Late into the night, a sudden, ear piercing sound hit my ears like a bullet ricocheting off something metal countless times and it made me jolt up with a start. The sound was unbearable to listen to and I tried covering my ears as tight as I could. It was like a… high pitched scream that hurt my ears greatly. Even covering them up didn't help at all. "Oh god! Make it stop! Make it stop!" I beg, leaning over with my ears tight shut. I couldn't make out that this disturbing yet somehow saddening sound was bothering Tsume and Toboe. They don't know that my hearing is highly sensitive to sounds like this and it showed greatly. Whatever was being hurt certainly made us wolves feel it and I didn't like it at all.
Afterwhile, the sound slowly ceased, leaving nothing but our breathing and the various crickets that lived here. "Hey. Hey! Would you two snap out of it? It's over." Tsume said, getting our attention. I lifted my head and saw that it was still nighttime and found my ears throbbing from that ear piercing shriek of pain and despair. My head whipped left to right before I glance up at the grey wolf and the red wolf who were in their casual spots. Tsume was looking out the window while standing in between Toboe and I. "Holy crap… I'm not the only one who was hearing that right?" I question, breathing slightly heavy to get my heartbeat under control as it was erratically beating in my chest like a hammer. "No… I heard it too. Felt it even. Did you Tsume? It was so sad…" Toboe answered, having his hands lifted up slightly with a look of sorrow on his face.
"It was a machine, that's all." Tsume said in a assuring voice. I look over at him, my eyebrows slightly lowering in sympathy. He looked at the both of us for a moment before looking back up at the window with his right hand on his hip. "Could've been a old robot shutting down or something. Possibly breaking down." he continued in a somewhat distant voice. I sigh at what he said in disbelief. A part of me believed what his theory was but the other half of me… believed it was something else making that noise. It bothered me a lot… In trying to fall asleep, I curl up in my wolf form with my wolf tail curling up in front of my wolf legs. My wolf eyes were half way open and I began to think of what the hell made that sound… or who made that sound.
The next day had arrived faster than I thought. That shrill of pain and sadness still lingered at the back of my head and I was trying to decipher who could've made that sound. It was one of a thousand possibilities around here. And to top it off, the scent of the Lunar Flower was gone also. Toboe, Tsume, and I were spending the morning eating some left over meat that Tsume had in this room which I didn't happen to see nor catch the scent of. I went through at least 3 pieces of it already and was working on number 4. While eating, I found myself thinking of why would I stay here any longer? With that scent being stagnant, what other reason was there? Absolutely nothing that I could think of at that point in time.
"So… what are you going to do now, Tsume? I mean you got anywhere you need to go?" Toboe asked inquisitively. Tsume looked like the type of wolf who'd be a loner and not wanting anything to do with the other wolves nor humans here. "Who knows?" Tsume answered, taking another bite from his piece of meat. "Luna, do you think we'll see Leara again?" Toboe asked me, getting me to look up at him. I just sighed and looked back down at my hunk of meat. "I don't know Toboe. I… don't think she'd want to see us after we showed what we really are. I saw her face, she looked terrified. Like every human here. It's why I never, ever befriended the humans because I knew they'd react that way." I say in all true honesty. Toboe's facial expression didn't falter when I said that.
"Well, if we go back to visit her, she might change her mind." Toboe theorized. He is such a naive pup… he doesn't get how humans treat us. Especially if they've never seen a wolf before. "You had to have seen the stupid look on her face. Heh, that girl totally pissed herself in seeing you guys." Tsume quoted in a mocking tone. Toboe got defensive at what Tsume said. "She was reeking in it." Tsume said with a half grin. I looked away from him with my eyes narrowed. "Why do you see the need to lie about everything? I know Luna and I aren't the only ones who heard it. You must've felt sad too! So quit lying and be honest with yourself!" Toboe scolded, his voice filled with anger. Toboe's not wrong. Tsume had to have felt what we felt last night. But he won't acknowledge that he did.
"Fine whatever. If you want to go then go. It's not like I care what happens to both of you." Tsume said, clearly hinting that he's conceited. I look up at him, moving my black bangs from my eyes. If he says that, then he should've left us for dead in that alley way. That makes no sense at all. "Well, if you think that way, then why did you save us in that alley way? If you don't give a damn about us then you should've left us to die by that damn hunter. We're not your friends or anything." I say, feeling agitated and confused. Tsume gave me a look that showed his hatred towards us. "You're right. You two are not my friends." he answered. So he was a lone wolf after all. He doesn't want to be with his own kind.
Toboe narrowed his eyes at Tsume before scolding him. "Yeah, right. You only befriend humans! Seems to be easier for you, isn't it? They'll never be as strong as you! They follow your lead like beaten down obedient puppies!" Toboe says in an angered tone. "Why don't you be with your own kind?! Don't you know that humans are terrified of wolves?" I add, digging my nails into the piece of meat that I still had in my hands. "You two don't know what the hell you're talking about! This city is dangerous! You two have no idea what that's like to survive here!" Tsume seethed, straight up pissing me off because he doesn't know me in the least bit. I have survived in the wild as well as passing through the city to city so I do know how to stay alive in both environments. It's him that doesn't have what it takes because he is under the impression that stealing and being a straight up thief with humans is how wolves survive. No that's not how wolves survive.
