So, another long chapter so I'm seperating this episode into two chappies again. Enjoy!
Near the Railroad
Hane's ears flicked backwards at the sound of a train. The five wolves had been running alongside the railroad tracks for some time now, behind a large hill so that the passengers couldn't see them.
But now, the ground rose ever so slightly, and they were soon able to see the train. To Hane's relief, no one bothered to look out the window except a small girl with an orange scarf. The she-wolf grinned inwardly as her pale face transformed into a look of confusion and wonder for a split-second as she saw their true forms before she turned to talk to somebody. In the next instant, the ground dipped and they were once again hidden from sight.
"Hey, did you see that girl?" Toboe said from the back of the pack.
"Yeah." Hane replied cheerfully from where she kept pace with Tsume.
Toboe let out a small laugh. "She seemed so... Surprised."
"Well, what do you expect?" Tsume growled. "Wolves don't 'exist' anymore, according to humans. We should be more careful."
"Ah, come off it Tsume!" Hige said. "She probably just thought we were dogs. And even if she did think we were wolves, do you think any adults would believe her?"
Hane laughed. "Hige's right, Tsume. You should really learn how to chill. After all, we've still got a long ways to go, you might as well be friendly."
"We're trying to find Paradise, not become friends." Tsume muttered angrily, but he left it at that.
Eventually, Hige and Toboe started complain that they were tired, and the pack stopped for a rest. Wary of being seen by humans again, they all cast their illusions. They settled down in the snow, Tsume laying on his back and closing his eyes in an uncaring manner while the rest of them just sat.
It eventually stopped snowing, and the sky turned a light blue. Hane let out a satisfied sigh as the sun warmed her skin.
"I had a dream that we reached Paradise." Toboe said suddenly, breaking everyone out of their thoughts. "Oh, it was so amazing! There were all these red and blue flowers as far as the eye could see... And you know what, they were all lunar flowers!"
"Have you ever seen a lunar flower before?" Hige asked disbelievingly, one amber eye watching him lazily.
Toboe seemed to deflate, glancing down at his hands. "Well, no not really..."
"Then how'd you know what lunar flowers look like?" Hane said.
Toboe shrugged indignantly. "I don't know... But Granny was there too! And she took care of us, and cooked for us, and made us all kinds of delicious food!"
Hane glanced at him, her greenish gold eyes curious. "No offense, kiddo, but I'd rather be out in the wild, in a nice forest with lots of food and my-" She stopped talking abruptly.
"Your what?" Toboe prompted, and all of a sudden, all their eyes were on her.
"Er, nothing!" She said suddenly, plastering a grin on her face. "My mouth just... Continued talking randomly, it happens."
Hige grinned. "Sometimes, I think you're the strangest out of all of us."
Hane scoffed. "Yeah, right. Anyways... Why would you want someone to cook for you in Paradise? Cooked meat is so... Tasteless."
"I guess he'll be happy being someone's pet even in Paradise." Tsume said, the contempt evident in his voice.
"It's not what you're thinking!" Toboe insisted. "It was like a party, and we were all treated like guests! And there was great music playing and everything!"
"Sounds like a city coffee shop to me." Hige sighed.
Toboe faltered for a moment. "But it's true, Hige. It was so amazing! It made think this was really Paradise! It's kinda... Hard to describe." He said finally, his gaze lowering.
"Well, with a brain like yours, whaddya expect?" Hige snorted.
Hane raised an eyebrow. "Like you're one to talk. Weren't you the one who said that your ideal Paradise would be filled with food and 'babes'?" She said, using quotation marks for the last word.
Hige looked away. "It's not unreasonable, is it?" He argued.
The she-wolf sighed. "Men. You're all the same."
"Give him a break." Toboe said. "Not even Kiba's told us what Paradise is like, so how are we supposed to know?!"
Kiba didn't say anything, but to Hane's disbelief, there was a small smile on his face.
"What color are lunar flowers anyway?" Toboe pleaded, gazing at him with innocent brown eyes. "Can you tell me that?"
Kiba just smiled again and shrugged his shoulders. Toboe sighed, but didn't say anything else on the matter. Eventually, the white wolf got up, and the others, seeing it was time to keep moving, followed suit.
Hane ran behind Kiba this time, followed by Tsume, Hige and Toboe. Soon enough, the sky turned a dark gray again, and small flakes began to fall.
