It was the beginning of the end for White Fang-the ending of the old life and the reign of hate. A new and comprehensively fairer life was dawning. It required much thinking and endless patience on the part of Weedon Scott to accomplish this. And on the part of White Fang it required nothing less than a revolution. He had to ignore the urges and promptings of instinct and reason, defy experience, give the lie to life itself.

-From Jack London's White Fang

Wolf's Storm

By Snodin

Based on "Wolf's Rain," created and owned by BONES

Grope 4.

"Black And Blue"

Now that a new side of herself had been awakened, Blue had no idea what to do. Her gut instinct was to run, and so she did. She could hear the big golden wolf tailing her, and she knew she couldn't outrun him. She ran through the forest until she ran out of breath, and was forced to face him once again.

Hige stood his ground, determined to speak with this strange yet enchanting female. "Who are you? …What do you want from us?"

"…Stay back," her inner voice kicked in. It was faint at first, but soon it would become loud and clear.

"Don't be afraid, I'm not gonna hurt you." He dared to take a step closer.

"I'm warning you," she snarled, her fur raised in terror. Her drive to fight was taking over quickly, and Hige could sense her tension. But still, he stood by as idly as he did when he found her in the rabbit trap.

"I don't understand why you want to fight me."

"I was born to fight. That's my purpose… And what about you? Have you come to finish me off?"

"Finish you off? …Oh, you mean that kick. Look, I only did that to stop you from hurting yourself."

The stern glare in her eyes shown she did not believe him. "What kind of dog are you?"

Hige smiled pleasantly. "I'm not a dog, I'm a wolf… and apparently, so are you."

Blue's ears perked up, and her snarl ceased. Confused by the boy's words, she finally paused to listen to him. He seemed to know a lot more about herself than even she did.

…

Kiba and Toboe wandered slowly into the woods after Hige, both sure that the chubby golden wolf would be easy to find. But Toboe was in a much more disapproving mood than his elder was.

"I can't believe he'd just run off like that," he whined. "He didn't even think to signal to us to come along."

Kiba kept his cool and just smiled. "He's just following his nose as usual… Don't worry, you'll understand when you're older."

The two of them stopped in their tracks when an eerie sound pierced the air, the sound of a wolf howl- but unlike any they had ever heard before. It sounded both mournful and blood-curdling, like a predator mourning its prey upon killing it. The hairs on their heads (and fur) stood on end in alarm.

"Kiba… Who—w-what was that?"

"I dunno, but it certainly wasn't Hige…"

…

After Kiba and company left the lunar flower to bask in the moonlight in the heart of the lake, the grey wolf Tsume appeared at the scene. He too had been following his nose toward the flower's scent, only he was misdirected by a chilly wind. But here he was, at long last, gazing peacefully at the flower as if a heavy burden had been lifted off his shoulders. He trotted into the water toward the small flower, which looked more like a lily pad's blossom with its petals surrounded by water. He then touched it gently with his wet nose, and his mind was soon invaded by the voice of a young maiden.

"You did it, Tsume. You've found this one."

"I knew I would," his thoughts replied. "I knew I was The One…"

"Tsume… We are all waiting for you. The next one can be found in the mountains, where the snow--"

The maiden's voice didn't get to finish her sentence; as a red flash bolted across the lake, her signal was cut off. The grey wolf looked up in shock, seeing that the flower was plucked right from his sights. The sound of a curdling growl on the bank of the lake made his ears twitch; someone was there, chuckling, mocking him. He looked to his far left, and sure enough two yellow eyes flickered in the darkness. Beneath them was a long, dark snout with drooling fangs, with the plucked lunar flower stuck between them.

Tsume readied for battle in his human form, with his imaginary knife in place of his claws. "Who are you, and what the hell are you doing!?"

The creature in the darkness replied in a deep, rippling voice. "I've come to claim what is rightfully mine…"

Then a chorus of growls and snarls surrounded Tsume, all coming from the edge of the pool. He found himself staring down a wall of glowing eyes and crooked fangs, with just a hint of red on their fuzzy backs. From the look at how they stood- upright with a hunch- they were much taller than regular wolves. Before he could even react to their sudden appearance, Tsume was ambushed from all sides.

…

From deep within the forest, Kiba's ears twitched at the sound of a wolf's painful yelps. "…Tsume," he guessed correctly.

Toboe had no time to respond; that very next moment, the foliage behind him was ripped apart by a giant, bipedal wolf-like creature, its mouth gaped wide open and letting out a monstrous roar. Toboe could only scream as his body went limp, panic-stricken.

"Toboe!!" barked Kiba in surprise, before charging toward the dark-furred and red-robed beast. The white wolf took a running leap toward it, but the creature raised its muscular, human-like arm and swatted him away like a fly. Kiba went spinning into a bush nearby, much to Toboe's horror. "Kiba," was all he could muster.

