A/n: Turns out our Lords and Masters (aka the mods of ff(dot)net) have made it so if you have PM disabled, I cannot respond to your reviews.

Sorry, , for not responding to your review, but I couldn't because of the problem above. At least, that's what I was told. *shrug* Thank you a lot for your review, I sympathize with the lack of well written Fanfiction in this category, and I'm ecstatic that you consider mine well written! It made my day! Please feel free to scold me if the pack are out of character, they're kinda hard to pin for me, and even harder because I'm writing this from Yuzuki's perspective, with her feelings and thoughts kind of… skewing the story. So Thank you, again!

O.o.O Chapter Three O.o.O

The silence was stifling. I continued to follow Tsume blindly, to unsure to say a word, and definitely not brave enough to take a rest. The wounds carved out from the bullets burned worse than anything I had ever endured, each single movement created new pain, but I couldn't stop. I didn't know if Tsume would wait for me, or just continue on. He had said that he didn't care one way or the other when he found me. But, if that was true, why did he wake me? Why didn't he just pass by? I would have never known.

Those thoughts buzzed through my mind as I tried to focus on walking one-step at the time. Front paw, opposite back paw, front paw, back paw, front paw, back paw, front…

I stumbled to the ground, disoriented for a second as my body screamed at me. I needed to get up, how did I fall exactly? Oh, the pain. Up, I had to get up. But I could barely see…

"Are you trying to kill yourself?" Tsume asked as I tried to stand, but my feet wouldn't work right.

"I'm sorry," I apologized. "I don't want to slow you down…"

"Hmph," he snorted. To my horror, he turned and started to walk away, but only a few feet away where he turned and laid down, keeping his eyes on me. "Rest, idiot."

I whimpered at the insult slightly, and quietly asked, "You promise not to leave me?" It may have been the moonlight playing tricks on me, but I could sworn his piercing gaze soften slightly.

"No." I didn't know if he was saying no he wouldn't leave, or he wouldn't promise, but as he laid his head on his forepaws, my fear was sated enough I could rest my eyes, focusing on the gentle power flowing from the moon.

I wasn't aware of falling asleep, but the next thing I knew there was a high pitched whine from a machine waking me. When I opened my eyes, Tsume was already standing, looking up at the sky with a snarl. "What is that?" I asked, trying to cover my ears. Thankfully the pain had abated for the moment, leaving a moderate ache that I could stand.

"Noble airships," he said, not looking away from the sky. "We should leave, now."

I hadn't the foggiest idea what a Noble airship was, so I simply nodded my head and followed as he began to run. Only a few seconds later, I was glad we moved when we did. The whine became louder and more piercing before fire fell down in a wall, setting everything behind and around us on fire. All pain was blocked as we ran our fastest through the forest, and I prayed Tsume knew what he was doing. Was there even a way we could get out of this?

Between the overwhelming scents of smoke around us, and the acidic burn of the fire raining down from above, I caught a whiff of Kiba, and Tsume suddenly changed direction. It wasn't long before we came across a narrow chasm, where Kiba stood on the other side. Despite the world falling down around our shoulders, we paused on our side of the ravine. "Did your feeling include this," Tsume roared. "Turning this place into a hell hole? Leading us to our deaths?"

"If you fear death without a dream, what's the point in living?"

"Shouldn't we be running?" I interrupted, tail tucked between my legs as fire continued to rage all around us. "We're a pack; we need to look out for each other even when we disagree! Especially times like these!"

"This isn't a pack," Tsume snarled, "And I'm not following that idiot anywhere." Without another word, he took off, leaving me in a terrible predicament. Do I follow him, or Kiba? Kiba was the leader, but Tsume…

Tsume had already disappeared into the destruction. He had left me after all. I quickly ran towards where the lips of the ravine were close enough I could jump across it. As soon as my paws touched the ground, Kiba took off, and I was not far behind him.

