Tetsuya had awoken to find the pups beside him once more, as he scanned the area he noticed the pack was partially gone. He yawned and got up, the pups hardly budged from their deep slumber. He trotted over to the large oak but Ryota and Hinaro were gone, he realized they must have left for their attack. Why must they steal? If only I could tell them all there is a much simpler way... He saw the sleeping families around him, they all looked so peaceful, a family...He weaved around the sleeping wolves trying to pick up the scent of Ryota and the rest of the pack.
He circled the valley, unable to pick up a scent, he wondered where they could have possibly went but they had to leave the valley somewhere. The sun had already set and he knew he was getting farther and farther behind.
The scent suddenly came to him, among the grove to the south, he ran swiftly toward it wondering how long ago they had left the valley. The scent was still fresh so it couldn't have been to long ago, he crept along the forest floor, listening carefully, and making sure he knew they were there before they could see him.
His ears perked as he heard some sounds up ahead, it sounded like the pack; he lifted his nose and sniffed the air lightly. It certainly smelled as if the village was close by, the unique aromas of the market, humans, and fire.
He was creeping closer to the pack when he heard a voice behind him, "What are you doing here?"
He turned to see it was Ryota, the white wolf looked annoyed by his mere presence, "I just wanted to see what's going on."
"Well, there is no place for you here. You don't know what to do."
"I can learn."
Ryota looked at him and soon moved past him, making sure to brush past Tetsuya's shoulder rather roughly. "Follow me." He said gruffly.
Tetsuya nodded, noticing the white wolf's rough push, but Tetsuya could see why Ryota was annoyed, but to his own surprise, he seemed to enjoy annoying Ryota. Ryota could tell Tetsuya was excited and thinking about something to get him to smile mischievously like that, he averted his eyes ahead of him, "Stop acting like a kid."
Tetsuya nodded, "Of course, Ryota."
The other wolves were also in their illusions of human form, Tetsuya and Ryota had followed their example. They were gathered around another small grove about a mile away from the village, the wolves sat in silence, as if they were waiting for something. Tetsuya watched curiously, "What are they doing?" he whispered.
"We sent a scout earlier and are now waiting for his return."
Tetsuya nodded when he saw a wolf come toward them, he looked as though he had strength, he had black hair and unusually yellow eyes, he grinned as he saw Ryota. Tetsuya noticed he had also extremely white teeth, then he realized who he was, it was the wolf that was addressing the pack the day before; the black wolf. The black wolf spoke to Ryota, "I see you've brought your friend along."
Ryota looked at Tetsuya and looked back to the wolf, "He is not my friend, Kazuo"
Kazuo smiled, "Sure he isn't, Ryota." He soon directed his attention to Tetsuya, and patted him on the back, "I remember you. You're the wolf who came from nowhere and decided to join us."
Tetsuya looked at him and raised an eyebrow, "To put it bluntly."
Kazuo continued, "So I assume this is your first raid?"
"Uh...yes, it would be the first."
"I'm the second-in-command around here but you don't have to call me 'sir' or anything." He smiled warmly, "I just don't work like that. And this little guy right here, is my nephew." He gestured to Ryota, Tetsuya raised an eyebrow but held in his laugh, Ryota only glared at Kazuo, "Shut up...I...never mind..."
Kazou smiled and tousled Ryota's hair, which he took grudgingly, mumbling something about Kazuo.
Tetsuya returned his gaze to Kazuo, "So, how does this attack begin?"
"It's more of a thief run. Take as much as you can. You keep what you take."
Tetsuya nodded, he figured that if he still wanted to remain in this pack was to assimilate into their culture and tradition. He didn't like the way they did things, but who was he to change it? A noise was heard ahead and all the wolves looked toward the location of the sound. Ready for anything, the wolves waited, a large gray wolf emerged, Kazuo moved quickly toward the wolf. "Is everything set?"
The grey wolf nodded, his form was a dark-skinned man in his late twenties, "Yes, we are prepared to begin."
Kazuo turned to the small pack of wolves, his voice was a hushed loudness, soft enough not to wake the nearby animals yet loud enough for the rest of the wolves to hear. "Assemble the groups. We'll split up and surround the village. Wait for the signal."