Kiba wasn't unconscious, however; he tried to get back on his four paws as quickly as possible, but by then the monster slumped onto his own four paws and approached the Red wolf pup slowly. It grinned in a way that only a human can, only it wasn't a man. It wasn't a wolf, either. And yet, at the same time, it was both. Its nose was tickled by Toboe's fearful scent, and it licked it lips hungrily. Toboe could only manage to shield his head with his arms and whimper, though it wouldn't have done any good. The beast was intent on eating him alive.

Suddenly, a black bolt struck the beast in the neck. At first, it only felt like a shove, but then fangs sank into his skin. The werewolf backed up onto his hind legs, violently shaking itself free of Blue's grip, but it was no use. The wolf-dog, programmed to fight to the death, was in her zone. She had no intention of letting go of this new opponent, even while he tried to claw and pull her off.

Kiba rushed to Toboe's side; "Toboe, are you okay?" he panted. The pup nodded softly, "Yeah… but…" His eyes were then fixed on the tall beast, now at the mercy of the small but tenacious wolf-dog.

Hige then rushed to the scene, and looked just as horrified as his friends were by the look of the fight unfolding. "We've gotta help her!" he gasped.

"Which one?" replied Kiba half-jokingly; "The wolf-dog, or the monster?"

With its fury at full power, the werewolf threw his own body into a tree in an attempt to knock Blue off of him. It would take a second attempt for the effect to work, but Blue still wasn't finished with him. As she fell onto her back, she rolled back onto her feet in record time and leapt onto the creature's face. Her fangs dug deeply into his snout, making him scream in pain. Not able to take any more punishment, the werewolf punched her in the stomach, only to take off in flight. He darted into the darkness of the woods, howling like a dying coyote.

When Blue rose to her feet again, she took on the form of the dark-skinned woman with the red scarf and black overcoat. She was panting and scraped, but the glare in her eyes showed that she was ready for more battle. The boys paused in awe at the sight of such a bold she-wolf, but only Hige was brave enough to go near her.

But when he tried to touch her on the shoulder, she snapped harshly, "Don't touch me!"

He jumped backward in surprise. "Hey, it's okay! I just wanna see if you're alright."

She turned her head away. "I'm fine. Now stay out of my way." She then took off after the retreating werewolf without even looking back at the wolves she had just rescued.

Toboe started to shiver, and it seemed like he didn't know how to stop. Kiba rested his hand on the pup's shoulder while Hige joined their sides. "She's a real firecracker, that one." "You're a lucky guy," Kiba replied almost sarcastically.

"That… that was no wolf…" murmured the shaking Toboe. "That was… s-some kind of monster."

"It's gonna be okay, Toboe," Kiba tried to reassure him. "…Hige, can you stay with him while I go check something out?"

"Sure, Kiba." Hige sat down by the traumatized pup while Kiba rushed back to the lake, where he was sure to find Tsume… dead or alive.

…

Tsume was in fact alive, but laying helplessly on his side by the lake's bank, bleeding from the head and knocked out cold. He was lucky that the werewolves didn't have it in them to eat him up; perhaps they were more concerned about the flower than eating. Nevertheless, he was one lucky wolf when Kiba arrived. The white wolf scanned the area for other monsters, and when the coast was clear, he leaned down to see if he could make contact with his scarred rival.

"Tsume! Can you hear me? It's Kiba! …Tsume?" He nuzzled him with his snow-white snout, but there was no response from the grey wolf. "Hang on, I'll get you back to your pack. Just hang in there."

In human form, Kiba scooped up Tsume and carefully hunched him over his shoulder. Then with great speed, he charged through the forest and back to civilization.

… …

He wasn't expecting a warm welcome upon arriving at Tsume's hangout, but Kiba probably wasn't expecting the wolf gang to attack him head on either. But when they saw this strange new wolf running to their doorstep with their bloodied and unconscious leader on his back, they took it as a challenge. Three Toes and Jean-Baptiste tackled him and pinned him to the ground, while Fenris scooped Tsume's limp body into his arms.

"So you're the one the boss wanted to meet with, huh?" growled Fenris, staring fiercely at Kiba as he was forced to one knee.

With Jean-Baptiste and Three Toes holding his arms, Kiba protested. "I'm not the one that did this. My pack and I were attacked by the lake outside the city, by huge monsters. They're the ones that hurt Tsume."

"Monsters? What kind of monsters?"

"They looked a little like wolves, but were much bigger. They could still be here, in this city."

"A likely story," snarled Three Toes as his grip on Kiba's arm tightened. "What do you got to prove it?"

"Nothing," winced Kiba, "but once Tsume wakes up he'll tell you all about it."

"And what is Tsume doesn't wake up?" asked Fenris with a hint of venom in his voice.

"Just listen to me," warned Kiba firmly. "You're all in great danger; these wolf-mutants tried to kill one of my own. We have to leave, or join forces against them. Or else they'll kill us all."

Then the alpha female, Asena, stepped forward. She walked up to Fenris and quickly observed Tsume's head wound. After a moment of silence, she looked to Jean-Baptiste and Three Toes with a stern look. "Let him go."

