolf lifted his lips into an amused smile.
"I must admit, you certainly are brave." His voice, sounding very dark and gloomy, sent chills down the boy's spine. The smile soon gone away, replacing with a simple frown. "However, if you were a full-blood like the rest of us, then I would've most likely accept you as my own pup, a son, my own successor." His words seems to have pained Dick greatly, and made him snarl a bit louder than before.
"I am nobodies successor, nor will I be anybody's son!" He barked, his Cerulean/Sapphire-eyes glaring at blood-red eyes. "My father died with most of my pack-mates five years ago, and my uncle soon passed on four weeks after the incident! Since the day I watched them fall to their deaths and had been given the call of my uncle's passing, I became a Lone Wolf!" The older-wolf simply chuckled at his words, his lips lifting up a bit for a small-smile.
"And that is why you half-breeds should never had existed," he said. "In this world, there is a law that separates our destiny and divides the weak from the strong. And you, my dear pup, are caught in the middle of that law... For you are He!" Before he could react, the older black-wolf leap in the air and aimed his fangs and claws towards Dick. Despite most likely staring death in the face and knowing he has very little chance on winning this fight, the boy gathered all of his strength within himself and launched himself towards the full-Were in front of him. Just as they were about to make contact with each other, their fangs inches away from each others fur and neck, a struck of lightning came down.
Now Waking up...
"NU! (No)" Dick cried, allowing his eyes to finally open from sleeping and leaning over the bed. Outside of his window, it was pouring rain and flash of lightning struck down. The twelve year-old tried to catch his breath, as he wiped the sweat off of his forehead and reached for the glass of water he had placed on his dresser before he went to bed. As he struggled to calm his beating heart, he turned his gaze towards the window to watch the flash of lightning. He then realized that he was in his bedroom in Mount Justice. 'Luckily for me, Bruce must've decided to let me stay in the mountain for the three days.' He thought to himself, as he slowly moved his legs off the mattress and stood on his left-leg since his right was still injured. He then heard scratching sounds coming from the other side of his door, along with the sound of whimpering and growling.
"Brother, are you alright? Please, let me in or come on out." It was Wolf, and Dick felt actually glad to hear the white-wolf wanting to be with him and thought some company would do him some good. So, after carefully changing into his civilian clothes and putting a pair of sunglasses in one of his jacket's pockets, he limped his way towards the door and allowed the metal-door to open. Just as he predicted, Wolf stood in front of him, with worry and relief held within his golden-yellow eyes. "Was it another nightmare, Brother?" Wolf asked, backing away a bit to allow the boy to come out of his room and then came to the right-side of the boy to help him walk.
"I don't know, Wolf." Dick whispered, knowing that it was very early in the morning and that his teammates are still sleeping in their dorms. "It's a new kind of dream, and yet a nightmare at the same time." Once they were in the living-room and Dick was sitting on the couch facing the TV, Wolf sat beside his legs.
"Are you saying it was a mixture of a nightmare, and a dream at the same time?" The boy shrugged his shoulders.
"To be honest, Wolf, I don't think it was really a dream at all." He replied, staring at the blank-screen of the TV. If the teams looked into their reflections, they would just see 'them'. However, rather as a wolf or human, Dick would always see his reflection of his wolf-form and the humans will only see his reflection as a human when he is in his human-form. Though he may appear to be sitting, but he is really laying down in the appearance of his wolf-reflection. Wolf cocked his head to the side.
"Then, you're suggesting it was a vision?" Dick shrugged his shoulders.
"Like I said, Wolf, I'm not so sure. It could've been just a simple dream, or a nightmare. Not sure about it being a vision or even becoming a simple warning, but it could've most likely just been a dream." The sound of thunder and lightning rumbled within the walls of the cave and the sound of rain quickly turned into a sound of falling rocks, which means it was now hailing. Soon, they stayed silent for a good while, both simply enjoying each others company the moment Dick slid off the couch and sat beside the white-wolf. Through the reflection from the TV, the boy was smaller and shorter than Wolf, for the white-wolf had been genetically engineer and experimented on, making the white-animal twice as big than the boy. However, the black-wolf from his dream, because he was in fact a full-Werewolf, he was twice as big than Wolf!
"Do you wish to talk about your dream, Brother?" Wolf broke the silent, even though the room wasn't completely silent from the harsh weather outside. Dick shook his head.
"I think it would be best to just let it go," he answered. "If the dreams do continue on, however, then I will tell you... Only if you want to hear, that is." Wolf lifted his lips into a smile, and then bent his head his down to nuzzle the boy's raven-hair with his nose.
"If you need a listening ear, I'll be here when you wish to talk." Dick smiled at the white-wolf, placing his right-hand on top of Wolf's head and letting the large-animal to lay his head on his lap. "For now, I think it'll be best to sleep, since you only had at least three hours of sleep while Batman was treating your injuries for at least half an hour." The boy let loose a yawn and allowed his body to lean towards Wolf's body, feeling warm and secured from the white-wolf's fur and knowing that one of his pack-mates is with him if danger were to come.
"I still have a lot of explaining about me nearly blowing my cover, huh?" He earned a snort from the white-wolf.
"You got that right, Brother. Don't think I hadn't seen the news of Killer Croc calling you a 'Wolf', let alone a 'Werewolf', while being taken away by the cops. Be glad that you didn't reveal your blood to the others, and that you were able to finish Lizard-Head with fewer injuries."
"That may be true, but the problem is I didn't transform in front of Croc and I turned back into a human after I knocked him out while I was still a wolf. However, I think he still recognized my voice from the lower tone and the wounds he inflicted on me while we were fighting."
"You could be right on that, and even if he didn't realize it was you by sight and hearing, he would've most likely noticed your scent from the previous fighting you would encounter him with Batman." The animal then let out a yawn, nuzzling the boy's left-arm and moving a bit to get his head to lay on Dick's left-hip and stomach. "And now, my little brother, it is time to go back to sleep." The twelve year-old chuckled also, until he felt his eyes slowly drooping down.
"You're right, Brother... Good night."
"Sweet dreams to you too, Dick." After exchanging best dreams to each other and the warmth of each other battling the cold coming throughout the cave from the weather, they both finally went back to the Land of Dreams.
Two Days Later, Midday...
"RECOGNIZED: ARTEMIS, B-0-7; RED ARROW, B-0-6!" The moment the two archery heroes had been announced throughout the mountain, Wally made a beeline towards the Zeta-Beam and soon had a very-soaked Artemis in his arms.
"Artemis, you're back!" He cried, not bothering to noticed her completely wet from head to toe and placed the both of them on the couch, with the blonde sitting in the redhead's lap. "I've missed you so much, Babe!" Artemis rolled her eyes, as she allowed Wally to pull her into a kiss, knowing that the Speedster will eventually find out that both she and Roy are completely soaked from the continuous rain after their little celebration on being reunited once again. Once he finally came to the living room, Roy shook his head from watching his 'younger brother' giving Artemis kisses and that he didn't bother to greet him after he took the blonde. He then felt a hand on his left-shoulder, and turn to see Kaldur standing at his left and greeting him with a smile.
"You both have returned already, my friend." He said, not bothering to see Wally and Artemis finally breaking it and the Speedster finally noticing her wet and his clothes finally wet. "Was it raining where you were camping at as well, or is it something else?" Roy simply smirked at the Atlantean's question, as more footsteps and paws coming into the room as well.
"You could say a mixture of both," he replied. Before Wally could ask why, somebody already beat him into talking.
