Chapter Six: Wicked Wolves

A dusty path lead the way to the little village. Anya felt nostalgic. This little village that was far ahead, but that her and Inuyasha's sharp eyes could see, was very similar to the one she'd lived in as a child. She glanced back at the small group of vagabonds that accompanied her. There was the miko, Kagome, the monk, Miroku, who Anya wasn't exactly fond of. On Kagome's shoulder sat Shippo, the kitsune child who Anya spoiled. Sango, the demon slayer, walked next to Kagome with the fire-cat youkai, Kirara, on her shoulder. In front of Anya walked her half-brother, Inuyasha, who had to lead the group because of some 'male-dominance' thing.

At least everyone liked her. The only time anyone liked her was when she was actually trying to get sympathy. But now she had friends who liked her for who she was, no matter what. She felt that she finally fit in. Living her whole life as a detested creature by both humans and demons hadn't exactly helped the hanyou.

Inuyasha glanced back at the others, "Hey! Speed up, ya' slowpokes!" He called. Anya rolled her eyes, then stopped and adopted a taunting grin, with a pose to match, hand on her hip, eyebrow raised. It irritated the dog hanyou so much his eyebrow was visibly twitching. She leaned forward, then pushed off the ground at a breakneck pace, just enough to catch up with Inuyasha. Then she sped past him, and he smirked, accepting her challenge and racing after.

Both were far ahead of the others now, but Anya skid to a stop just in front of the village gate, dubbed the finish line. "Inuyasha, do you smell it too?" She asked, noticing he'd also stopped, just behind her. He nodded. The scent of blood and death seeped ominously from inside the village.

The two waited, catching their breath, as the rest of the group caught up with them. Anya switched from her usual braid to let her hair down, unraveling the ribbon tied at the end. Her hair was wavy now after being in a braid for so long. It was even longer than Inuyasha's hair.

Anya frowned. Intermingled with the death and blood was the scent of wolves. She knew wolves well enough. They wouldn't attack without being provoked, and even if they were desperate, they wouldn't attack a whole village. It amazed her that they'd killed everyone too.

The group made its way carefully into the village, all the while; Anya and Inuyasha were sniffing to make sure the coast was clear. It worried her that the wolf-scent was so fresh. As they got deeper into the village, bodies were visible, peppering the ground. Each body had a bite, or an assortment of bites, that Anya recognized as the teeth marks of a wolf. Paw prints decorated the ground, Anya froze and stared at them as Inuyasha kneeled down. "A wolf pack?" Inuyasha said curiously, "Must've attacked everyone here." He muttered, looking around at the evidence.

Suddenly, both hanyou's ears pricked as low growling emanated from in between two houses. Anya's hand slipped to the hilt of her sword, ready to draw it if needed. She barely had time to react as the murderous animals launched from their hiding places. Anya stumbled and fell back as the full weight of a wolf landed on her, accompanied by the snarling animal. There was no sign of froth on its mouth, so they couldn't have disease. The wolf was dead a moment after it landed on her, skewered through the heart by her sword. She pushed the animal off and rolled to settle in a low crouch. She slashed her claws and even got her teeth on the wolves if they got near her.

It pained Anya's heart to kill so many of these wolves, but it had to be done. She launched one at a building with her legs, then sprang to her feet in one fluid motion. The fire-wolf hanyou glanced over at Inuyasha, who had taken down almost all the remaining wolves with a few swipes from his claws. The few survivors trotted up to a small hill and tipped their heads back, howling. Anya looked angry, understanding the meaning of the howl. Another, shorter howl met her ears, echoing through the tree-laden hills. Anya's nose wrinkled in a snarl, "Cowards!" She yelled at the wolves.

Before the others could ask what she meant, something that appeared to be a ribbony tornado appeared from between the houses, then stopped, and from it leaped a rather feral looking man. He wore only a fur skirt and light armor on his chest. Furry legwarmers covered his shins and ankles, and a fluffy, brown tail hung from his backside.

Anya slid her sword into its sheath, glaring icily at the wolf youkai, as his scent told her. "Hey you! What's the idea, killing all these people?" He snarled angrily. The wild-man glanced at Inuyasha, "What's it to you, dog?" He asked. The dog hanyou looked irritated by the comment, "Are you calling me a mutt?" He yelled. Anya remained frozen in place.

The two went at each other due to Inuyasha being provoked by the wolf youkai's response of, "Yeah I am! Your stench is terrible! It makes me sick to my stomach!"

Kagome stepped forward, "Inuyasha! He's got sacred jewel fragments in his right arm and both legs!" She called. "And you're telling me this now?" The dog hanyou snarled angrily. The wolf demon was fast, too fast for Inuyasha. Anya was faster than her brother though, she could more easily catch up with the wolf youkai. He was heading in her direction now too, keeping away from Inuyasha. Anya raced forward to meet him, snarling with her fangs showing.