"What!?" gasped Three Toes. "This guy's either lying or crazy! Look, he clearly-"

"He's proven himself by bringing Tsume back. If he wanted to kill him, he would have; but Tsume's alive. Let him go."

The two bullying wolves reluctantly loosed their grips on Kiba, and as he rose to his feet, he gave Asena a soft nod. "Thank you."

The purple-haired woman gazed at him with reserved contempt. "Know this, stranger: we don't take kindly to those who hurt our kin, so you better be telling the truth about these so-called monsters." She then turned around to face the rest of her pack. "Back to base!" Kiba watched as the motley crew leapt into the dark alleyway, vanishing without a trace.

… …

Hige and Toboe were on their own for the next hour or so, but they had their own hunt to carry out. Now that his initial trauma was shaken off, Toboe followed his elder on the trail of the beautiful wolf-dog that came to their rescue. They would find her wandering back to the city, where the streets were still dirty with forest earth and the houses fairly separated from each other. It looked almost like a ghost town, this small patch of suburbia.

Blue's nose was following the scent of the werewolf pack, and she could also smell hints of blood in their tracks. She knew that her opponent was weakened by their fight, and she never let an opponent walk away before. She had to kill him; it was her mission, her purpose. But all of that instinct became subdued when her ears picked up the sounds of footprints coming from behind. It was Hige and Toboe, keeping a safe distance from her, but clearly stalking her. The woman became quickly annoyed and sighed.

"How long do you intend on following me?" she called out to them.

"Until you stop running," smiled Hige in reply.

Toboe added, "I just wanted to thank you for saving us back in the woods, lady. You were really awesome!"

"I didn't do it for you, I only did it to fulfill my purpose in life," replied the woman darkly.

The pup looked confused, but then smiled, "Well in any case, you were awesome! My name's Toboe."

"And I'm Hige. What's your name, Miss?"

Blue rolled her sapphire eyes. "Don't you have anything better to do than harass me?"

Hige then replied with a sly grin on his face, "Hey, you were the one that was following us to Moors, remember?"

"I wasn't following you… I was following something else."

Then the curious pup ran up to the woman's side. "Was it the lunar flower's scent you were following?"

She glanced down at the long-haired boy, unsure of what to make of him. "What's it to you?"

The boy smiled innocently, "We're following the lunar flowers too; they're gonna show us the way to Paradise. Have you ever heard of it? I'm sure you have; every wolf knows… Or are you more dog than wolf? I'm confused."

"Wolf. Dog. What difference does it make? All I know is that I'm a fighter, and I have to win."

Then Hige quickened his step until he was right behind the dark-colored woman. "Who says you have to fight all the time?" he dared to ask.

She simply replied, "My Master."

The boys stopped for a moment to think about the woman's words, until she was now five steps ahead of them. Hige then started walking again with Toboe in tow, ready with his next question: "So let me get this straight: you're a wolf-dog hybrid that was raised by a human?"

"Yes, exactly."

"So where is he? Your Master, I mean?" asked Toboe nervously, hoping he wouldn't offend her.

"I don't know," confessed the woman. "We were running from his enemies, and he told me to just keep running. And so I did… That was the last time I ever saw him."

"So you're free now," smiled Hige warmly. "That's great, 'cause now you can be your own master."

The woman then stopped in her tracks again. This time her body tensed, the same way it would before a big fight. The boys could sense that her mood had changed and took caution. She said, "I'm not sure how it is for you wolves, but I know how it is for me. My mother told me a long time ago, when I was a pup, that everyone has a purpose. She told me that someone was going to take me in and teach me how to live, how to act, how to be what I was always meant to be. And she was right; many people wanted to take me in as their pet, but one stayed with me longer than anyone. His name was Bradley…"

"Was he a nice owner?" blinked Toboe.

"He showed me how to be a fighter."

"…That wasn't the question," frowned Hige. "He asked you if Bradley was nice to you."

The woman turned to look Hige in the eyes. "He was nice. …He gave me food, shelter, and always told me that I was going to make him proud. And I did everything he wanted me to, and rewarded me with praise."

"Um," gulped Toboe. "Please don't get mad, but I just wanna ask you something… How did he teach you how to fight?"

"You know… With motivation."

She could feel the sting of his club, even in her memories. Her neck was tightened by the short leash knotted to the pole, which she couldn't escape. Over and over again, he beat her in the face, screaming, "Fight back, girl! Come on! Fight, you stupid mutt!"

"What kind of motivation?" asked Hige, looking both suspicious and concerned.

The woman furrowed her eyebrows at the question. "…He taught me how to defend myself."

"Bite the stick. Bite it!" yelled Bradley as he practically shoved it into her mouth. He paid no mind to the juvenile pup's yelps and whimpers. She shrunk in her prison, submitting to his domination but knowing she needed to do something more. What more, she couldn't understand. "Come on," moaned Bradley. "You're a fierce wolf-dog! Start acting like one. Bite!" Again he prodded her with the sharp stick, and again she yelped. But just when he was about to give up, the pup took one last look at his weapon, and lashed her fangs at it. "Good!" cheered her master. "Good job! Finally!"