"Uncle Ollie was bothering you on fishing with him, setting the tent that you all had to sleep in, and his snoring was keeping you both up all night." Roy stared completely startled at Dick, who was sitting in the one-chair couch, with Wolf sitting beside him. "You have some bait-stains and more water-stains on your leg-pants, your hands got rope-burns, and there are bags under both your eyes." The older-redhead smirked at the twelve year-old's explanation.
"Jr. Detective got it right again, as usual." Before he could've seen it coming, he was soon found onto his back and Dick on top of him with his right-hand holding onto his neck.
"You know how much I hate to be called that, Roy." The boy said, slightly tightning his grip before letting him go and getting off of the redhead's chest. "Don't call me that again, or I'll send you back to where you went camping at and have you hanging in a tree for the bears." Roy leaned up to watch the boy heading out of the living room, with Wolf walking by his side, as the redhead placed a hand over his throat to rub some of the soreness off.
"What's wrong with him?" He asked the others, as Kaldur helped him back to his feet. Wally simply shrugged.
"He's been liked that ever since our mission with Killer Croc," he replied.
"Not just him, but Wolf as well." Conner added, as he went to sit on the other couch of the living room. "I think he's simply mad that he couldn't come with us, and had to be watched by Billy again."
"Don't think so, since Rob was the one to suggest he stays behind for being made leader." Wally reminded, as he let Artemis go from his grip when she told him so. "If he were mad from being left behind, wouldn't he be mad with Rob?" Conner shook his head.
"Even if Robin did tell him to stay behind, Wolf wouldn't be mad at him since both he and I made a connection with Wolf." Roy soon sat in the couch with Wally, and Kaldur went to the one-seat Dick was just in.
"Robin could simply be upset from Batman putting him in position of leader again, since we all know he no longer desires to become leader after going through the Trai... 'Incident'." Kaldur suggested, thinking that the mission with only four of them brought back bad memories to the boy.
"Yeah, but we all know that he'll become leader one of these days." Wally said, rubbing the back of his head with his hand. "Even if he doesn't want to, he needs to be prepare when that day comes and being leader on some of the missions should be good exercise for him."
"Or just make things worse..." Conner muttered to himself, knowing that they wouldn't hear him. "Anyway, is there another reason why both you and Artemis came back from your camping trip?" Roy seemed a bit uneasy by the clone Kryptonian's question and with Artemis gone to take a shower, he has to tell the rest of the team their reason.
"Well..." He turned his gaze towards the doors that leads to the Briefing Room. "While we were camping, there was something odd." The teens turned their gaze to each other, having confused looks.
"Something odd, like what?" M'gann asked, sitting next to Conner after placing baked snicker doodles on the coffee table. The older-redhead remained quiet for awhile, as if trying to find the right words to answer the martian's question, until he finally spoke and his words really surprised the team.
"Did any of you guys know that there are wolves at the Grand Canyon?"
At the Briefing Room...
Even in a different room and at a far away distance from the living room of the mountain, both Wolf and Dick could hear the conversation going and the question Roy just asked startled the twelve year-old from focusing on watching Gotham City through many of the security cameras on one holographic screen.
"Brother?" Wolf asked the boy, noticing the child had stopped typing onto the holographic keyboard and had his head lowered instead of watching the screen. "Could they be the ones you told me about?" Dick nodded his head.
"They had to be, since they're the only pack that lives at the Grand Canyon." He answered, as he summoned another screen and made quick typing onto another keyboard for the second screen. "Not only that, there aren't suppose to be any wolves living at the Grand Canyons." The second screen then popped up a bunch of newspaper Coconino County of Arizona. So far, no news say anything about people seeing wolves at the Grand Canyon. However, there were some that are starting to get suspicious about traces of wolves couple of years ago. Some like: "Giant Coyotes Leaving Bigger Tracks?", "Coyotes Increasing, Goats and Elks Decreasing?", and "Coyotes Formed Giant Pack, and Now Howling like Wolves?" "No doubt about it, it's definitely them." Wolf, who was laying in the center of the room, made his way to stand at the left-side of Dick and stared at the screen to see the titles and recognized that some of the pictures do have traces of wolves on it that definitely doesn't belong to coyotes.
"Have the humans seen them?" Dick shook his head.
"Most of these sightings have been made from mostly campers and hikers, and them seeing the wolves are caught by night." The boy then pulled out a third screen, and then summoned a small film on YouTube from user that claimed to have seen wolves while camping at the Grand Canyon. The scene was a bit fuzzy, and kept on shaking from the user holding the camera while recording the sight of afar off distance of part of the Canyon while there was being heard on top. "However, every time somebody tries to find them, they can easily hide their tracks and turn into their human-forms to act like campers or hiikers themselves. Besides, the humans try to find them at night, even when they can't see very clearly during the night." He then closed the third screen after the short film had finished playing, and then closed the second screen when the computer finished scanning for anymore 'coyote' sightings.
"You're not worried they're going to be caught, Dick?"
"Even if they were to get caught, police or detectives will believe they've been experimented." After going through all the cameras and making sure that there are no villains attacking Gotham, Dick let out a tiring sigh and turned both the screen and keyboard off. He then turned to the white-wolf, and smiled. "You wanna go for a walk in Gotham, Wolf?" The white-animal lifted his lips into a smile from the question, and let loose a bark of glee while wagging his tails.
"I would love to, Dick! I've never been to Gotham before, and I had been hoping to go there for the mission." Dick patted the wolf on the head.
"And I'm still sorry to leave you behind," he said.
"Don't worry about it. It's just like I said, you were doing what was best for a pack-mate." The twelve year-old then pulled out a chain-collar from his pocket, with a small tag hanging in the center of the chain, and placed it around Wolf's neck. "However, why must I have this chain wrapped around my neck?" Dick then pulled out a leash, and attached it behind Wolf's collar.
"In my town, people will think you're a stray following me and dog catchers will try to take you away, no matter how strong or big you are. Even if they don't catch you, it's better safe than sorry and not freak out the humans any further."
"You mean, there were other wolves that came to Gotham than I?"
"Well... They're not really wolves, they were hyenas and pets to both the Joker and Harley. But, there was this man who's been forced to turn into a werewolf-like creature after taking a chemical from a scientist who tried to plague Gotham with the use of stray animals and another chemical. Other than that and the two Timber Wolves from the Gotham Zoo, you're most likely the first wolf to stroll across the city I protect."
"And what of the rest of the pack?" Wolf asked, as they made their way towards the Zeta-Beam.
"They'll be fine, and will probably be too busy talking until they hear the computer announce us leaving."
Now in Gotham City...
"This place, is so big." Wolf commented, staring at the tall buildings of Gotham, while he and Dick walked the sidewalk after leaving the alley that had the 'out of order phone booth'.
"Well, that's Gotham for you: Big, crowded, and full of many dangers since it's part of New York City." Dick told the wolf, knowing that the citizens wouldn't be able to hear him.
"I can also see why you prefer to be at the mountain, instead of having to stay here." The white-wolf then rubbed his right-paw at nose, trying to get rid of the itching feeling and smell that lingers in the air. "I don't know how you can stand living here, Brother."
"If you live in this city, even for a few days, you'll eventually get use to it." Suddenly, the sound of trash cans tumbling and being knocked over caught their hearing, which came from an alleyway next to the Gotham Mall. They soon saw an orange-van parked next to the sidewalk in front of the alleyway, and then saw a crowd of people forming in front of the alley.
"Wonder what's happening over there, humans performing their gifts?"