Ryota grabbed Tetsuya's arm and pulled him over toward the smaller group heading for the east, Tetsuya looked back and saw the wolves had disappeared already. Ryota released his arm when they were closer to the small group of other wolves. There was a blazing red-haired boy about the same age as Ryota, a slender dark-haired man who seemed much older than both of them, as well as an older man who was the oldest of the group, his hair was graying, and also a girl with silvery white hair; Tetsuya made a mental note to familiarize himself with the others later. As soon as Ryota and Tetsuya were near, the group took off into the dark forest.
They were fast, some faster than the warriors in his old pack, but they must be used to moving this quick, this pack's strength was their speed not their physical strength, especially if they used she-wolves in their raids. Back in his pack, the she-wolves were surely their weakest point in the raids, they may have been fast but their combat and strength couldn't compare to the male wolves. The wolves were a few meters ahead, he had not run this fast in awhile but he guessed he'd better get faster if this is what they must do often. The smells of the village were much stronger, and his eyes could catch the light of the burning torches. The intense smell of the smoke was making his nose itch but he ignored it. He kept the wolves ahead of him in sight, he'd catch glimpses of them every once in awhile but his attention was toward the village. Few humans wandered the paths but as he neared a house, he could hear the breathing of its occupants. He wanted to see more but he knew if he stopped he'd lose them for sure.
As Tetsuya saw they had finally stopped ahead, Ryota gave him a look, "Took you long enough. Now we must wait."
Tetsuya nodded and leaned against a tree looking toward the village, "We could sneak through a path back there. It didn't have as many humans on it and it hardly had any torches."
The older wolf looked at Tetsuya curiously, "You know much of these humans. What are 'torches'?"
Tetsuya realized that the wolves in this pack had not studied the humans as he had and he looked back toward the wolf, "A torch is the carrier of their fire."
The boy spoke up now, "Those humans have fire because their weak eyesight isn't as good as ours at night."
Tetsuya nodded, "Come."
Tetsuya led the way toward the worn footpath, he remembered that it was past a ripe blueberry bush, and realized why the path was worn. The humans use these for food, unlike the wolves they cannot only consume meat. Tetsuya shook off the thought, knowing there was a more important task at hand. The wolves were following him closely, "It was right around here." He whispered quietly as not to wake the resting humans. He knew the humans rest at night because that is when they are at their weakest, with the inability to see, it was as if they were wandering blind.
He stopped and looked down the path, to his surprise there were no humans around, he turned back toward the group, "It is best if we leave now."
Ryota protested, "We must wait for the signal. Didn't you hear Kazuo? He said..."
Tetsuya interrupted him, "I know what he said, but don't you realize? This is the opportunity we've been waiting for." He pointed down the path, "No humans here."
The slender wolf nodded, "He does have a point. We should take this chance."
Ryota grudgingly agreed, "Fine...but if Kazuo were here..."
The girl finally spoke up, "Ryota. This is the perfect moment. Quit whining, you're a big boy now."
Ryota glared but said nothing, he followed but was the last one to enter the village.
The group soon split up, the Market was nearby and they scattered themselves among the village. Tetsuya soon found himself alone, he sighed and continued along the path, he saw a human ahead but he'd acted strange, staggering along the ground. He saw Tetsuya and stumbled toward him, "Got any extra items on ya'?"
Tetsuya stepped back, "Huh?"
"You know..."
"I'm sorry, sir, but I..."
"I may be drunk...but I know a rich villager when I see one." He hiccupped lightly.
"Drunk?" Tetsuya never heard of the term before but this human couldn't tell him any different, so he continued to step back further.
"Now hand'em over." The man soon slipped out a concealed knife, causing Tetsuya to panic, he'd never actually been confronted by a human before. He soon realized he still had a speed advantage over the staggering human. He grabbed the man's wrist, which caused him to drop the knife, "Please. I don't want any trouble."
The man struggled against him but the wolf was clearly stronger than him, "You're a strong one, aren'tcha boy? Fine, I won't cause ya any more trouble if you take me to the pub."
"Pub?"
"Y'know...I don't think I can make there on my own. My legs feel rather...not themselves."