"Defense comes naturally, doesn't it?" asked Hige.

"Of course it does, but in the fighting world you need more than just a defensive tactic. You also need to go on the offensive."

Bradley shoved a small Chihuahua into Blue's pen one particular day. "Okay, girl. This is it, your first real test," he said sternly to her. "Attack!" At first the bigger dog just sat there in her cage, staring curiously at the little one. "Kill it, girl! Get it!" shouted the wolf-dog's master. Then he instigated the small dog by whipping it a few times with his belt. Automatically, the Chihuahua's fangs popped out and it growled vengefully. "Now, girl! Get it! Bite!" When his protégé wouldn't obey, he turned his violence toward her with his club. Already having a hateful grudge against the club, she attacked it first. "Bite. Good! Now…" Bradley pointed to the small growling dog. "Bite! …BITE!" The wolf-dog then understood what he meant, and did just as he told her to. Moments later, the Chihuahua was no more.

"…Nothing you're saying makes sense," frowned Hige, whose words snapped Blue out of her trance of memories. "It just sounds like the guy forced you into becoming a fighter. Did you even want to live like that?"

"It never mattered what I've wanted," replied Blue in a defensive tone of voice. "You don't understand… I was meant to have a Master, to honor him and obey him. You wolves just don't get that."

Hige's face turned to a grimace, feeling both offended and sorrowful for this poor confused female. "You're right. I don't get it… I don't get how you could let somebody decide your life for you like that. And what's worse, it's a waste of a life, always having to fight and kill for no reason. And look what you're doing now; you're going after those mutants, aren't you? You wouldn't even care if they killed you, so long as you get a great battle? That's how it is, isn't it? That's how you perceive life, as one big battleground and everyone's your opponent. Right?"

"That's who I am," nodded the woman.

"Then I feel sorry for you," frowned the wolf. "You're not a wolf or a dog… you're a robot."

Blue stepped away from the two boys, the flame of anger burning in her eyes. "Who are you to judge me? You wouldn't know what it's like to have someone to care for you and feed you…"

Hige shook his head. "That's where you're wrong, lady. I was rescued by humans when I was younger. They were good to me; they nursed me back to health. And you know what else they did? They let me and my cousins live freely in the woods, just as we were meant to. They never forced us into anything, unlike your Bradley."

"At least Bradley gave me guidance."

"No one has to be taught how to defend themselves. I'm gonna go out on a limb here, and guess that your Bradley made you fight by putting you through hell. How did he motivate you, by starving you? Did he throw you into a pit full of wild dogs? …Did he hit you?" Hige watched closely as the woman's eyes widened with surprise, as if they testified to the truth. "…He hit you, didn't he? He hit you until you couldn't take it anymore. …That's not guidance, lady. That's called abuse."

"Shut up!" barked the young woman, covering her ears in defiance. Her eyes shut tightly to hold back tears. "Just shut your big fat mouth! I'm not a robot! I'm… I have a reason to be here!"

"I'm not trying to upset you," said Hige soothingly as he reached out to her. But she swatted his arm away, screaming, "Just leave me alone! All of you!!" She then turned tail and made a mad dash down the street.

Neither Hige nor Toboe made an attempt to follow her; they knew in their hearts that they hit a nerve in the wolf-dog's heart. But the damage had been done, and all they could do was look at each other, exchanging frowns of remorse, and sigh.

… …

After analyzing the wolf fur taken from the woods, coupled with computer-digitized copies of the photographed paw prints, Cher and her team of scientists were only inches closer to discovering the truth- it was still a long shot, but nevertheless, they were closer. From the look of the paw prints, there was a sign that these were in fact human tracks; the toes were much smaller and well rounded as opposed to the wolf's oval-shaped toes. Plus, the claw marks were shorter, and the shape of the foot's base was longer and wider than a real wolf's. This was a sign to Cher that…

"Something's not adding up."

"What do you mean, doc?" asked one of her younger associates nearby.

Cher removed her glasses to rub her tired nose. "These paw prints look more like human tracks, but the fur samples are clearly lupine. It doesn't make much sense…"

Her friend and equal, Sarah, walked by and smiled almost sarcastically, "Sounds like the victims were right; we're dealing with some kind of mutants with long hair."

"Hmph," smirked Cher as she leaned back in her chair. "If it were that easy, I'd close the book on the case right now. …But if they're still out there, we need to find and study them. Their tracks led straight out of the forest, which means they could be heading for Moors City."

Before her friends could even feel a chill of worry, young Mike came forward with a look of deep concern on his face. "Um… Miss Cher? …Sorry, Doc."

"It's okay, Mike. Go ahead."

"Uh, I've been keeping tabs on your wolves in Pristine Park, and… I dunno if this is anything to worry about, but… one of the collar signals is way, way off track." He paused to see Cher's expression grow all the more curious before he went on to say, "It looks like he wandered straight out of the park."