"Ah, well. Guess it was too good to last." Hane sighed aloud.
"What?" Tsume asked.
She pointed upwards. "The weather."
His golden eyes flicked upwards, observing the cloudy sky for a moment then came back to rest on her face. "What are you hiding?"
Hane nearly halted mid-stride. "W-What?"
He glared at her. "The others may not have said anything, but you keep tripping up when you talk about Paradise. We don't know anything about you either. So, what are you hiding?"
"Nothing." Liar. And anyway, it's not as if we know anything about you, either! Or Hige, or Kiba!" Hane said, trying to keep her voice down.
Tsume let out a growl. "But you seem the most suspicious out of all of us."
Hane let out a sharp disbelieving laugh, drawing the attention of the others.
"Something wrong?" Kiba said, glancing backwards for a moment.
"It's nothing." Hane said airily.
Kiba stared at her for a moment longer before returning his gaze to the horizon.
"You know nothing of my life." Hane hissed under her breath. "Or what I've been through. You have no idea of what it's like, to lose..." She faltered, unable to continue. "So keep your arrogant nose out of my affairs, because I haven't tried messing around with yours." She snapped finally before catching up with Kiba.
Kiba glanced at her as she caught up, just a few strides behind him, and by his look she could tell he had heard. She looked down at the ground, counting the number of steps she took as she tried to stop her eyes burning from fury and grief.
One, two, three, four - What the heck's his deal? There are five of us, and it's only Toboe who's explained what happened with his past- Seven, eight, nine - He wouldn't understand. None of them would.- Thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen- That's why I can't tell them. They wouldn't understand.
A few hours later
Soon, the five wolves were walking, and going against the wind as they made their way up the hill. The wind was stronger now, slapping small, stinging snowflakes into their faces.
As Hane crested the hill, followed by Tsume and Hige, her eyes widened in disbelief. Beneath them was the sea, gray and choppy, and the only signs of human civilization were the railroad tracks that led onto it for what seemed like forever, disappearing behind the fog.
Toboe, who had been lagging behind, finally caught up. "What is it?" He gasped.
"The ocean." Kiba replied, staring at the tracks that led beyond the horizon.
"I've never seen a body of water this big." Hane remarked coolly.
Kiba leapt down the cliff first, leaving paw prints on the snowy ledges as he descended. Hige went next, then Tsume, Hane and finally Toboe. None of them had much trouble, except at one point when Tsume went to fast.
He suddenly slipped on an unseen patch of ice, and his feet shot out from underneath him. But before he could fall and smash his body on the sharp rocks far, far below, Hane lunged forward and grabbed him by the back of his jacket.
She jerked him backwards, and the momentum made him crash into her, until she slammed into the stone wall behind her. Sandwiched between Tsume's back and the cliff, she let out a low growl before wriggling her way out.
Tsume looked surprised, maybe even a little shocked, but Hane didn't say anything, instead just glaring at him for a moment before leaping down to join the others. Tsume landed on the tracks soon after.
"Are you okay?" Toboe asked worriedly.
"I'm fine." Hane said tightly. "But twinkle-toes here might want to watch where he's going."
She heard Tsume let out an indignant noise, and only raised her head up higher. Hige smirked. "Didn't think you'd need the help of a girl to keep from falling, Tsume!" He said cheerfully.
Tsume scoffed. "I was doing fine."
"Sure you were." Hane said dryly before walking past him.
Toboe fell into step beside her. "Are you okay?" The pup asked. "You seem kind of... Tense."
Hane waved him off. "I'm fine, kiddo. But thanks for asking."
There was silence after that, the snow-filled air thick with tension. But as they strolled along the railroad tracks, something changed. It was faint at first, easily passed up as a figment of her imagination. But Hane took a deep whiff, and the scent pretty much smacked her in the face. Lunar flowers...
Out of the mist rose a city; a small speck in the distance, but Hane, with her keen eyesight, could already see it. Kiba stopped abruptly, causing the other wolves to come a halt as well.
"The scent is faint," Kiba said, staring ahead. "But it's lunar flowers all right."
"Guys, this is it!" Toboe said excitedly. "Paradise is right up ahead, I know it!"
He started running, reddish-brown hair whipping around in the howling wind. Hane raced after him, her own braid twisting all over the place. The sound of footsteps behind her told the she-wolf that the others were running as well.