"Doubt it, the security camera didn't show any humans going to perform outside of the mall. Not only that..." As they made their way towards the crowd, Dick then saw the words 'GOTHAM CITY'S ANIMAL CATCHERS' written on both sides of the van. "It seems the catchers are just catching a stray, not really a big deal to have made a crowd of people to form."
"Alright, lets bring it to the van!" One voice from the alley yelled out, as the sound of three other voices made a bunch of grunts or moan sounds.
"Boy, this dog must weigh around a hundred!" Another whined, with sounds of feet scraping and dragging out of the small space between the buildings. Along with boots scraping against the hard ground, did Wolf and Dick also heard the sound of claws scratching and low growling and loud barking.
"Let go of me! I shall not surrender to you humans! I must find Him!" Wolf turned his head to stare at the boy.
"Sounds like they have a stubborn one on their hands," he said. Dick simply smirked.
"So it would seem like it." The sound of snarling and growling grew louder, as the men pulled the animal towards their van.
"Release me, humans! I must find Him!"
"Stay back, folks!" One of the catchers, who had noose wrapped around the animal's neck, told the crowd of people that had been circling them. Wolf and Dick then heard a couple of people screaming when they saw the animals, with children crying in fear and men backing away from the sight.
"What kind of dog is that!?" A man yelled, pointing a finger at the animal.
"That can't be a dog, it's a monster!" A female cried. Wold and Dick turned their gazes to each other, and then made their way in front of the crowd to see what kind of 'monster' the animal catchers were taking in their van. Dick's eyes widen when he saw it wasn't a dog, nor a monster... But a giant Timber-Wolf, who was twice as big than Wolf.
"Dick... He's a..."
"I know, Wolf." The boy whispered, watching the three men lifting the wolf into the van and locking the door before the large animal could turn and jump out. Once they had the animal loaded and the crowd finally calmed down and began to disband, the animal catchers went to the front of the vehicle and took off towards the shelter. Wolf and Dick glared at the orange-yellow van leaving, knowing what they saw was no ordinary wolf.
"Brother?..."
"Not now, but soon." The white-wolf grunted in an agreement, and they went off to continue their walk. As they left the alley, a certain raven had watched the whole event and then flew towards the direction of the van.
The Next Day, in the Fields of Wayne Manor...
The sound of hooves pounding and horse panting through the cold-frosted air in the middle of another cloudy day was all Dick could hear and see, as he rode his faithful black-horse. A four year-old mustang, with light-blue eyes, he had named Lună (moon), through the frosted-thick trees of the field's forest with no saddle or reins. To others, it would seem very dangerous on riding a horse with nothing on the horse. But to Dick and his horse, it was completely right and... Well, freedom. Both could feel their hearts pumping, the taste of the cold fresh air, the wind blowing through their black hairs, the cool air blowing against their skins... But most of all, how they both felt connected to each other while galloping through the forest in the middle of Winter.
"Get ready to jump, Lună!" Dick cried, leaning over a bit towards his horse's neck and grabbing a fist of her mane in his hand. Lună whinny in a reply.
"Hang on tight, Dick!" She said, as she gathered more speed into her legs to get out of the forest much quicker. Once the trees were out of their sights and surrounding and when they saw a hill up ahead, Lună gathered all her strength into her legs and leap over the hill blocking their path to where they were heading to. When they landed on the other side of the hill and as the black-mustang kept galloping, Dick raised a fist in the air and cheered.
"Alright, Lună!" He cried, now patting his horse with the hand he just formed as a fist as she kept galloping. "I knew you could do it, I just knew it!" The black mare turned her head to the left, smiling at her young rider. Dick smiled back at his horse, admiring the white-circle in the center of her face that makes him think of the moon, which was partly why she was named Lună.
"We're almost to the cliff, Dick. You ready?" She asked, turning her head back to see where she's going.
"Ready as I'll ever be," the boy replied. Once they reached the hill and when Lună stopped galloping, she stood on her hind-legs and let loose a whinny in hoping that the wind would carry it on while waving her front-hooves around. As she whinny, Dick lifted a fist in the air again, and cheered with his companian. Down below the cliff they stood, they could see Wayne Manor and Gotham City much farther from their home. Even when their was still frost and snow from mid-December, the ice from the streams and rivers had already thawed and they could clearly see green-grass underneath the cold substance. After their victory cries, Lună got back to standing all fours and both went quiet. Besides the wind still blowing against their hairs and skins and both still panting for air, it was very relaxing to human and horse. Dick then patted Lună on the neck. "You ready to get down?" Lună snorted as a reply.
"Just as you told me earlier, ready as I'll ever be." She said, backing up from the cliff a bit and stomping a hoof into the hard-dirt like a bull getting ready to charge. She then gathered the speed and strength into her legs to do a quick gallop and then launched herself off the edge of the cliff. As they both went down, Lună shifted her body to the right and positioned her hooves once they would reach the ground. Soon, they were sliding down to the cliff until the black-mustang launched herself again and landed into a stream that would cushion their landing and trot back onto land. Dick then got off of Lună to let her shake the water off of her, while got down on all four and shook the water off of him as well. Once both gotten most of the water off of them and thought about walking the way back home to catch their breath, Dick turned into his wolf-form and both wolf and horse walked back towards the forest to head their way back to Wayne Manor. "You sure it's wise of you on becoming a wolf during the day?" Lună asked the wolf, putting both her ears foreward incase she hears anything that would be a sign for humans. The wolf simply smirked.
"There's nobody hear besides us and some forest animals, Lună." Dick answered, smiling up at his horse friend. "Before we went riding, I did a quick scope and made a quick check that Bruce had to work at Wayne Enterprises and Alfred went to go shopping." Lună rolled her eyes from his information, but smiled down at her young friend.
"Even so, I just want to be sure that no humans will harm you if they see you walking with me in your wolf-form." The twelve year-old wagged his tail and gave her a couple of barks that makes the horse think of him more of a pup than he looks.
"If you're so worried about humans seeing me as a wolf, how about a race back home to the stables to make time go faster?" He suggested, going into down-underdog position while in a playful mood. Lună stopped walking, giving him a serious look and folding one of her ears back.
"Dick..." She said, stomping her hoof a bit. "I'm being serious about this."
"I am too, and there's nothing wrong on being careless every once in a while, right?" The black-mustang rolled her eyes in annoyance.
"Only when you're human, then yes. As a wolf during the day, however, no." Even after being raised by the twelve year-old for her whole life ever since her mother died, along with her... Well, 'father' being raised by Bruce Wayne, the black-horse was still no match to his taunts or his 'Puppy-Dog Eyes' trick.
"Aww, come on. Please, Micul meu Lumina lunii (My Little Moonlight)?" He begged, giving her a couple of whimpering sounds and making his eyes grow more bigger. With his eyes flatten and his eyes looking up, the horse was struggling on resisting the 'Sad-Face'.
"Nope, not gonna work on me." She insisted, turning her gaze towards the mountain, swishing her tail, and stomping her left-hoof into the ground. The whining and whimpering still continued, and when Lună slightly verted her gaze back down on her friend, she was immediately drawn to his face. Knowing that she had loss, she let loose a snort. "Alright," she agreed. "However, we take the shortcut to the stables, so that Bruce or Alfred won't be able to see you as a wolf and you can put me away quicker." Dick smiled in satisfaction, and then did an actual flip in the air in glee.
"Deal!" He barked, now jumping and running in circle around the black-mustang. And with that said, both gotten ready into position for their little race. "Ready..." He started, stomping his right-paw into the dirt and smiling with excitement.