"Fine. Go on. Let's see how you two do on your own. GO!" he shouted in a demanding tone, chunking his piece of meat at us roughly. That made me jump. I glare at him before standing up. "Being alone doesn't bother you at all?" Toboe asked, looking back at him. Tsume glared at us for a moment before lifting his hand up. "Hey, I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I ever got stuck with a kid like you and a dumb she-wolf such as you." Tsume said, practically insulting us. I scoff at him and give him a pissed off glance. He's nothing but an selfish, arrogant asshole and the fact he said that proved that I now wanted nothing to do with him. I then walk out of the room in anger and don't even bother to make sure that Toboe was following me.
Later in the day, I found myself in another alleyway in my wolf form. The sun was beaming hot down on my black wolf fur and the ground was hot under my wolf paws. I had hunted down a bird that Toboe and I battled out yesterday and was munching on it to hold me over. And it tasted a little bit better than that junk Tsume had. I held it in between my wolf forepaws and just ate it slowly. "What does that asshole know about living? He doesn't have a damn clue." I said to myself as I ate. Soon enough, I hear the sounds of Toboe starting to munch on some of the garbage that those birds were guarding the other day. "You're telling me. He's a jerk." he told me, sounding just as irritated as I was. Suddenly, the sound of metal hit our wolf ears. I lift my wolf head up as well as my wolf ears. It was a pothole and I saw who had opened it. "Hige? Is that you?" I call out, getting him to look at me with wide eyes. I turn my wolf body to look behind me and lower my wolf head to see Leara behind us. "Leara!" Toboe exclaimed. Right then, the human girl stopped in her tracks and began to shake in her boots. Her eyes widened at seeing two wolves in front of her. "Don't be scared. We won't do anything. We just wanted to see you again. I'm sorry… about your bird." Toboe said, lowering his wolf head in trying to show submission to the girl. I kept my wolf ears raised and my wolf eyes focused on her. "Daddy… Daddy, Daddy. DADDY!" she cried out in sheer panic. I begin to back up in my human form. She was going to give us away. "Come quick! It's the wolves! The wolves are here!" she shouted, causing me to bolt out of there.
Without a second thought, I turn down another alleyway and into a sewer pipe. It smelled horrible however, I had no choice. Then Hige and Kiba too come through and they meet up with me. "Where the hell have you been, Luna? We haven't seen you since early yesterday." Hige asked, looking at me with a grin. Straightening up, I pop my knuckles. "I've been around here. I had to find a place to spend the night because there's not many places around here in this dingy city." I answer, my hand on my right hip. "Heh. I'm surprised that you were able to avoid the idiots here." Hige said, seemingly impressed. "I've got my ways." I say with a smug attitude. Afterwards, Toboe joined the three of us and we begin descending deeper into the sewers. "Hey, runt. What's eatin' you?" Hige asked rudely. I twist my head around to face him considering I was between him and Kiba.
"I'm not a runt! My name's Toboe!" Toboe stated, offended by Hige's remark. He then catches up with us. "Heh. That's cool. I'm Hige and this is Kiba. I assume you already know Luna here." Hige pointed out. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see that Toboe was looking past him and past Hige. "Yeah. We met after I left you guys." I answer him, looking straight ahead. We continued on our way down the sewer. I still figured that we were going to this place known as Paradise. As I said way before, I never known much about it and it was the last thing on my mind. Why would I want to go to a place where any wolf would just run in circles for no reason in anyway? It doesn't make any sense. I guess the only reason I'm going there is because I want to get the hell out of this dingy city. "Hey where are we going?" Toboe asked curiously. "Where do you think? To the exit, of course!" Hige stated sarcastically. "We're going to Paradise." Kiba responded.
"Hey, do you two know of Tsume?" Toboe asked Hige and Kiba. I close my eyes and look off to the side with a sigh because that jerk didn't need to be brought up. Kiba stopped in his tracks at the sound of his name. "No. Never heard of him. Why? Is he a friend of you guys or something?" Hige said, turning his head back to look at the pup. "No. He isn't." I answer bluntly. Kiba too looks back at us, his coat collar partly covering his face. I could tell by his demeanor that he too had a rocky encounter with him also. "Is he the one with the scar on his chest?" Kiba asked aloofly, sounding like he wanted nothing to do with him. "Yeah! That's him." Toboe answered cheerfully. I look back at Toboe. "Toboe, why would you want him to go with us after the way he treated us back there?" I ask logically.
After the scummy way we were treated by that asshole, I wouldn't recommend on bringing him with us. He's probably one of those wolves who just doesn't give a damn about it or anyone around him. I believe that it's best that we just forget about him. But of course, from where this pup's concerned, I couldn't bring myself to be completely heartless to this pup. But his face did drop with a disappointed frown and he looked down at his feet. "Well… considering he's one of us, he should come too…" Toboe said sadly. I sigh in disbelief before walking ahead of the others. Before long, the scent of fresh blood hit my nose, making me stop in my tracks. I look down and notice that there was a small pool of blood on the concrete floor, next to a ladder.