Cher was indeed worried; her wolves were like children to her, and she hated to think that the mutants would harm one of them. With a bit lip she asked, "Which one?"

… …

… …

"Breakfast!" sung Hige, as he slid into the scene of a back alleyway, holding fresh cold cuts in his arms and on his head.

Kiba and Toboe patiently waited on the steps of an apartment's back doorway. It was still early; the sun had just risen and the sky was painted with gold and pink clouds. The duo gladly welcomed back Hige after he went to "pick up some grub."

He tossed the cold cuts to his friends playfully; "Fresh off the press! Eat up, while it's still cold!" he cheered.

Toboe gave his slab of beef a quick sniff before he frowned, "Did you steal this meat, Hige?"

The big teen already had half a steak in his mouth as he replied, "Welp, it wafn't wike I had caff on me, forty…" He gulped. "Besides, it's either this or go hunting for some deer. You up for that yet?"

"No," Toboe admitted while bowing his head in shame. "But this is against the law."

"We're wolves, Tob! We don't live by man's law; our law is 'eat or be eaten.' Right, Kiba?"

Kiba glanced over at his young friend and gently replied, "Eat up, Toboe; everything's fine."

Ignoring Hige's defiant tone of voice, Toboe instead trusted Kiba's judgment and bit into the meat. "…It is good," he murmured. "What is it?"

"Mutton," smiled Hige.

"What's mutton?"

"Don't ask," warned Kiba.

The young wolves ate to their hearts content, then Hige and Toboe moved on to some rough play-fighting. This has become the normal ritual for the trio- eat, play, move on. They had no idea that from the top of the building opposite the apartment, they were being watched. The young lady with feathery black hair, dark overcoat, red scarf and bright blue eyes leaned against the edge of the rooftop as she watched the wolves at play. This was the first time in her short life that she had seen canines of any kind act so friendly toward each other; even their play was innocent. It fascinated her, intrigued her… and at the same time, her heart was sinking with guilt. She was beginning to wish that she had lived like these wolves, carefree and happily. But for Bluie, it seemed that it was too late for her.

…

Blue would spend the rest of that day wandering aimlessly through the city, her head swarming with memories of her Master's abuse, and of her recent encounter with the one called Hige. She knew that he was right, that she was more robot than living creature. But she was too proud and perhaps even too stubborn to say it out loud. And, she thought, it made no difference anyway; her path was etched out a long time ago, and that there was no going back. She had no idea how to be kind to her fellow canine, to welcome them with a smile and a wag of the tail, to lower her posture to show no threat of aggression. No, her first instinct was to snarl, charge and bite. That's who she was… or was it?

As she wandered through the alleys, Blue came to terms with what Hige told her, that she was free now and no longer had to answer to any human. Perhaps running away from Bradley was the best thing that could ever happen to her. Maybe now, in this new place, she could start again. A clean slate, they called it. …Then again, she would tell herself, it would only be a matter of time before she would revert to her pit-fighting nature. Such thoughts made her shake with frustrated guilt. Then, she decided that there was only one way to be sure. She would have to test herself.

She found her way to a small corner of an alley were trash was dumped. There, a stray dog was scraping for food. This was just the scenario Blue wanted; one long dog, one insignificant creature whose fate no one would care for. It wouldn't have mattered if she would kill this poor fleabag or not; hell, it might have even been an act of charity to put him out of his misery. But Blue knew that if she did so, she would be no step closer to true freedom. She, the black wolf-dog with spooky blue eyes, approached the mongrel.

Without so much as a whimper, the young yellow mongrel turned to face the large black beast. He looked curious; his ears perked up, though they were floppy, and his curly tail began to wag. Blue stood her ground, unsure of whether to pin back her ears or droop them down to assume a submissive posture. But her ears never flinched, they just stood straight up like a pair of horns. It was the mongrel who made the first move.

He approached her with a wide open mouth and drooling tongue, panting happily at the sight of a new friend. His nose twitched as he sniffed the strange black dog's muzzle. Blue stood still, trying to hold herself back from making a mistake. Then the yellow mongrel moved toward her backside; it was customary for dogs to study each other's scents. But Blue was unaware of this, and jerked her body around as a means of blocking the young pup's way. He cocked his head in response to this; perhaps she was a dominant dog, one who denied all others the chance to explore her completely. He then bowed his whole front side before her, as if genuflecting to royalty. In truth, this was his way of saying he was no threat.

Blue had seen this posture before, but never knew exactly what it meant. She mimicked the pup by bowing to him, waiting to see his reaction. The pup then realized that this dog was trustworthy, and without warning, she gave her a tiny lick on her nose. She froze in surprise, and made no attempt to react. She was afraid of destroying the pup's trust, even with just a flicker of the ear. But the pup had suddenly lost interest in her, and scampered off in search of the next meal.