"Set..." Lună said, stomping the same hoof into the ground and smiling.
"GO!" They both cried at the same time, and then both thrusted themselves in order to try to get ahead of their competitors. So far, it was Lună taking the lead by inches, while Dick was already starting to catch up. As they ran, both would either leap over rocks sticking out of the ground, ducking from branches, or just simply showing off their moves while racing towards the stables. As they neared the exit of the forest, both saw the fences of their field beginning to show. Both horse and wolf turned an eye at each other, smiling on what they were thinking at the same time, and putting more speed and strength into their legs.
"I'm going to win this, Little Bird!" Lună cried, getting ready to jump. Dick simply chuckled at her calling him by a nickname he had taken up by Bruce while he was still new on living at Wayne Manor.
"In your dreams, Lumina lunii (Moonlight)!" He barked, as the fences grew more closer with each step they took. Once the white-barrier was in front of them, both put all they had into their hind-legs and launched themselves over the fences. Both had to tuck their front-legs very high, practically having their hooves or paws touching their chests, in order to get the first half of themselves over. While stretching their front-legs towards the grass, they had to curl their hind-legs to prevent them from tripping or having their feet stuck. Once both had safely landed on the other side and when the site of the light-brown stables close by, they continued their galloping or running through the frost-covered grass Lună was still taking the lead, which got her to lift her head and show off as she continued to gallop.
"I told you I would win, Dick!" She called out behind her, snorting as the stables grew bigger. Just as she was about to cross, a rush of wind from behind caught her off guard and then saw Dick sitting in front of the stables with a smile on his face.
"You were saying, Lună?" He asked, cackling at the shock look that his horse was giving to him while she tries to catch her breath.
"What... But how... You were..." The boy simply smirked, as he allowed himself to turn back into his human-form and opened the door that was labled as Lună's stable.
"You should know that Weres are a lot faster than ordinally wolves, Lună." Once the mare was able to catch her breath, she made her way towards his open stall and turned back to face Dick while he closed the door.
"But you are only half-Were, Little Bird." She reminded, letting loose a yawn.
"Even if he is only half, Lună, he is still a Were." Another horse, who was also a black-mustang reminded the younger horse. And according to his name on top of his stable, Cobalt is the horse of Bruce... Also, the father of Dick's horse. Though at the age of fourteen, Cobalt was a big and very strong horse. "And let that be a lesson to you, my daughter: Never judge your opponents, and never show off while you are still racing." Lună lowered head over the door, placing her soft-muzzle into the boy's hand and licking them to show him her apologize.
"Yes, father... I am sorry, Little Bird." Dick simply smiled at his horse and gently placed his hands over her face, stroking one-side of her face and the other holding her in place to keep some of her mane from getting into his face.
"There is nothing to apologize for, Micul meu Lumina lunii." Cobalt smiled at the two, as he lifted his head and whinny while laughing. Lună gave him a playful glare.
"I'm not that little anymore, 'Little' Bird." The twelve year-old had to give her his carefree laugh, which seems to brighten any horses day.
"No matter how big or old you'll get, you will always be Micul meu Lumina lunii to me and our family."
"Just like you shall always be Little Bird to us all, Young One." Cobalt said, placing his muzzle against Dick's left-shoulder and getting him to laugh by the horse playful nipping that was tickling him. Goosebumps appeared on his arms, which was visible since he is wearing a black t-shirt and sweat-pants in the middle of a Winter February. "And speaking about our family, you better head back to the Manor. You know how Alfred and Bruce would get worked up, if they see you outside in just a t-shirt and sweat-pants with no coat or shoes on." Dick rolled his eyes on the older-mustang's words, while Lună whinny as she laughed.
"I will, just as soon as I put the blankets on you guys." He said, heading towards the storage-room of the stables to grab a couple of blankets. Not only were Cobalt and Lună living in the stables, but six other horses are also owned by Bruce since his mother was an animal lover and much of a horse-whisperer. And even if he doesn't have her blood, Dick has also proven that he is also an animal lover and horse-whisperer, for being half-wolf and being raised at the circus to help the circus animals.
"So, how did your ride go, you two?" Cobalt asked, as Dick sat the pile of blankets on a chair and pulled the top blanket out, which was dark-green with the American-flag on the top right-corner of the blanket on it. Both Lună and Dick smiled, as the boy placed the green-cover over Cobalt's body without having to go inside the stables.
"It went well," the mare answered. "We both had a very great time, since we needed a good run to burn off some energy." Dick then pulled out a dark-Cerulean/Sapphire blanket, with a moon and a bunch of stars covering all over the cover.
"I'm glad to hear that, my daughter." Cobalt then turned to the twelve year-old. "And I had hoped you both didn't scale your way off the cliff after your little victory cry." Lună flattened her ears back, with Dick flinching from the stern voice in the older horse's words. Both give nervous laughs at his words. The stallion twitched his left-ear to the side, giving them a glare from his chocolate-brown eyes. "Well?" The mare rubbed her right-hoof in a small-circle on the ground.
"Well, we didn't..."
"But..." Dick turned, and smiled at the stallion.
"We slid down instead, since Bruce forbid me doing it again from last Spring's attempt."
"And you both chose to slide your way back down, while it was still Winter?" Both just smiled at the older-horse.
"You didn't tell us we couldn't, father." Lună said, going to the left-corner of her stall and eating some hay. Cobalt let loose a sigh, and shook his head from side-to-side.
"It seems you got the excitement and dare-devil stunts from me, Lună." He said, turning to his right of his stall and drinking water from the bucket. As they ate and drank, Dick went to put the rest of the blnakets on the other horses, which was four boys and two other girls. Some of the horses, right now, are simply being fostered after being neglected or abused until they're to find new homes to have a better life. And so far, they were doing very well and are on the road to full recovery thanks to Bruce and Dick. Once all horses have blankets and plenty of food and water in their stalls, he bid them all good-bye and then went back to Lună and Cobalt.
"Well, see you guys tomorrow." The wind then blew against them, making the twelve year-old shiver a bit but made no move to cross his arms. Before he could turn to leave, Lună grabbed for a piece of his shirt into her mouth.
"What's wrong, Dick?" She asked, noticing his sad expression suddenly on his face when he was just happy and cheerful a minute ago before putting blankets on the other horses.
"Nothing, girl." The boy replied, smiling sadly at her and petting her face to get her to let go of his shirt. "Just tired, must be from our race. But hey, at least tomorrow is Sunday and we get to spend our last day to spend together before I have to go back to school and head back to Mount Justice." He then held her face in both his arms, and placed a kiss on the white-circle of her face. "Behave, Micul meu Lumina lunii." Without another word from each other, Dick turned his back and made a beeline towards the Manor. As they watched the boy head towards the house, both Cobalt and Lună turned to face each other.
"It's that time again, isn't it, father?" Cobalt nodded his head.
"Within a moon, he will celebrate his day of birth without his birth-family once again. And soon, the beginning of April shall come..."
"And Dick will start mourning for the loss of his family again." Lună lowered her head again, releasing a sad sigh. "Just as I would mourn for my mother..." Cobalt lowered his head, and rubbed his head against the mare's head.
"I know how you feel, my daughter. Though I may not know what had happened to my parents, for I've been taken away since I was only a Colt... And though I may not be your father by blood, I will still be your father and will be here for you... Just as Bruce will be there for Dick, whenever he will need him." Lună smiled sadly at the older-mustang.