A thunderous boom shook the earth, and suddenly I could smell the scent of the lunar flower. "Hurry!" Kiba yelled over the blasts. "She's close!" I had no clue who he was talking about, but pushed myself a little harder just to keep him in sight. Was this it? Were we close to Paradise?

What about the others? My heart broke at the thought of leaving them behind, but maybe they would find us. They had to! They were more savvy than I, surely they could make it this!

The forest broke way to reveal a clearing, a lake somehow peaceful despite all the turmoil, its calm waters reflecting the dawn light. "Cheza," Kiba whispered, looking towards the sky as he made his way to the water. I stayed near the forest, my instincts telling me to stay somewhere where I couldn't be seen easily. Besides, I held onto the old pine tree for support as the aches began to worsen once more.

Something glinting in the sky grabbed my attention. It was hard seeing in the dim light, but it looked like a human twirling down to earth, arms spread wide as the smell of the lunar flower enveloped me. Cheza? Was she the lunar flower? Was the flower really a girl?

"Yuzuki!" My heart about jumped out of my chest in delight when I heard Toboe's cry. I barely had time to look behind me to see him, Hige, and even Tsume walking out of the woods before the young wolf pounced, hugging me tightly. The tears springing to my eyes were a combination from pain and happiness as I held him tightly, glad to know he was alright.

"Is that Cheza?" Hige's question brought an end to the reunion.

"That's what Kiba said," I answered, letting go of Toboe and leaned on the tree once more for strength. She was even closer to the ground, the gold band around her neck and arms sparkling now in the light. Something in my heart told me this was it. This was what mom wanted me to promise. To find Paradise, and in order to do that, I had to find this flower/girl.

Cheza landed lightly in the water, only causing the lightest of waves. "This one's waited for this moment," her voice was soft and quiet, drawing us closer. Kiba, in his true form, was the first to reach her of course. "This one's has wanted to meet you for a very long time." She dropped to her knees to wrap her arms around Kiba's neck.

"She's… a flower… and a girl?" I whispered, feeling like I shouldn't dare speak any louder.

"The Flower maiden, yeah."

As if summoned by Hige's answer, Cheza let go of Kiba and stood up, her deep red eyes focused on us, but I had a feeling she wasn't truly seeing. She held her arms wide, and like a pup Toboe was the first to run to her, splashing in the water as he danced around her. Her laughter caused the stress to melt away, and I could even see a smile on Kiba's face as he stood back, letting Toboe have his moment.

However, the laughter died away as Hige, Tsume, and I approached the lake shore. She looked at me, and quickly made her way towards where I stood. Even though I knew better, I still flinched as she approached, but if she noticed she didn't react. A gentle hand was placed on my shoulder, making me cry out.

"You're hurt," she whispered, my heart aching when I saw tears in her eyes.

"It's nothing," I assured her when I knew that wasn't true. "I'll heal."

"She's too stubborn to die," Tsume commented, with only a bit of the usual bite. Truthfully, I didn't know if it was an insult or a compliment. Probably an insult, but I didn't mind at the moment. The feel of Cheza's fingers eased the pain, numbing it so it didn't feel as if I was about to collapse.

The awful noise of the airships returned, putting all of us on the defensive. "Let's go," Kiba said quietly, keeping an eye on the sky. Cheza grabbed his hand and walked beside him as he led us away from the sounds, the human settlement, and the destruction.

Toboe fell in step beside me as we followed the pair, and quickly Hige walked on my other side. And as usual, Tsume was trailing a ways off, not really with us, but not too far off.

Now, I thought, now we were a pack. Right?

))

The forest quietly came to life as the day progressed, birds chattering (too far away to even thinking about catching one) and the smell of other small animals wafted through the air. We were too interested in Cheza at the moment, though that hunger continued to be at the back of our minds.

"So… how does it work?" I asked quietly. It was one thing I just simply couldn't wrap my mind around that fact. She was the lunar flower, but she was girl. How could a flower be a person?

"The Nobles created her," Toboe offered. "At least, I think so."