Blue watched him gallop away, feeling proud of herself for not listening to her predatory instincts. Perhaps the wolves were right; maybe she could change for the better. Maybe she really was free…

… …

Tsume recovered fast from his wounds, and by mid-afternoon that day he was already setting on the long journey to the north. He and his friends gathered in a small park, eating their fill of recently stolen meat from the market. In one instant, they ate hearty like the ravenous canines they were; but in the next instant, Fenris' keen nose picked up a scent. "Humans," he muttered, and just like that the group hid their cold cuts from view, acting like innocent bystanders.

Those who walked into the scene were a troupe of weary men, each as thin as a pole. Their clothes were tattered and dirty, and only when Tsume glanced at them a second time, he realized that they weren't wearing shoes. Puzzled, he got up on his feet and approached them.

"You guys lost?" he asked rather kindly.

"Get outta the way," moaned the leader of the wandering group.

"There's a shelter not far from here," urged the concerned Tsume.

"We ain't bums," growled the man. "We just had a run o' bad luck, that's all… But we would like to find out where we can get some food."

Tsume pointed west; "There's a food court down that way." As he said this, the wind blew against his face, sending the mens' scents his way. Without even a reply, the tired and famished men wandered off in the direction they were directed. Tsume's yellow eyes beamed with surprise, but made no attempt to react otherwise.

As he watched the strangers move off, he went back to his pack and said softly, "We've gotta get out of this city, the sooner the better."

"But we don't even know which way to go," frowned Three Toes.

"Anywhere is good for now," replied Tsume, his eyes still fixed on the departing strangers. Before his friends could ask what his problem was, the alpha male stared into their eyes. "They're not human."

… …

By sundown, Cher and three of her friends had arrived in Moors. The blonde leader held a remote tracking device in her hand as if it was glued there, as she and her team wandered into the city's center. The signal was now closer than ever; a green light on the remote's screen flashed closer and closer to its core, indicating that their subject was definitely near. But why he was near was what they really wanted to know.

Cher stopped in the mid-square of the city and instructed, "Mike, you take the east side. Sarah, the west. Carl, you follow this street up ahead. I'll stay here and check the monitor. As soon as he moves on, I'll radio you all." They agreed on the plan and separated.

Cher followed her radio like a beacon in the darkness; she barely paid attention to the busy streets flooded with cars, or the people rushing down the pavements on their way to the bus stations. It was rush hour, the most active time of the day. But it wasn't a human she was looking for, it was a wolf- her wolf. Her Special One. And her radio trackers never lied.

She almost didn't notice when it happened, but Cher's tracker's beeping sound began to accelerate and beep even louder. The green flashing light on the tracker's screen was nearly in the dead-center. He was near, she was sure of it. She looked upward toward the humans passing her by to see if he was in sight. But all she saw was a trio of young boys; one with dark brunette hair, a leather jacket and jeans, the second taller with sweats and fiery brown hair, the third a tween with long rusty-brown hair, red blouse and tan khakis. As they crossed the street across from Cher's, the green light flashed from center to left, then further left, further…

"What's going on?" she hummed in reaction to the signal's change of direction. She couldn't understand how she would miss her wolf when he was clearly within her reach. She tapped the radio attached to her ear like a hearing aid; "Guys, he's on the move. He's heading for the train station."

…

A lot of people were heading for the train station in mid-town, but clearly one of them was moving on four paws. Cher was the first to make it there; she had run the whole way. According to her tracking device, her special wolf had not only entered the station's main floor, but he also descended one of its stairways. He was heading for the subway. Cher gulped in worry; surely if someone saw him, they would either trap or kill him. But just as she was about to step forward into the building, she heard a most disturbing sound nearby.

"uuuugh…"

Curious, she stranded from her track and turned around the corner. To her shock, she found a man crouched down in a small crevice of the building, shivering like a leaf. As she approached him, she could see that his trench coat was brutally torn, and his frame was weak with starvation. Perhaps he was a homeless man, desperate for shelter from the wind. And Cher was, by nature, a charitable person.

"Excuse me," she chimed. "Do you need help? …Are you lost, sir?" He slowly and weakly turned his head to face her. In reaction, she took a step back and gasped, "No… it can't be!"

It was Detective Lebowski, for sure. His hair was matted, and his face was no longer clean-shaven but slowly growing facial hair. His eyes looked so tired and droopy that they looked as though they could fall off at any second. There were dark circles under his eyes, with wrinkles that made him look slightly older.

"Detective!" Cher gasped again. "…Is it really you? You're still alive?"

She wasn't sure if he would recognized her; he looked shocked enough to see anyone at that point. But he didn't respond; he barely even flinched. At least, not until he realized that it was getting dark. He could see the last lights of the sun fading from the windows across the way.

He slightly turned himself toward the biologist, and reached out to her with a trembling hand. "Please… help me…"

Cher returned the gesture. "Come with me, I'll take you to a hospital."

"Please…"

"It's okay, detective. You're safe now."

"No… No, you're not safe," he murmured, hiding a growl behind his breath.

"What? What did you say?" she blinked.

"Leave… leave me, now." He struggled to get onto his feet, which were bare. His legs wiggled, showing his pants were torn from the knees.