"But when Dick will have to leave and find his father's wolf-pack, will Bruce be able to be there for him?" That question seems to bother both horses, as they turned their gazes back to the Manor when they heard the sound and saw Alfred pulling up in the garage.
"Lets hope so, Lună... Lets hope so..." 'For I fear the consequences that Dick will have to pay, whether Bruce is there for him or not.'
Two Days Later, at Gotham Academy...
"And remember, class, we have only four months left until the art competition closes and they announce the winning school for the million dollar prize." Mrs. Gordan told her Art III class, slowly walking around the class while observing her students doing their own art ideas for the art competition. Their assignment, and only assignment they had been doing ever since the beginning of school, was paint on one of the three choices: A story, expression, or emotional. The students are allowed to use as many paints and frames as they need, and the due date was a week before their last day of school, which is on June 1st.
When the teacher came to the table that Dick was in, she smiled when she stared at the art he was doing from behind: It was a painting of a black wolf-pup, with hope-filling blue-eyes, crouching in front of an adult black-wolf with navy-blue eyes, who was also crouching in front of the pup in a playful position. What surprises Mrs. Gordan was on how well Dick painted the two animals, since they actually look like an actual artist painted them and not a twelve year-old student in Gotham Academy. She then placed a hand on the boy's right-shoulder, not startling him from his work as he kept stroking the background of an inside cave the two wolves were in.
"Is there a problem, Mrs. Gordan?" The twelve year-old asked, not bothering to look behind him but gently placed the paintbrush on a paper-towel beside the frame.
"No problem, Richard. Just admiring your artwork, is all." The teacher answered, staring at the art and then back to the boy she had in her grasp. "Is this an emotional art? An expression? Or is it a Story?" Dick simply shrugged.
"It's sort of a mixture of all three, since I made a couple of art before this one." He explained, sounding a bit nervous and embarrassed. "I know we were suppose to choose one of the three choices, but-"
"I didn't say you had to choose one, Richard." Mrs. Gordan told the boy, releasing her hold on his shoulder and leaning over to have a closer look on the picture. "Where, and when did you come up with this idea?"
"Well, it sort of came to me from a dream around the middle of September, before you gave the announcement about the art competition."
"I see... And the reason why you chose to do wolves?" Dick lowered his gaze towards his hands.
"It's personal, Mrs. Gordan."
"Yeah, everything that's personal is because about his old day as a Circus Freak!" A student yelled out, snickering from a table at the far-right corner of the room. It was another Junior, who was four years older and taller than Dick, who had been bullying the younger boy ever since his first day in Gotham Academy. He was Hunter Crossly, who was also known as the 'Black Jaguar'.
"Hunter!" Mrs. Gordan called out, glaring at him. Even though she was in her mid 40's, she has a way on control her students, especially if there were at least twenty of them inside her class room at once. "I thought I made it clear to work quietly, and I don't tolerate students messing with any of my other students." Hunter simply snorted at her words, completely unfazed at her glare.
"Yeah, right." He said, leaning over in his chair and placing his feet on the table. "I'm only saying what's true, since we all know Gypsy is really a Circus Boy."
"Mr. Crossly, one more word out of you-"
"On speaking what's true about Charity Case?" That did it. Hunter had no idea who he's messing with, especially which teacher he was back talking to.
"Mr. Crossly. Office. Now!" She ordered, pointing towards the door while making her way towards the phone to call the office. Hunter simply shrugged, got out of his seat, gathered his stuff, and slowly made his way towards the door. Right before he did, he shoved Dick's right-arm with his right-elbow and gave him a glare that meant 'I'll deal with you after school'. Dick simply went back to his artwork, trying to get his mind off from the seventeen year-old's words. He then felt a hand on his back, and knew it was Mrs. Gordan. "I'm sorry about Hunter, Richard." The boy simply put on his fake smile.
"It's alright," he replied. "I'm fine, really." Mrs. Gordan gave him a worried look, with some of the students giving him concerned glances while the rest worked quietly to listen on their conversation better.
"If you're sure..." Dick nodded his head at the teacher's words, and soon felt her remove her hand off of his back to let him know she was now leaving him alone.
'Thank you,' he thought to himself. 'I already have enough problems on my hands, I don't want to cause anymore from the teachers.'
Three Hours Later...
The final bell went off throughout the whole school, and both students and teachers went into packing their things to get home. Once Dick had changed from his Extreme P.E. clothes and had his stuff gathered, he made his way towards the entrance of the school. However, leaning against the wall, waited Hunter.
'Here we go again, better wrap this up before Alfred or Bruce comes.' The boy thought to himself, glaring at the older boy, who made his way towards the twelve year-old.
"Finally, took you long enough to come on out, Freak." Hunter said to the boy, staring down at him and smirking at how small Dick was.
"Is this going to take long, Hunter?" The twelve year-old asked, trying to walk pass the older Junior. "Somebody is going to pick me up, so I can't st-" Before he could see it coming, which he could but can't draw attention, he was lifted by the collar of his shirt and was tossed to the wall.
"You were right on that, Grayson." Hunter said, cracking his knuckles while walking towards the fallen boy. "Somebody is picking you up, but it ain't who you think it would be." Dick was then lifted in the air again, and was tossed towards the right-side wall of the school. Other students stopped when they saw the commotion, and circled around to see what was going on. Hunter then grabbed the boy by the neck, holding him against the wall. "It's because of you, that I have detention for two days. But now I can return the favor, only it'll be ten times worse." He then held up a fist, and punched Dick in the stomach. Though it felt more of a push in the stomach to the twelve year-old, he had to act like the kid he is and act like he just had the wind knocked out of him. The hand tightened around his throat and Dick had to claw, but gently, at Hunter's hand. "You should probably know why they call me the 'Black Jaguar', Gypsy." Hunter then fished out some iron-knuckles from his right-pocket, slipping them through his fingers. "Because whenever I punch out my punching-bags, I would leave my claw-marks on my preys." He then punched Dick on the left-side of his face, leaving behind a bruise to form and a couple of scratches from the hard-metals of the knuckles. The other students did nothing to stop Hunter, knowing that they would probably end up next on his list, and that was a fate worse than death. The moment Dick turned his head to face the bully and just when Hunter was about to punch him again, a small black-figure swooped from the air and was now in front of the teen's face. "What the hell?! Get it off me!" Hunter let go of Dick's neck, while trying to reach out to the figure in front of his face that is now pecking his face and slapping him with its arms. The students all backed away from the Junior, while Dick focused on gaining his air back into his lungs. Throughout all the yelling, was a bunch of 'Caw!' 'Caw!' that caught the boy's hearing.
"Go! Flee!" Dick looked up, and stared completely shocked at the raven fighting and holding off Hunter.
"You?" He whispered, since his throat felt like somebody was still holding onto it.
"Go! Must help Night Talon!"
'"Night Talon"?' Wonder the twelve year-old.
"Go! Night Talon follow!" Finally getting what the raven wants and knowing it was his only chance, Dick quickly grabbed his stuff that was on the ground during beating and made a quick sprint towards the exit of the school. Even when he was outside of the school and knew he was suppose to wait for either Alfred or Bruce to pick him up, he didn't stop and was soon running throughout the city with no mind to where. Even when his legs were burning and his lungs were still out of breath, he just kept on running until he found himself at the Gotham Park. He then went towards a tree that was inches from the fountain, and climbed up until he placed himself on a branch that could hold his weight. As he struggled to catch his breath, his thoughts wondered back to the raven that just saved him from earning another punch from Hunter.