Tetsuya wondered what a 'pub' could possibly be but he needed to get this human off his back, but he also seemed like a nice human, aside the fact he'd almost attacked him. He didn't want to blow his cover so he assumed that the stench of the man must be the building of the same smell. He took an arm of his shoulder and nodded, "Fine. Come on."
He could smell it from here, it was very powerful, and it was lit up with a blazing fire in the center surrounded with men of similar appearance...and smell. He set him down on a bench and the man looked up at him, "I have to thank ye. My apologies."
Tetsuya just nodded, "No need to thank me."
"Well, if you need sumthin', I might not have it but y'never know, just ask anyone around here about Hitachi. That'll be me, everyone knows me. I'd be happy to do ya a favor, if I'm sober that day." He let out a hearty laugh followed by a cough, "Now. Another round of beer."
A large man came out and handed Hitachi and Tetsuya a mug, Tetsuya smelled the liquid and dropped the cup and covered his nose. This was where the smell came from, Hitachi grunted as he saw the spilled mess, "What a waste...not a drinker?"
Tetsuya realized it had been awhile since he'd left the group, "I'm sorry, Hitachi...but I must be going now."
Hitachi grinned, "Fine, fine. Good night, m'boy."
Tetsuya walked away calmly but he realized he must smell like that awful water, he sighed as he quickened his pace. He had to show that he'd stolen something; he saw a closed stand and lifted the blanket over the goods. It was a food cart, filled with fish. Fish was certainly not his favorite food of choice but he grabbed a few, now he smelled like bad 'beer' and fish.
He returned to the path with the blueberry bush where the others were waiting, Ryota raised an eyebrow as Tetsuya returned. The red-haired boy grabbed his nose, "You stink...badly."
Tetsuya smiled sheepishly, "Yeah...I got...caught up in something."
Ryota just looked at him, "You do smell. The signal was already made and now we can return to the valley with our items. I see you have...fish. Very original, that is for sure."
Tetsuya followed them lagging behind, this had certainly been an interesting night, he'd even befriended a human. The older wolf soon stopped and waited for Tetsuya, "You did well. This is your first thief run, is it not?"
Tetsuya nodded, "Yeah, it is."
"You have quite the knowledge."
"I've been watching humans a lot."
"I've noticed, but I'm glad you joined our group."
"Ryota gave me no choice."
"Heh. That boy has quite the way with words. He may not admit it but you are his friend. I hear he even looks up to you."
"Really?"
"Yes, but enough of this, let me introduce myself, I am Hotaka. The others are afraid of you for befriending Ryota. So I shall introduce them myself. The red wolf is Takeo. The slender gray is Satoru. The she-wolf is Takane. Each have their own personality and not all are like Ryota." He laughed gently, "Takeo is the youngest of our group, he still has much to learn. Satoru he is not much older than you, he is very intelligent, but also quiet. He'll come around sooner or later, once he knows he can trust you. Takane, she is very arrogant but ignore her comments, if she degrades you, it's her way of saying you are accepted."
"I don't believe that has happened yet."
"No, but you seem a nice enough wolf. I'll put a good word in for you to Hinaro."
"Hinaro? Please...that is certainly not necessary."
"Oh, but it is. You are welcome to my share of meat any time, Tetsuya."
Hotaka moved forward and Tetsuya continued to stay behind, Hotaka seemed very wise and accepting. He returned to the valley with a smile on his face, even though he smelled awful, his mood was the exact opposite. The pups tackled him, asking him so many questions they began to confuse themselves. He told them of his adventure with Hitachi and Hotaka, they listened closely as he kept them up through the morning with his story.
As the pups slept at his side for the third night, he smiled as the sun slowly rose to its peak in the sky. He felt an odd, special feeling that he'd made friends with Ryota and Hotaka. Hotaka seemed respectable enough, Tetsuya couldn't believe Hotaka would tell Hinaro about him. Tetsuya hadn't spoke to Hinaro since he first came, all he knew was what Ryota would tell of him. He still couldn't believe that Ryota looked up to him. He thought Ryota disliked him more than respecting him, but he was wrong, and he was glad that he was.