"But detective…"

"Leave me. It's not safe… The sun!" He pointed upward toward the sun's reflection in the windows. But it was too late; the lights were now gone. "No… No, not now." He crept back into his hiding spot, his hands tightly grasping his head.

Cher dared to approach him. "Just hang on, I'll call for help right now." She pulled out a cell phone from her jacket and quickly dialed three digits. She failed to see that her friend was shivering compulsively, and slowly growing twice in size. "Yes, hello!" she spoke into her phone. "I'm just outside the train station. I have a man here who's in need of help. …Well, he looks like he's been through a war zone! He's thin, shaking, and… I'm sorry, what was that? …I just told you, the mid-town train station! …My name is Doctor Cher Degre. But why is that important? …This is a police officer we're talking about! …YES, it's an emergency! Why else would I be calling?"

Suddenly, a light tan, furry claw grabbed her arm. Cher had barely any time to scream as her cell phone fell to the ground. She turned around, and looked with horrified eyes into the face of a man whose face had just been warped into that of a large wolf, whose fur matched the tan hair on Lebowski's head.

"I told you to leave… I don't want to EAT YOU!!!"

…

Kiba and company were walking straight to the train that would take them far out of the city. They knew that while they were still in human form, no one would protest their presence. But Toboe was particularly antsy; he had never seen a train before, let alone enter one.

"Are you sure she mentioned mountains?" asked Hige to Kiba. "Where the snow never melts?"

"Those were her exact words," nodded Kiba.

"Can't we just run there?" frowned the anxious young Toboe. "I mean, not that I'm scared of trains… it's just… all these people."

"Relax Toboe," smiled Kiba; "It's not like we're gonna shed our shadows and show that we're wolves."

No sooner than he said that, sharp high-pitched screams rang out from far behind them. Everyone, including the wolves, gasped and looked around frantically. "Monsters!" someone screamed, sending everyone in a panic.

Kiba's nose twitched, and his eyes lit up. "It's them." He charged toward the screams, with his curious and startled friends in tow.

Up the stairs they ran, into the main floor of the great train station. There, they were met with a rampaging werewolf, whose red robe was still attached to his neck and shoulders. The tall, red-furred beast was tossing people around like rag dolls, and was drooling madly.

"Foooood," it moaned in an inhuman voice. "Give me foooood!"

Kiba started to bear his fangs, when Toboe grabbed his arm. "Kiba, don't!" he warned; "They're too strong for us!" But the white wolf didn't listen; he knew what the werewolf was really after.

He jumped a distance that only a human could dream of, straight into the rampaging werewolf's path. The red beast was holding a poor man over his shoulder frame. "Let him go," growled Kiba. The red beast just hissed at him in reply, "You… you look like a hot dog. Heeeh… tasty." With that, he tossed the human away and raised his claws toward Kiba.

The Arctic wolf's fangs were ready, and chomped down on the were's claws. The frenzied humans didn't seem to take notice that the monster was now swatting at a regal white wolf as they fled the scene. Kiba had been knocked down by one of these mutants before, but now he was bringing his A-game, jumping like a frog at every swipe and biting at the enemy's legs.

It didn't take Hige long to join in on the action, he too shedding his human shadow. He attacked from behind while Kiba attacked from the front, but the relentless mutant kept on wailing and chattering his drooly fangs at them. With no other option, Hige jumped in front of Kiba to give him a boost; Kiba jumped from Hige's husky back and landed right onto the werewolf's neck, biting down as hard as he could. It would seem that werewolves were not that invincible; with a torn throat, the monster fell onto his side.

Kiba and Hige stepped back to take a few breaths, one someone shouted, "There's more outside!" Kiba reacted quickly by running for the nearest exit. Hige followed right behind, but Toboe was reluctant. He couldn't even begin to guess why his friends were so willing to fight, when the more obvious option would be to flee.

…

Sure enough, three more rd-robed werewolves were parading in the streets, one a midnight-blue, the others dark brown. They were quick to snap up people's luggage and purses and tear them apart, desperate in their search for sustenance. Kiba faced them in his human form again and shouted, "What do you want!?" The midnight blue one stood on his hind quarters, towering over even his fellow weres, and smiled eerily at Kiba.

"We want Paradise," it hissed malevolently.

Kiba gasped in response, but firmly stood his ground. "…Paradise is no place for monsters like you."

Before the werewolf could respond, a familiar voice cried out, "He's right!" They all turned around, and saw Tsume and his pack staring down the werewolves from behind. The yellow-eyed man recognized them instantly s his attackers by the pool. "Where's the lunar flower? I know you took it," he said in a low, threatening tone.

"Heh-heh-heh-heh," the dark one replied with a crooked smile. "The Alpha has it…"

"And where is he?" Tsume wondered.

"You'll never get him," grinned the werewolf. "He's got the spirit of darkness by his side."

Tsume then cracked his knuckles. "Well then, I guess I'll just have to settle with you." Then the grey wolf launched himself at the midnight blue werewolf, only to be blocked off by one of the dark brown ones.