Despite her initial suspicion, Hane felt a sudden surge of happiness and excitement well up in her as she followed Toboe, each step sending jolts of adrenalin through her body. We're almost there, we're almost there! The words became a chant in her head that mirrored the beat of her strides.
But as they got closer, the smell of flowers began to be overpowered by the stench of garbage and filth. Hane wrinkled her nose, but didn't say anything. The scent of lunar blossoms had definitely come from the city.
The pack slowed down as they neared the city. "I'm guessing that trying to enter through the station would be a bad idea?" Hane said, glancing over at Kiba.
He nodded. "Yeah. Let's get off here."
He leapt off the side of the bridge, landing with a small thump on someone's roof top. He waved them down silently, and Hige jumped as well. Toboe went next, stumbling a little as he landed but was otherwise unharmed.
Hane glanced at Tsume for a split-second, and his golden eyes stared at hers. Ignoring the uncomfortable feeling in her chest, she jumped off the bridge. She landed softly, swiftly followed by Tsume.
"Down there seems like a good place to start." Hige said in hushed tones, jerking his head towards a fence down below.
Kiba tilted his head in assent and jumped off the side of the building. He landed lightly, followed by Hige. The beige wolf sniffed the air. "You smelled flowers, huh?" He said, opening his eyes. "Well, all I smell is the stench of some old, rancid oil."
Hane leapt down beside him. "But I smelled it too." She said. "When we were farther away from the city. Maybe the stink of this place is blocking the scent out."
Hige shrugged. "Maybe."
Toboe and Tsume jumped down simultaneously, the pup slipping and falling. Hane suppressed a chuckle. "Need a hand?" She said, pulling him up.
"Thanks, Hane." Toboe mumbled.
Noticing that Tsume was already walking away, the others followed. It wasn't long before he started handing out derogatory comments again. "Man, what a crappy city." He said in the same cool tone he used with everyone.
Glancing around, Hane saw people close their windows and pull the curtains over them. In an alleyway, some men ducked behind a wall, their clothes filthy and their faces wary. A sudden uneasiness began to fill her.
"Do you think they're all afraid of is?" Toboe asked, his brow creased with worry.
Hane felt a pang of sympathy for the pup. Growing up around humans, it must have been difficult for him to see such a negative response from an entire town.
"Maybe..." Hane said, shrugging her shoulders. "In any case, it's obvious that they don't get visitors often."
"What the hell are we supposed to find here anyway?" Tsume growled from the front. "This is some Paradise."
"We're obviously not there yet." Hane said, trying to keep the exasperation from her voice. "It wasn't even been a month since we've left Freeze City. If it was so easy to find, the humans would know about it."
Tsume glared at her, and she felt the familiar sinking feeling. Why doesn't he trust me? She thought, slightly surprised to see how much it actually hurt her. "But the flower scent led us here, right? Well then, why can't we scent it anymore?"
"Like I said earlier," Hane said, her voice edgy. "It's probably because this city stinks so much. We'll find it, eventually."
The gray wolf let out a derisive snort, and Hane resisted the urge to snarl at him. Instead, she gritted her teeth and looked ahead, trying to seem as invested as possible in the stained walls of the building. The sun had almost set when they found some company.
A bunch of men were seated around a garbage can that was aflame, warming themselves. But when Toboe gasped, and Hane narrowed her eyes, she saw the wolves underneath their human forms.
"It's a woman." Hige said in astonishment, and following his gaze, Hane spotted a purple-haired beauty with dark gold eyes amongst the males.
"Yeah, so?" She said derisively. "It's not as if you've ever seen a female wolf before."
"Yeah, but... You're you!" Hige muttered.
Hane shot him a look. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" She hissed.
But at that moment, one of the men stood up. Turning around to face them, Hane spotted the large scar he sported down one cheek and the tired, but fierce amber eyes. He was wearing a coat that was rather colorful compared to his companions; big with large horizontal bands of black and red.
Feeling Kiba stiffen beside her, Hane glanced at him. He was glaring openly at the wolf, his hostility evident. It must be an alpha thing. She thought.
"Where are you boys from?" The man asked, his voice deep. On second glance, he seemed to spot Hane. "And girl."
"A city to the north." Kiba said, deliberately keeping his answer vague.
"Why're you here?" The male said, filling his voice with fake curiosity.
"Just passin' through." It was Tsume who answered this time. "You don't expect us to do business here, in a dump like this?" Hane noticed that he was glaring as well.
