Disclaimer: I don't own Wolf's Rain
Hige bounded after Toboe's howl, hoping that he wasn't too late for what was about to come. The sand being blown into his face as he sprinted, clouding his vision a bit.
"Toboe!" he cried out hoping for a response. "Where are you?!"
Then he spotted him, with his human facade of a young teen boy with a red a red shirt and green pants. He was surrounded by a bunch of humans on horses. Hige shifted to his human facade and approached them.
"Stop! What are you doing?" he snarled as he broke through the circle and joined the cowering Toboe. As in response, one of the hunters shot an arrow, missing Hige's feet just by a few inches. The hunters were closing in, until Tsume came running behind one of them and knocked them off their horses. He was also in his human disguise. He bared their teeth at them.
"Get out of here, troops of Jagura!" one of the humans yelled as he hurled a spear at them, which they easily dodged.
"Wait! We're not-" Toboe tried to explain but an arrow whipped past his face.
"Why don't we just kill them all " Tsume snarled as he threatened to drop his human disguise and go after the throat of one of the humans who stood nearby.
A piercing howl brought all of their attention to a wolf who limped towards them. A white wolf with blue eyes and visible blue markings gazed at the hunters.
"A wolf?" one of the humans say
"It can't be!" One by one the humans dropped their weapons, and dropped onto their knees with their heads bowed. One of the humans walked up to Toboe and stuck out his hand in a friendly gesture.
"I am so sorry, we did not realize that you were wolves. My name is Ihk" he introduced himself. He had red paint on his face, long black hair and a feather on his hair. "You see our tribe believes in wolves...we would have never attacked you if we knew."
"That's okay" Toboe said with his face aglow.
"Like hell it is," Tsume said.
"So uh..." Hige started "We're starved, do you have any food around here?"
Tsume and Toboe looked at Hige sternly. Like a mother berating their cub for something wrong.
"What? I'm hungry!"
Toboe looked back at Shiroi. "Hikaru, what are you doing here? You should be resting..." He noticed that Shiroi's wounds were healed, save for the fact that his injured hind leg was still broken. "What happened to your wounds!" Toboe gasped.
Shiroi looked away, as if something else had suddenly caught his attention and promptly ignoring Toboe.
"Why don't you come back with us to our tribe's camp. We should alert the elder of your visit" Ihk said.
"Elder?" They all said in unison, except for Shiroi who said it in his head.
"The elder is a wise man, and it is evident that you are searching for something...Perhaps the elder can help you with your search."
At the tribe's camp
As the four of them walked in the tribe's camp, they noticed several injured animals lying on the ground.
"What happened here?" asked Toboe
"Jagura's troops attacked us" explained Ihk as he went over to pet a dog who's fur was covered in wounds. "They're attacking any animals that look like wolves." Shiroi limped over to the dog who Ihk was petting, leaned in and licked its eyes. The markings on Shiroi's body glowed for a bit, then died down. The dog opened its eyes and whined.
Ihk stared at Shiroi in surprise. Shiroi started panting, he just used most of his power to heal his wounds and he had no idea why he just healed the pet of a random stranger. It must have been instincts he thought.
"What the hell are you?" he heard Tsume's voice as his turned his gaze over to them. The three wolves practically had the biggest jaw drop Shiroi has ever seen before.
"It can't be..." Ihk whispered
"Can't be what?" Hige asked.
Ihk shook his head. "Come, the elder will explain everything." He walked towards a tent, and motioned for them to follow. Inside the tent was an old man, standing with a cane in his hands. He wore a big fur coat, and a feather hat was on his head. As they approached him, the elder turned around slowly, opening his eyes. His gaze laid upon Shiroi with surprise, and they simply gazed at each other for a moment. The elder's old and wise eyes, meeting with Shiroi's graceful and kind ones. At last, the elder turned away with a smile on his face.
"Elder" Ihk said bowing his head in a respectful manner. "These wolves have need of your assistance."
"Ah, yes..." The elder said. "I see that you're searching for something."
"Our packmate, Kiba" replied Toboe. "He's a white wolf like Hikaru here."
Kiba? White wolf? thought Shiroi. He can't really remember where he heard this name before, but it sounded familiar.
Everyone was surprised when Ihk spoke. "Desert's Bones"
"Desert's Bones?" echoed Hige.
Ihk nodded "Yes if your friend has wandered here, he will most likely be at the place. It is south from the camp."
"Well, what are we waiting for then?" Tsume grunted. "Let's go find him."
As the four walked out of the tent, they noticed Toboe trailing behind. Tsume stopped and looked at him
"What is it runt?"
"I want to stay here with Ihk!" he declared, avoiding eye contact with Tsume. Tsume paused for a second, then nodded.
"Whatever" he said as he walked away. Hige noticed Shiroi staying with Toboe.
"You too, Hikaru?" he asked. Shiroi looked at the elder and the elder translated for him.
"This one is not fit to travel yet, his leg is still mending. He says he will catching up with you later on."
Hige nodded and followed after Tsume. "Are you sure about this?" Hige asked Tsume.
"The runt has always had a soft spot for humans," Tsume replied without emotions. It was obvious that Toboe leaving the pack had a huge impact on Tsume. As they walked further and further into the desert, they saw a few soldiers surrounding a plant-like object in the middle of the desert. Immediately noticing them as Jagura soldiers, Tsume and Hige dropped their human facade and ran headfirst into battle.
"Wolves!" he heard one of the soldiers say, but his cry was silenced by Tsume biting his throat open. An armored soldier aimed their spears at Tsume, and emitted a shock blast but Tsume jumped out of the way. Hige was fending off three soldiers on his own, but one of the soldiers threw a javelin at him, and he winced in pain as it sliced past his shoulder.