Tsume's pack charged vengefully, each shedding their illusions as they leapt forward. The wolves outnumbered the mutants, piling onto them like vultures on a carcass. But the weres were much bigger and stronger, and soon shook them off. Kiba was all too willing to join in on the fight, biting into one werewolf's claws before they could scratch out Tsume's eyes.

The midnight blue one proved to be the strongest werewolf of all; while his brethren fell to Tsume's pack, he stood back up and took up a bizarre weapon: a severed werewolf leg, which he tore off himself. Like a club, he swung it at the wolves and knocked the wind out of most of them. When he got to Kiba, he was quick to grab the white wolf's throat while the wolf was in mid-jump. "Finally," grinned the werewolf as he drooled, "I feed…"

"NO!" roared Lebowski, who jumped out of nowhere onto his darker brethren. The light tan werewolf gripped onto the dark one's "club"-wielding hand, prying it from him. As he pinned the dark one down, the smaller werewolf glanced toward Tsume. "Now…!" Tsume paused at first, but then responded by sinking his fangs into the dark werewolf's throat.

The tension calmed down slowly as the evil werewolf breathed his last. The tan werewolf with the torn blue shirt that he seemed to wear as a cape then stood straight up, his tan pants still in tact. He looked intently at Tsume, recognizing him as a pack leader, with glowing yellow eyes. "They're headed for Bear Valley," he whispered in a more human-like voice. Before the wolves could respond, Lebowski leapt away and galloped on all fours into the night.

Nearby, an unscathed but emotionally troubled Cher had just woken up after fainting. She wobbled onto the scene just as the wolves had dispersed, just missing them. But now that she discovered the bodies of three werewolves, she at least had something to show for her trouble. With a trembling hand, she pressed the button of her microphone radio. "Guys… the train station… there's… you've just got to see it." As she finished her sentence, her legs buckled and she slumped onto her knees, exhausted with fear.

… …

The wolves, both Kiba's and Tsume's pack, all gathered onto a rooftop in mid-town. After cleaning their wounds and catching their breath, the two packs looked each other over carefully.

After minutes of silence, Tsume finally said, "You kids did good today."

"Why thank you," smiled Kiba hopefully. "Does this mean we can search for Paradise together?"

"…Ha! You wish," smiled the stubborn grey wolf. "We'll beat you to it. Let's go, guys!" With that, Tsume led his pack to jump over one rooftop after another; Kiba and his friends watched until they were gone from sight.

"Well that was a helluva thank you," shrugged Hige disapprovingly.

"Where are they going?" asked Toboe.

"To a place called Bear Valley," replied Kiba; "which is exactly where we're going."

The trio raced over the rooftops for a while, until Hige stopped to hear the lonely howl of a lone wolf. Recognizing the voice, Hige gasped, "Guys, stop! Listen…" The three of them paused until the howl was heard again.

"…Hige…!"

The tall teen responded by peering over the roof. Sure enough, the black wolf-dog was standing on the ground, looking up at him with those haunting blue eyes. Ecstatically he raced down the building's iron staircase to meet with her, while the others followed close behind.

Facing the young woman in the black overcoat, Hige smiled almost affectionately. "Couldn't stay away from me, could ya?"

The woman giggled softly, "Heh… I was just getting bored."

"You missed a great fight; we had those mutants begging for mercy!"

"I know. I was there."

"What!?" Hige looked at her with disbelief. "Why didn't you join in? I thought you wanted to kill those creeps."

The woman shrugged, "I was holding back, because… well… the truth is, I don't want to have to fight anymore." She noticed the genuine relief in his smile before she went on; "I know, you were right and I was wrong. Big Strong Manly Wolf is better than Stray Girl Dog. But don't get used to it."

"I didn't say anything," he blushed.

"…Where are you going?"

"To Paradise."

"…Hmm. …Paradise. That sounds like a nice place. …Mind if I come?"

He nearly jumped out of his skin in delight. "Are you kidding!? Of course you can come! You can lead the way for all I care!"

"Don't get too carried away, Hige," warned Kiba nearby.

The woman paused to smile. "Hmm… So, where is this so-called Paradise."

Hige pointed in the direction he was going; "To the North, somewhere where the snow never melts… You seriously wanna come?"

"I have nowhere else to go," she confessed. "Besides… you look like you could use a bodyguard." Hige tried to ignore the giggles coming from his friends nearby.

"Well, what're we waiting for? Let's go then!" cheered the tall teen in the sweats.

Just as he turned away from her, the young woman suddenly said, "Blue."

He glanced back at her curiously; "Huh?"

"You asked me my name before. …It's Blue."

He then smiled and nodded, "Welcome aboard, Blue."

As the group of now four wolves ran toward the horizon, their spirits were now that much higher. Before, they were just a trio of nomads with only a slight idea of where to go. Now, they felt like a full pack with a sense of direction. To Bear Valley, where the snow never melts, they took off.

TBC

Next, "Abandoned"