"Shake a leg, runt." Hige sighed, walking past Kiba and I. "That's Toboe." I correct, looking back at Hige. The blood smelled fresh and I caught on quickly as to who that blood belonged to. It was Tsume's blood. I remain quiet and fell under the impression that Toboe was correct on seeing that Tsume needs to leave this city too. No wolf should stay in a city for this long and we all need to leave here. Even though I said, I wanted nothing to do with that sorry jackass anymore, he's still a wolf.
Soon after, the four of us had followed the blood trail. It had led us to a stray building that looked partly run down. When the four of us walked into the building inconspicuously, the blood kept going until we came to a seemingly old wooden door. His scent was profound here and I knew then that he was here. Kiba takes a gentle hold on the doorknob and opens the door. It opened with a creak. Once it was opened all the way, Kiba went in the room first. Then, me, Hige, and Toboe. I stand on Kiba's right side and see Tsume in his human form still and he had stood up from his leaning point on the cracked walls of this room the second he saw us. I took notice that he had a bite mark on his right arm that seemed to drip blood.
"What a crap heap. Why did you bring us here?" Hige asks before even bothering to take notice that Tsume was in the room too. "Tsume!" Toboe exclaimed, seeing the grey wolf. "Wha?! Is this him?!" Hige exclaimed, looking back and forth between us. All I did was coldly stare at him with my arms crossed. He didn't seem all that thrilled to see either of us as well. "What the hell are you doing here?!" Tsume seethed, more surprised then pissed. Kiba kept a rather cool expression on his face while he looked at Tsume. "We could smell your blood from across town." Kiba answered calmly. Tsume scoffed in a cold manner. "What are you going to do? Nurse me back to health?!" Tsume spat at us. No way in hell would I want to help a selfish, cold hearted wolf like him in the least bit. I just look away from him with a harsh scoff.
"Well, we're leaving the city. You should come with us." Toboe suggested, trying to adjudicate a potential argument. In a cynical groan Tsume says, "And where is this merry band of yours going?" "To Paradise." Kiba responds coolly. This answer only got Tsume to scoff in a cheek in tongue attitude. He must think that we're crazy for going to such a place. "You're kidding me right? You're really going because you believe in that crap?" he snorts arrogantly. "I don't know but… we'll have to remain in hiding the rest of our lives if we continue to stay with the humans. It's no way to survive." Toboe stated, getting his intelligent two cents in. He's right on that one because we can't keep living among the humans. This is not what wolves are supposed to do. With that scent gone, I don't see any reason to actually stay here anymore.
I keep looking down at my feet, not saying a word. "Tell me. Why did you guys come here to begin with? Was it because of the flower's scent? Well it's gone now. There's no reason to stay here anymore." Kiba explained to us carefully. He knows that we're attracted by that scent also. If it wasn't here, I wouldn't even bother coming here at all. I would've ran right by it. "I'm not here because of that. I'm here because I belong." Tsume pointed out in a scowl. "I can tell; this whole city's a waste." Kiba stated. Tsume looked at him with narrowed eyes and he walked over to Kiba. "I still have a score to settle with you." the grey wolf tells him, face to face with Kiba. I looked out of the window to see the human soldiers start to come to where we were in their trucks. "Make this quick guys!" I whisper loudly, looking down halfway at the oncoming soldiers. But they didn't seem to hear me and they continued to confront one another.
"Do you realize what leaving this city would mean? You'll only die." Tsume stated, narrowing his eyes even further. They looked like they were ready to fight. And it would seem that this wouldn't be the first time that these two have fought. "So what? Everyone's going to die. It's a natural part of life. But if life has no purpose then you're already dead." Kiba answered in a somewhat wise yet calm manner. He did have a point about that one and I'll have to hold him to that.
Suddenly, a bright white light filled the room with an illuminant of white light. Soon enough, the five of us bolt out of there all the while being shot at from the humans. I pumped my legs as hard as I could to get me to sprint across these slightly slick pipes. The sound of the incessant bullets ricocheting of the bending metal echoed loudly in my ears and it nearly made me slip off the pipe that I was on. I didn't even bother to see where the others were. It was scary enough being shot at but actually stopping to see where they were would result in death,
I know it.
Not soon enough, we make it to the outside of this dingy domed city. The wind was blowing extremely hard and it blew my hair and clothes in every which way. Only Kiba, Hige, Toboe, and I had jumped. When I looked up at the top, I saw that Tsume was the only one who hadn't jumped. From down here, I could tell that he looked… hesitant to leave this city. "Tsume, come on jump!" Toboe shouted over the wind. I kept my eyes on him as if I was in some stare down with him. "Are you scared or something?" I say in a smartass tone. Tsume looked down at me before smirking. "Yeah right." he answered before jumping down to where I was. We're a pack now and although we may not agree to certain terms, we'll agree to look after one another… as a family.