They were heavily outnumbered.
Suddenly an arrow flew out of nowhere and hit one of the soldiers in the head. He fell to the floor instantly. Hige looked up with surprise to see Ihk on his horse, and his dogs, along with Toboe coming to their rescue.
"Hige! Tsume!" Toboe cried as he ran towards them. As they were reunited, the soldiers started to fall down on their own. The wolves trotted over to where they saw the soldiers inspecting the plant. Then they saw Kiba lying lifeless on the ground. His body looked starved and his white fur was matted with sand, turning it into a beige color.
"Kiba..." Toboe whispered as he stepped forward.
"Get away from the plant!" Ihk commanded. "It emits a poison that paralyzes your body!"
"What do we do?" Toboe cried. "We can't just leave him like this!"
Ihk covered his nose with his arm, rushed in and grabbed Kiba. He put the unconscious wolf on his horse.
"Come, the elder will know what to do." He said as he trotted back towards the tribe's camp.
After they made it back to the camp.
Shiroi was asleep with his head on his paws, he wasn't able to sleep this peacefully for centuries. After he was captured, he spent most of his days writhing in pain and agony. To be able to sleep like this was like heaven to him.
Shiroi's ears perked up when he heard other voices, and it sounded like they were in panic. Barging into the tent where the elder(and Shiroi, since he was sleeping in the elder's tent) was, a fear shaken Toboe came in.
"Please help, it's Kiba. He needs help" explained Toboe.
The elder nodded and said "Bring him in."
As they laid Kiba on the floor, Shiroi awoke from his slumber and shook his fur. He opened his eyes to see the white wolf lying on the floor across the elder and a sudden realization hit him.
That's...that's the wolf I've seen when I was in Paradise! he thought. Then he remembered why he came into the mortal realm in the first place, and it was to help this white wolf and his pack reach Paradise. (A/N: Well hey, 300 years of being tortured in a dungeon has to bring some memory loss, right?) Shiroi walked over to Kiba and inspected him closely. His fur was mangled in dirt and sand, and he was starved to the point where you could see his bones sticking out.
"His spirit is gone from his body" the elder sighed
"Can you bring him back?" asked Toboe worriedly. The elder didn't answer, but instead clapped his hands together and looked at Shiroi. Shiroi nodded back. "I will need your help, friend" he said to Shiroi as he began chanting. The three other wolves saw Shiroi sit on his haunches, and they could tell he was concentrating on something. His blue eyes began to glow and the blue markings on his body glowed as well. The elder's chant escalated, then he stopped and opened his palms. He blew into his palm and Shiroi threw his head back and let out a piercing howl. The other three wolves felt invigorated by his howl and they joined in howling as well. When they stopped, Toboe noticed Kiba's eyes move and he opened one eye tiredly.
"Hey guys..." he whispered. "Long time no see."
"I suppose that you think that was funny" Hige said.
"You scared us half to death! Where have you been?" Toboe asked.
"Somewhere nice...it was almost like Paradise" Kiba replied
"But it wasn't, right?" Tsume confirmed.
"No...they kicked me out " Then he closed his eyes.
"Don't worry, your friend is back" the elder said, then he looked at Shiroi who was panting. Shiroi walked slowly towards the elder, then collapsed with his head in the elder's lap.
"Hikaru? What's the matter with him?" Toboe asked with concern.
The elder frowned. "A strong curse has been placed upon this one. How he was able to summon enough power to help, is beyond question." The elder stroked Shiroi's head. "It has been a long time hasn't it, my friend?" he chuckled.
"How will he get rid of the curse?" Hige asked.
"When the time is right and his strength is back, he will be able to dispel it himself" the elder replied.
"Who is this Hikaru person anyways?" Tsume asked
The elder chuckled. "Hikaru...is only half of his name. His real name is Shiroi Hikaru." (White Light)
"That doesn't answer our question," Tsume said with his head bowed. For once he showed respect to the old man. "We saved him in a keep, and he was badly wounded. When we arrived he was chained to a table with another wolf at his neck."
The elder raised a brow worriedly. "Another wolf?" he asked
"A black wolf, with red eyes. His laugh...his gaze..." Tsume shuddered as he recalled the moment the black wolf left. "It seemed like they knew each other, because before he left he whispered something to Hikaru and licked his ears..."
The elder was suddenly on alert. "Kurai" he whispered with beads of sweat coming down. "But how...these two should have been long gone..."
"Kurai?" Tsume said his name out loud.
The three wolves shook their heads. "The reason why it is rumored that only wolves can make it to Paradise, was because the first animals to open Paradise were wolves." the elder explained.
"Kurai and Shiroi were the two wolves who entered Paradise. I remember it, because I was their companion in another life."
Hige,Tsume and Toboe all gasped. "So Paradise is real after all?" Tsume asked.
"Yes, of course" the elder said. "But why is Shiroi here now? Why return here after everything that has happened?" he asked himself. And why would Kurai do something like this to him? the elder thought.
The elder stopped to think for a moment, before looking at the other wolves. He looked at Kiba, then at Shiroi.
"I think the reason why he's here is because he wants to help you reach Paradise." the elder said with grim expression. His hands laid on Shiroi's head, pondering about the pain and suffering he had to go through until this destined meeting.
A/N: I changed Shiroi's name to Hikaru because Hikaru = light but I didn't know Hikari=life(female name) qq. I decided to make it so Shiroi isn't as useless as seen in the other Chapters, and I want the view on Shiroi to be he's a beyond-average wolf. Please PLEASE read and review. I'll cry if I don't get a review soon ):