Men. She thought with a sigh, echoing her comment hours ago.
"Well then, where are you going?" The wolf asked harshly.
"Where are we going?" Hige echoed, obviously baffled by his aggression.
Hane felt herself bristle with indignation. What is this? She thought furiously. An interrogation of some kind?
Someone's hand landed on her shoulder, and she glanced away in surprise to see that it was Tsume. His golden eyes warned her not to say anything, and she tried to relax, while ever-so-discreetly shrugging off his hand.
Unfortunately, Toboe didn't get the memo. "To Paradise!" He said, fixing the alpha of the opposing pack with his indignant stare.
The other wolves all started in unison, even the woman. Then the leader started chuckle, then laugh outright. The rest of his pack followed suit, cackling like maniacs as if what Toboe said was the funniest thing in the world.
"Kiba, why are they laughing?" Toboe asked in confusion.
"Because they obviously don't know anything about Paradise." His voice was cool, calm and collected; the same as always. But underneath it was angry contempt and Hane suddenly worried he would try to attack the other pack.
They stopped laughing abruptly. "We know all about it." The alpha growled in his deep, deep voice.
Hige and Toboe started in surprise, but Hane just narrowed her green-gold eyes. What is he playing at?
There was silence for a few heartbeats, and Hane felt Kiba stiffen even more. "It's nothing but a stupid legend." One of the others said finally, the first besides his alpha to speak. He was short and stocky, with purplish hair, beady eyes and an orange cap. Hane instantly disliked him.
"Legend?" Toboe said, his voice quavering ever-so-slightly.
"That's right kid, there's no such thing as Paradise." The guy said, smirking.
"What makes you say that?" Kiba said, the barely disguised undercurrent of contempt in his voice.
The beady-eyed man stared at him, still smirking. "Maybe because we've been there. We've all seen it."
Hige and Toboe let out identical noises of surprise, and even Hane and Kiba's eyes widened in disbelief.
"And I'm telling ya, it wasn't Paradise." The man continued, obviously enjoying the effect he was having on them. "That place was more like Hell."
"You would certainly know." Hane said wryly, unable to keep silent any longer.
The man's lips curled in a snarl. "What'd you say?!"
Hane shrugged innocently. "Nothing, nothing at all."
"You'll all find out soon enough." The alpha said, his voice somber. "You'll see that Paradise isn't worth looking for. Now why don't you all just get lost. You do have somewhere where you belong, don't you?"
"Unless your friend there wants to stay." One of the wolves said, leering at Hane. "We'd very much enjoy her company."
"Hey, back off!" Hige shot at them.
Only the alpha and the female said nothing as the others burst into laughter and catcalls. Hane started burning with indignation and rage, barely noticing it when Tsume walked away, and Hige pulled her along. Kiba stood stock still, his eyes also narrowed with fury.
"Kiba? Kiba, let's go." Toboe pleaded, tugging on his arm. "I don't wanna hang around here."
The white wolf allowed himself to be pulled along, and none of them looked back as they left. Except, Hane spotted Hige turn for a second, and glance out of the corner of his eye at the sad woman, the one who never said anything.
Some time later...
Hane was still trembling with rage, even after they had left that pack of wolves far behind. Taking a deep breath, she tried to calm herself.
"Well, you certainly took that badly." Tsume remarked coldly.
She bared her teeth in a grim smile. "Oh, trust me. If I had taken that badly, those idiots would be bleeding on the floor."
Toboe looked up at her, his face anxious. "You wouldn't really, do that, would you?"
You'd be surprised how offended I get when a male tries to tell me to 'hang around'. She thought inwardly, but only sighed and ruffled his hair.
"What a damn joke." Tsume snarled suddenly. "A bunch of down and out losers just gave me the brush off."
"Yeah, right, you're not exactly one to talk, y'know." Hige said.
"What d'you say?!" Tsume snapped, turning around to face him.
Hige put his hands up to ward off attack, a sheepish look on his face. "It's just," He said quickly. "In a couple of years, we could be just like those guys!"
"Like hell." Hane said indifferently. "We'd never sink to their level. Even Tsume wouldn't want to that pathetic."
Tsume turned again, looking as if he was ready to murder her, but Toboe's quiet voice interrupted their glaring contest. "This city is scary." He said, his voice soft. "It doesn't feel right. There may be a lot of wolves that live around here, but this place is really cold."