I nodded my head, not understanding at all. "And… what are Nobles?" I regretted my words instantly as everyone, including Cheza and Kiba walking a ways in front of us, stopped and looked at me. "Did I say something wrong?"

"You lived with humans, yet you never heard of the Nobles?" Tsume was skeptical, apparently something shared by the other wolves.

"No," I answered, feeling Toboe wrapping his hand around mine as I took a small step back. "I… didn't really pay any attention to them."

"The nobles are the humans' leaders… except they don't really care about those under them," Hige said. Did that mean Jin had been a Noble? Except, to my understanding, Jin had watched out for the others.

Did it really matter?

Hige suddenly lifted his nose, taking a long sniff. "Do you guys smell that?" All of us were silent. The birds had stopped chirping, and there was a definite sense of fear in the area. Then I smelled it. Other wolves. But it wasn't a good thing. We had wandered into another pack's territory, and it was obvious from their scent they were not pleased about it.

"This way!" Cheza spoke, gripping Kiba's hand tight and pulled him towards a thicket of brush. Fear gripped my heart as I rushed after them, not caring how our flower knew of the tunnel hidden by the dead brush, or why the tunnel was thick in the scent of flowers. All I cared was getting out of there, running as fast as I could, senses attuned to any sign that they had followed us. Thankfully, I was pretty sure the flower scent covered up our own, and the frozen dirt left no track behind us.

We must have traveled at least a few miles underground before we finally stopped for a rest. I did have to admit, since Cheza joined us, I was no longer pushed past my limit while we ran. She was just as delicate as a flower would be, and tired easily. She rested on an outcropping of rock, the five of us gathered protectively around her. "Do you think we're safe?" Toboe whispered after a long stretch of silence.

"I don't know," I whispered back, the fur on my back still refusing to lay down. "There's no way to tell where this tunnel leads…"

"This one knows," Cheza answered. "This one wanted to show you."

"Show us what, Cheza?" Kiba asked. She offered him a smile; her hand still entwined with his, before she stood up and led us further into the tunnel. The smell of flowers grew stronger, but something was wrong. It smelled like lunar flowers, but… death lingered around them, giving it a slightly putrid stink. If the native wolves were trying to find us by scent alone, it would be impossible to find us. I could barely smell Toboe and Hige on either side of me!

The dirt pat slowly became covered with moss and mold, growing easily despite the chill and the lack of light. The natural look became more refine, looking more less like a natural tunnel to a man-made structure with unnatural straight lines that grew wider and wider. We were in ruins, I realized as we came into a large room, man-things that I could never understand ling the walls, covered with plant growth. The ceiling had caved in years and years ago, letting the light shine down and reflect on the large broken glass globe. "This one was born here," Cheza stated with an almost sad tone. "This one knew that someday we would meet, and wanted to bring you to this one's sisters… but they have all withered and died."

"The walls," Hige whispered. Confused, I took a closer look at the walls, and gasped when I saw that the pillars of what I thought were plants had female forms, similar to Cheza herself.

"This one… is the only one left." My heart about broke as Cheza fell to her knees, her fingers lightly brushing a pristine white bloom. I could sympathize with her. For so long I had thought I was the last wolf left. How much heartache I had, too depressed to do anything but lay in the snow, occasionally eating and staring out over ruins.

"We'll always be here for you," Kiba echoed my thoughts exactly as he knelt down at her side, and arm draped across her shoulders. "You're not alone anymore."

Her smile was soft and sweet as she looked back up at him, then to all of us. "This one thanks you, all of you. This one is happy you all here." She looked back at the flower, humming a song that slowly grew louder, a beautiful sound that relaxed me. Maybe it was the past day finally taking its toll on me, but I felt myself grow sleepy suddenly. I stumbled slightly, trying hard to keep my eyes open but failing. I felt a strong arm catch me around my waist, gently guiding me to the ground as I took on my natural form. I curled up to the warm body next to me, sighing in pleasure as I drifted off.