'He saved me, but why?' He wondered, leaning his back against the tree and letting the wind to cool him down. 'He must've been following me, that's the only explanation on how he came to my aid before Hunter could place another mark on me. Even though raven and wolves help each other, there has got to be a reason on why he saved a half-blood like myself, but what?' He then heard wings flapping coming his way, and knew that it was the raven.
"Good, Pup listens to Night Talon." The black-bird said to Dick, as it landed on a branch at the right of the boy. "Smart-Pup listens to Night Talon." The boy finally found out who the raven was talking about.
"And I'm guessing you're Night Talon?" He asked, holding out an arm for the raven to sit on, which the bird did.
"This raven, Night Talon." The black-bird answered. "Night Talon and Hook Fang searching for He, Hook Fang caught and held with domestic creatures." Dick narrowed his eyes from the bird's words, recalling a name that his father told him that was a very close friend of his and his uncle.
"And who is this 'Hook Fang' you speak of, Night Talon?" Instead of an answer, his only reply was a peck in the arm that made his arm jerk a bit.
"Pup not smart Night Talon thought," he said. "Pup there when humans took Hook Fang, with white-wolf three suns ago."
'Three suns ago, meaning three days ago... With white-wolf, meaning I was with Wolf... And taken by humans, which would mean... Oh-no...' Dick's eyes widen when he recalled the event that just happened when he had Wolf with him.
"You mean that wolf, the one that the catchers took away, was Hook Claw?" Night Talon let loose a 'caw', which means 'yes' to the boy.
"Night Talon needs Pup's help, Pup free Hook Fang. Must find He." The raven then let go of the boy's arm and began flapping, hovering himself next to Dick. "Pup, help Night Talon?" The child folded his arms in front of his chest and closed his eyes, thinking of what he should do.
'I hear no lies to what he said, and he also speaks the name of my father's friend... But still, who is this "He" Night Talon speaks of?' He then got pecked in the head, but lightly so he wouldn't be forced off the branch.
"Pup help Night Talon?" The raven asked again, getting rather anxious while staring at the sky to show the sun beginning to set. Right before he could answer, Dick's smartphone began to vibrate from his backpack. The boy pulled his cell phone, and saw the name 'Bruce' on the bottom of the small-screen. The boy winced at the name, thinking and knowing that Bruce had arrived at Gotham Academy and is probably calling for him when he couldn't see him waiting at the front of the high school.
'Great,' he thought. 'Now I have two problems on my hands, and both of them won't wait for me to solve one of them.' Night Talon then tugged on his sleeve, which the hand that was holding the small phone was in.
"Pup! Help Night Talon!" Now Dick knew the bird is growing impatient, and from the look in his eyes on his cell phone still vibrating, he looks ready to steal it and perhaps destroy it.
'And if I told Bruce and Alfred that a bird took my phone, they'll most likely not believe me and I'll probably be grounded for two weeks with no patrolling... But if I don't call back or head back to the school, I'll probably be grounded for a moon and under watch by DaddyBats himself.' Dick then let loose a sigh, and put his smartphone back into the small-pocket of his backpack. 'Sorry Bruce, but I'm afraid this is far more important than heading home... Besides, this is more of a family emergency.' He then turned to Night Talon. "Lets go, I know where Hook Fang could be held at." Night Talon seemed satisfied of the twelve year-old's words, that the black-bird circled around the boy after he leaned away from the tree and rubbed his small-head against Dick's right-cheek.
"Night Talon thanks Pup," he said. "Night Talon knew Pup helps Night Talon free Hook Fang. Pup will help find He." Dick narrowed his eyes when the black-bird mentioned of this 'He' person again, but chose to keep quiet and hopped off the tree-branch he was on. Making sure that nobody had seen him jump out of the tree or that Night Talon is at his side, Dick took off towards the direction he knows where the animal catchers take strays.
Ten Minutes Later, Now at Gotham's Animal Shelter...
"Well, here we are." Dick told Night Talon, who landed on Dick's left-shoulder after stopping in front of the small building.
"Night Talon came three suns ago," the bird said. "Hook Fang trapped, bigger and dangerous domesticated canines, separated weaker and friendlier creatures." The boy narrowed his eyes from the information.
'No doubt he's in the Second Room,' he thought. 'Lets hope they don't plan on... Well, putting him under.' He then turned to the raven. "Go check to see if Hook Fang is still in the Second Room." Night Talon nodded his head.
"Pup count on Night Talon," he said. Without a moment to spare, he spread his black-wings and flew off towards the back of the shelter. While the raven went to check, Dick went inside the shelter to see if he could get some more information before helping Hook Fang to escape. Once he entered the building and one of the employees saw him enter, he was completely shocked.
"Oh my... Richard Wayne!" The adult, who looks to be twenty from his appearance still looking of a teen, cried. "Why, it is an honor to have Bruce Wayne's son to come to the shelter at this time of day!" Dick wanted to roll his eyes from the adult's reaction and how idiotic he is for calling him 'Bruce's son' when he and everyone of Gotham knows he isn't, but had to restrain himself and act like a well-behaved child he is. He then went towards the desk. "How may I be of service of you? Looking for a pet to adopt?" The twelve year-old nodded his head.
"Yeah, something like that." He said, smiling as kindly as he could to the man. "I'm hoping to convince Bruce to let me adopt a pet, and I decided to get an early start on finding a pet. If it's alright, may I please check your kennels?" He then stared down at the adults name tag, which said 'Tristan' on it. 'The name suits him,' he thought. The adult, now known as Tristan, nodded his head, and quickly let Dick through the double doors that held the kennels of the strays they had found in Gotham. Right before Tristan actually opened the door, the sound of dogs barking and cats meowing had already caught his hearing.
"Help, somebody get me out of here!"
"I don't belong here, let me out of this cage!"
"Release me! I can't stand being here any longer!"
"I rather die, than to be here any longer!"
Dick gave them sad glances at the sight of the animals pacing or clawing at their doors, but seemed to give them pity when they kept on calling the shelter 'here'.
'They all know what this place truly is: A trail, a judgement... A sentance to live, or to die.'
"Well, Mr. Wayne, you see any pets you want to adopt?"
'If I could, I would buy out this place and adopt all these animals and the rest of the strays of Gotham.' "Uh, are these all the pets you have?" Tristan gave him a sad smile.
"I'm afraid so," he answered. "Sorry if you couldn't find the pet you wanted." Dick let loose a sigh, and then turned his gaze towards a metal-door behind the adult.
"Are there any pets in there?" He asked, pointing at the door. That caused Tristan to jump.
"No!" He cried, freaking out and now pushing the boy out of the room when he heard the sound of loud barking from that door.
"Release me, humans! I command you to release me, or I shall tear this place apart and lock you in these cages, myself!" Dick smirked when he heard the voice through the door, knowing that his hunch was correct.
'Now that I know where he is, I'll have to plan phase two on freeing Hook Fang.' Once they were out of the room and at the front desk, he gave him a confused look. "You sure there aren't anymore pets? Because back there, I could've sworn I heard a dog barking?" Tristan, who seemed still freaked from hearing the barking, nodded rapdily.
"I'm sure, honest!" The adult then turned his gaze towards the two doors, shaking when he could still hear the loud barking from the metal-door. Dick then shrugged.
"Oh well," he said. "Thanks for showing me your pets, I hope that next time there will be a pet for me that I might adopt." He then exit the shelter without hearing another word from Tristan, and then quickly towards the back of the building. There, he saw Night Talon circling in front of a window and cawing repeatedly. When the black-bird saw Dick, he swooped down towards the boy and landed on his right-shoulder.