Hane sighed. "If any city feels right for a wolf, then the world should come to an end. We live in the wild, remember? And anyways, like you said, it's always either too cold or too hot in this world."
"Well maybe they're right." Tsume countered. "The sooner we get out of here, the better off we'll be."
"And where do you think we should go, exactly." The others turned in surprise to see that it was Kiba had spoken. Ever since they had left the pack behind, the white wolf had been completely silent. "There has to be something here. Look how many wolves are in this city. I think we should stay and find out."
Hane let out yet another sigh. "Fine, fine. Whatever. But if we don't find anything, we leave this crummy place, m'kay?"
Toboe and Hige shrugged their agreement as well, but Tsume just turned and kept walking. The others hesitated, looking to Kiba for permission, but Hane just strolled along. She turned her face up to the sky, watching as the orange faded into blue.
The pack kept wandering about, seemingly aimless until Toboe finally decided that they should sit down. "Can we stop, please?" The pup pleaded.
The rest of them stopped and turned towards him. Hane raised an eyebrow. "What, you tired already?"
Toboe shot her an irritated look. "Maybe..."
"Alright then, let's stop for a moment, guys!" She said cheerfully before plopping down on the cement, her legs dangling over the edge.
Toboe settled down with a sigh on her left. Hige did the same, although his action was more a collapse. On the farthest end, Kiba sat with considerably more grace, and leaned back on one hand so he could look at the sky.
Tsume stood impatiently for a few moments, obviously waiting for them to stand so they could get moving again. But eventually, he saw that they weren't going to budge, and let out a small growl of irritation.
Then, much to Hane's surprise, he sat down on her right, but she guessed that was because he was more irritated with Kiba than her at the moment. She cast him a cautious glance out of the corner of her eye, but he was staring fixedly at the gray ocean crashing against the rocks below.
"You'll want to be careful, or people might think you trust me." She said lightly, but underneath it was the faintest hint of resentment. Tsume shot her an angry look, while Hige and Toboe peered at her curiously.
"What?" Toboe said, confused.
"Noooothing!" Hane trilled. "Just saying that I don't think those guys trust us."
Hige and Toboe paused for a moment, obviously trying to process what they had heard her say earlier, and what she as saying now. Deciding that they must have misheard, Hige shrugged his shoulders, and scoffed. "You don't say. They told us to get out of here as soon as we could."
"Well, they're definitely gonna be disappointed." Hane said, a smirk on her face.
None of them said anything more for a quite a while, watching silently as the sun finally disappeared behind the horizon, and the moon appeared in the sky. Lifting her face upwards, Hane let it bathe her skin with its soothing glow. She could even ignore Tsume, who she could sense was as taut as a whipcord next to her.
Then, out of the blue, a large growling sound filled the air. But not the aggressive kind. Hane opened one green-gold eye lazily and glanced at Hige.
"Who was that?" The beige wolf said indifferently. When Toboe and Kiba both gave him slightly irritated looks, he laughed. "Oh, hehe, it's me."
Another long, low growl of hunger filled the air, and the pack all looked with identical looks of surprise at Tsume. At his annoyed expression, Hane grinned, and Hige let out another chuckle. "But it was Tsume that time!"
He let out an irritated snort and turned his gaze away, which just made Hane laugh. As Tsume shot her a golden-eyed glare, Hige looked upwards at the sky. "How do those guys live here with nothing to eat?" He complained. "Standin' around a bunch of old trash all day doing nothing!"
Hane's smile faded slightly as she realized that she was starving as well. "They have to get food from somewhere..."
"I can't walk another step." Toboe said suddenly.
Hane gave him a questioning look. "We've been resting for quite a while..."
"But we haven't exactly been sleeping," Hige argued. "And the hunger's just making us more exhausted. I say we find a place to sleep."
Hane shrugged. "Whatever." She said, just as Tsume got up and started walking away. Taking that as her cue, she stood up stiffly as well, her muscles creaking in protest and set off after him.
"Where the hell are you guys going?" Hige said.
"To look for a place to sleep." Hane responded, shooting him a grin over her shoulder. "You coming?"
Kiba stood too, and shoved his hands into his pockets as he started walking. Toboe got up as well, jogging slightly so he could catch up with her.
"Aw, wait up!" Hige complained before leaping to his feet and running after them.
Review, please!