"Pup free Hook Fang! Pup help Night Talon free Hook Fang, nightfall!" The bird's words were frantic, which warned Dick that the humans are most likely going to put him down by tomorrow or are going to send him to the zoo if they discovered that he's a wolf and not a giant black-dog.
"And we will free him, but we must wait until dark." He told the bird, as he made sure nobody was around to catch him scaling up the shelter and hiding on its roof. Night Talon hopped on the ledge of the rooftop, cocking his head to one side to the other.
"Why wait? Free Hook Fang now!" The raven's feather from his back began to stand up, and his black-eyes glared at the twelve year-old.
"If we free him now, we'll get in trouble by breaking in and stealing him. At night, we'll be able to sneak in and help Hook Fang get out." His cell phone then began to vibrate again, letting Dick know that Bruce is most likely calling him again. 'Yep, I'm going to be so dead after this.'
Hours Later, Now Nighttime...
The cell phone in his backpack once again vibrated, for the last thirty time, and it was already getting on both Night Talon and Dick's nerve.
"Why small shiny shake?" The raven asked, glaring at the backpack on the boy's back that was being shaken by the twelve year-old's smartphone. The cell phone then stopped vibrating, which Dick was grateful for.
"Because somebody is trying to call me," he explained. Right when that relief of not feeling or hearing the smartphone vibrating, it once again start its process all over again. 'That's it, I can't take it anymore. Sorry Bruce, I know I'll get in a lot of trouble for ignoring your calls and not being at the school like you told me to so he could head to Mount Justice, but I don't care anymore.' He then pulled out his smartphone, pressed the top-right button that was underneath 'Ignore', and then set his cell phone to 'All Sounds Off' so the phone would stop vibrating.
"Who calls Pup? Pup's Alpha? Father?" As he placed his cell phone back in his backpack, Dick physically winced from the last words the raven had asked him.
'If only it was my father, or he is my father...' "It's complicated," was all he said. They soon heard the front door open and somebody locking the door, which let the raven and boy know that the Animal Shelter is locked up and unsupervised. "Alright, it's time to move in." Dick told Night Talon, heading towards the direction to the back of the building and leap from the rooftop to the ground with ease.
"Human sealed entrance. How Pup and Night Talon get in? Pup tear seals down?" Dick shook his head, as he pulled out a pick lock from his pocket and began to fiddle with the locks.
"Not a good idea, Night Talon." He answered, as he made a few twist and turns with the pick lock. "Tearing down the doors will get the humans suspicious, and wondering who or what teared the doors down." When he heard a couple of clicking sounds from the lock, he placed the pick lock back into his pocket and turned the doorknob to open the door. "Alright, we're in." Just as the door opened all the way, Night Talon already made his way into the small-room that held a bunch of lockers that most likely has employees their work clothes, nets, poles, snares, tranquilizers... Dick glared at the items that the catchers had to capture the strays. 'What's up with them? Do they think they're working in the zoo, or are actually hunting? Seriously, more than half of these items are mostly used to capture wild animals!' He then watched the raven pecking at another door, which most likely leads them to another room or a hallway. Dick then found the keys hanging on the right of the door they just went through, unlocked the door, and pushed it open to let Night Talon out. That door lead them to a hallway, with another door on the right in the middle of the hall. On the right-side of the door, a small sign said 'Sleeping Room'. The twelve year-old glared at the room. 'Sleeping Room? More like 'Death Sentence.'
"Here!" Night Talon cried, pecking at the door's window. "Hook Fang here!" The boy nodded his head, unlocked that door, and slowly opened the door to let the raven go in first. As if like a shadow, Night Talon flew into the darkness of the room and vanished into the shadows. With no lights at all in the building and the only light being visible is the moon's own light from outside the window, Dick slowly opened the door all the way and made his way into the room. It was much smaller than the Kennel Room, since it only had five kennels and five cages on both sides of the room, while the Kennel Room had over thirty kennels and twenty-five cages. Using his sense of hearing and smell, he could detect only one animal within the room, without adding himself or Night Talon. He then heard the sound of low growling in the room, which alerted the boy that the captured animal has either woken up or hadn't slept in the first place.
"Who is there? Show yourself," a voice ordered. The boy simply smiled, and shook his head.
'Dad did tell me both his and Uncle Rick's friends are always too stubborn to turn into their human-form, back when they still lived over at the Grand Canyon.' He thought to himself. 'But then again, I guess all full-Weres are stubborn.' He then slowly made his way into the room, as the sound of growling still being heard throughout the room but luckily not loud enough for the others animals from the other room to hear. Next to the window and on top of one of the cages, Dick could see Night Talon watching his every move. 'Now I know one of the reasons why wolves would work with ravens, they're very quiet when finding.' "It's alright," he said to the voice. "I'm only here to help." The growling had yet ceased.
"How can I tell that you're not a foe?" The demand made the boy smirk.
'Seems that we have some trust issues, which is at times good when telling between friend or foe.' He then let out a sigh. "I give you my word, as a wolf, that I only came to help Night Talon free you from the shelter." After hearing the words that the twelve year-old had said, the growling slowly stopped and the sound of paws and claws tapping on the hard-ground was heard.
"Do you also mean it by your blood, Pup?" As Dick made his way towards the middle of the room, he rolled up the right-sleeve of his school-uniform and bit down hard on his hard enough to draw blood but not enough to break his arm.
"Also by my blood," he answered. And to prove it to the wolf in the kennel, despite him knowing that the animal could smell the scent of iron, he got down to a kneeling position and held out his arm towards the door. After sniffing the arm and watching the red-liquid falling to the ground from the bite-mark of the arm, the animal nodded his head.
"You've proven yourself truthful," he said. "And for that, I apologize for my behavior and not taking your word." Dick shook his head.
"It's alright, Hook Fang. You were only making sure that you can trust me, and that Night Talon has made the right choice on bringing me here to help." He replied, lifting his bitten arm towards his face and licking the blood to stop anymore from escaping. A smirk was heard from the kennel.
"And it seems that Night Talon trust you, since he doesn't give strangers my wolf-name." Dick smiled, as he continued to clean his arm until the bleeding finally slowed.
"Night Talon knew Pup helps," the black-bird said.
"But there's a couple of things that still puzzle me, Pup." The animal in the kennel said, cocking his head to one side. "I recognized your scent three suns ago, along with an actual wolf from the day the humans took me away. Why didn't you attack them, whether you were human or wolf? Or better yet, why are you in your human-form when there is no human at this moment?"
"To answer your first question, I can't attack the humans." Dick answered, as he got to his feet and held up the lock that was keeping the kennel closed. "I mean, Wolf and I could've attacked them, but we would've gotten in trouble if we did." He then held the chain up, and just as he did to his arm but harder, he bit down on the hard material and began to thrash a bit while digging his teeth into the chains. "As for the second question, I stay as a human so that I can get around things much better and easier than a wolf."
"Have you truly abandoned your blood, Pup?" The growling was heard again, but the sound didn't stop the boy from breaking the chains.
"It seems to me, from the sound of your voice and the way you're still in this kennel, the humans must've drugged you a lot in order to get you to sleep." Suddenly, the chains finally snapped and had falling to the floor. "I'm also surprised that you haven't noticed my scent is much different than your own, let alone recognize who I got my blood from." The growling did stop once again, and was replaced with sniffing once again but with a few grunts with it. The sound then stopped, and was replaced with the door being opened by Dick. "And the reason I stay in human-form, is so that I can prove myself willing to fight in either of my forms instead of favoring one blood over the other." He then made his way towards the door, with Night Talon now on his shoulder, held the door open when he turned back to stare at the animal still sitting in the kennel. "Come, we must go before dawn comes and the humans comeback." It took a couple of minutes for the animal to move, only to bend his massive head down and lapping the blood on the ground the twelve year-old had made earlier. He then closed the kennel with his snout, and then to slowly make his way towards the two. Once in the hall, Dick locked the door leading to the room and helped the large Timber-Wolf through the next door when it seem to the boy that the animal isn't going to listen to him and turn into his human-form. He then locked the door that lead to the hallway, opened the exit door for both raven and wolf to go through, placed the keys back on the hook after locking the door, and closed that door once getting outside.
"Finally, fresh air instead of the stench of dogs, cats, 'food' that humans say are edible... But most of all, death."
"That's because they have to put down pets when humans don't adopt them and have been in the shelter for so long." Dick explained to the disoriented wolf. "Trust me, they don't want to take their lives, but it's the only way to have them pass on with no pain and to make room for new strays they find." Hook Fang then let loose a yawn, as he stretched and shook his body."
"Really now..." Hook Fang then glared at the building. "Maybe I should wait here, and take care of the humans myself." Acting on instinct, Dick launched himself on the large-animal and held Hook Fang to the ground with his own body.
"You know the law about killing humans, Hook Fang." He warned, glaring down at the Timber-Wolf's golden-yellow eyes with his own Cerulean/Sapphire-eyes.
"They kill other animals because the humans don't rescue them, Pup! That gives me the right to kill them." Now the wolf was snarling, flattening his ears back, and showing Dick his fangs.
"But then you could risk our secret to be revealed, even if you were to turn into a human in secrecy, for they have might've already placed a chip on you!" The snarling kept going, while the fangs slowly closed. "Besides, the shelter keeps a stray pet for a moon and then gives them a vile that makes them sleep, which helps them pass on with no pain." He then slowly got off the Timber-Wolf, with the animal slowly getting to his feet as well and shaking off the dirt and snow off of his coat. "Now, hold still. I'll try to get the transmitter, but you'll have to hold still if you don't want the humans to find you once they find you out of your kennel." He then licked his lips and teeth, preparing them to use them once he find the chip. It only took a couple of sniffs and brushing back fur to find the area where the chip is at. "This is gonna hurt..." He warned, as he placed his teeth at the neck area and implanted his teeth into the skin. Night Talon, taking it the wrong way, swooped down and began to peck the boy away from Hook Fang's neck.
"Pup, release Hook Fang!" He cried, as he kept on pecking the boy in the head and slapping his wings in his face, just as he did with Hunter when helping Dick.
"Stop, Night Talon!" Barked the wolf, giving the raven a growl as a warning. "There is nothing false to what he said, so leave him be." The smell of the wolf's blood grew in the air, while the sound of low growl continued from the large-animal but made no move to stop Dick from getting the chip out of his neck. It seemed like forever, but only took three minutes and a couple of bite-marks for the boy to finally pull the chip out of the large-creature and destroy it.
"Well, now you're finally free." Dick declared, patting Hook Fang on the back while lapping on his blood to help clean the wound.
"Thank you, Pup." The twelve year-old smiled, as he scooped up some snow help wash away the blood so he wouldn't get his uniform anymore dirtier than it always been while laying on the rooftop to wait for night to come.
"You don't have to keep calling me 'Pup', Richard or Dick is fine with me."
"Two human names?"
"My actual name is Richard, but Dick is just a nickname that people would call me if they don't want to call me Richard."
"I see... And your wolf-name?" Dick shook his head.
"Haven't been given one, pack died when I was 8 in human-age." No words were exchanged in that moment, not even Night Talon, who was now sitting on Hook Fang's back, said anything.
"I am sorry to hear that, Pup... Are you living by yourself?"
"I've been taken in by a human three weeks after there deaths."
"And you were by yourself for those three weeks?"
"No, I had to be at the Juvenile Detention Center at the time when the circus couldn't keep me." Again, silenced was all they could hear until Dick wiped his hands to get rid anymore melted snow or dirt after stopping the bleeding. "Well, the wound will fully heal within a week. Now then, it would be best if you both get out of Gotham, while it's still peaceful."
"Why Night Talon and Hook Fang leave, Pup?" The raven asked, cocking his head to one-side.
"Hear, there are some 'other humans' who likes to attack this city and cause harm to both human and animals." Hook Fang licked his fangs, and let loose a low growl.
"And why should we leave, when we Weres can take care of them?"
"First of all, they're not like any other humans than you have either seen or heard of. Second, a couple of them may not even seem human at all. And third, we don't kill them, for killing is not allowed and is the law to not take a life of any." The growling turned into snarling.
"That's almost like not allowing a mother bear to get fish to feed her cubs, or a wolf-pack to hunt and stop populations from expanding! Though they may not allow humans to hunt, that law shouldn't enroll anima-"
"If a wild animal kills a human, then they'll be put down for being dangerous or may as well be placed in a zoo." This time, the wolf smirked and snarling at yet ceased.
"If the humans are as idiotic as the humans that captured me, then they'll think I'm a dog."
"They're smarter than the catchers and they'll know right off the bat, no matter how big you appear, that you're a wolf." Suddenly, his watch began to beep and flash-red. Dick groaned, as he lifted his left-arm up and pushed the black-button on his watch. "Yeah?"
"Dick, where are you?!" Hook Fang went quiet when he heard another voice with them, but had to flatten his ears when he heard a couple of static within the voice.
"Near the Time-Out Café, had a problem I needed to take care of. I'm already heading towards the phone booth."
"If it's about that fight you had after school, Barbara told me about it. Are you alright?" The adult's voice sounded concern for the child, which hopefully means for Dick that he would got off the hook.
"I'm fine, sorry I hadn't picked up your calls. I'll meet you at Mount Justice." He then pushed the black-button again, and the static went away. "Sorry guys, but I have to go." He then turned his back and was able to take a couple of quick steps, until Hook Fang got in front of him.
"Wait," he said. "Where are you going?"
"I can't say, Hook Fang. I'm sorry, but I have to go." He then heard a couple of sirens sounds from a couple of blocks away, which told him it was either the ambulance or the police, and he was hoping that it was the ambulance. "Look, you two have to leave this city."
"Hook Fang and Night Talon no leave, look for He." Dick narrowed his eyes at the bird.
"Well, whoever you're looking for, may as well be somewhere else. I'm sorry if I can't help you both find your friend, but I need to leave now." He then ran around the wolf and before Hook Fang to stop him, Dick launched himself from the street towards the next rooftop that was feets away from him. As his figure went smaller, both Hook Fang and Night Talon were thinking the exact thing that came to their minds.
I was thinking on using Darcia's voice from Wolf's Rain for the black-wolf from Dick's dream, but I think I may go with Ozai from Avatar: The Last Airbender. Just let me know which voice you wish for the black-wolf to have, for he will show up in the later chapters. As for Dick being smaller and the black-wolf being bigger, all will be explained in later chapters. Also, using the name of my art teacher. Yes, Dick is in 11th grade, since he is smart and intelligent like Bruce. I know it may seem gross that Dick is licking blood, but he only does that in private and not public since he is part-wolf.
Anyway, I'll be starting Senior Year on the 20th, so I may not be on that much on Fanfiction since I need to focus and try to graduate. However, I shall try my best to be around when I have the time and during the weekends.
R&R