The wolf youkai only scoffed, "Hah! Now you send women at me? Pitiful!" He said. This made Anya even more angry, and all her rage supplied the one move, "Burning tongue!" She cried, then exhaled a torrent of flame, causing him to skid to a stop. "Dirty hanyou, you are a disgrace to your kind!" He spat. Anya started forward to lay a beat down on him, but she felt dizzy. This never happened when she used her fire power…Not unless she was injured and had lost a lot of blood. Her hand moved up to her head, then her eyes rolled back and she fell…

"Anya!" Kagome cried, not noticing the wolf youkai as he ran with his remaining wolves. Unconsciousness had engulfed the fire-wolf youkai, a stifling darkness, but it was peaceful. Sounds from the outside world still seeped into her mind though. She heard the miko call her name, then she'd felt someone pick her up. "Her wound must have reopened…And she's pretty bitten up. She must be exhausted." She heard Sango's voice say.

And then there was silence…

Anya lay on a bed mat, covered by her black jacket. She'd been taken care of, disinfected with Kagome's weird smelling stuff, then bandaged up. Inuyasha had taken watch on the roof of the building Anya was in, and she'd woken up only moments ago.

The fire-wolf hanyou sat up quickly, winced, then settled back down. The purple shirt she wore underneath her jacket was stained with blood, although it was dry. She tried to get up quickly, a little to fast. She winced, then settled back down. Her wolfy ears pricked as something stirred on the roof, then thumped to the ground heavily.

Inuyasha came in, holding Anya's sheathed sword. He sat down at her side and placed the sword next to her. "Thanks" She murmured, touching the sword. Inuyasha's ear flicked in response, a "Your Welcome." In his wordless language. Anya sighed, then rolled so she was facing away from him, despite the fact that she was on her injured side.

"Stupid feral" She muttered. "I officially HATE any wolf demon who's not associated with an element." She growled, causing Inuyasha to snicker a little bit. "Although…" She said, rolling back over to face him, "You do kinda smell bad." She said, meaning it as a joke, but the dog hanyou took it personally. "Not you too! Do I really smell THAT bad?" He asked, sniffing his hair. "I think I smell fine." He growled dejectedly.

Anya chuckled a little bit. Her silvery white and black hair was splayed out on the bed mat as she looked up at him. She picked up her sword and unsheathed it, revealing the dark steel of the blade. "It's not really a fancy magic sword like yours, but it does the job." She said, then re-sheathed the sword. She sat up carefully, then pulled her hair back and tied it off with the black ribbon that she'd tied on her wrist earlier. Inuyasha watched the whole time.

"Let's go." She said, sliding her jacket back on. "We've gotta get those jewel fragments, right?" She asked, standing. Both of them headed out of the building where they'd all slept the night. It was later in the morning now, so everyone was up and about. Kagome sat, stoking a fire, and looked up as they came out.

Anya walked forward, towards Kagome's yellow backpack, then dug through it, following her nose. She pulled out a roll of bandages, then wrapped them around both hands. She flexed her claws to make sure it was comfortable. It would be a good idea to protect her hands, since they'd be entering rocky terrain soon. "All right, ready to go." She said. Looking at Kagome, who had just finished packing all their things.

Kagome and Sango had loaded Kirara up with a few particularly heavy things, and Kagome and Shippo rode on the miko's bicycle. Inuyasha and Anya ran ahead, along a rocky mountain path, sniffing out the way. They followed the wolf youkai's scent, not that it was hard. Anya had called three of her white wolves to accompany them, just in case.

Anya stopped to more carefully scent the air, preferring not to get on her hands and knees like Inuyasha did. She heard Kagome and Shippo commenting on his manner of scenting. He stood, "Are you calling me a mutt too?" He yelled angrily. The two didn't answer. "Hey Inuyasha! Anya! Do you sense anything with your nose and ears?" Miroku called. Inuyasha stomped forward angrily, muttering about being called a mutt. Anya reached out a hand as he passed and grabbed him by the ear. "Ow ow ow!" Inuyasha hissed. "Shut UP already! Will ya?" She snarled, then let go.

"Yeah, there's another demon scent here! Be careful!" She called up to Miroku. Almost immediately after she'd spoken, a loud rumbling sound came from the mountainside above them. Anya looked up to see a wolf pack sliding down the rocky slope. She growled, ears laying flat, and the small company of wolves with her did the same. It would have been comical in different circumstances. One of the mountain wolves launched itself off the rocky side and straight for her throat.

Now Anya was on the defensive. As the wolf landed on her, she let her legs give out, then dropped and rolled with the furry animal, tossing him over the edge of the cliff, then ended her roll in a perfectly balanced crouch. These wolves didn't fight often. She could tell they were used to getting their way without any hesitation, with weaker opponents.

The fire-wolf hanyou glanced back as three mountain wolves attacked Inuyasha, clamping down on his arm and legs and pulling him over the cliff side. She snorted but didn't go after him. He could take care of himself, and she had her own problems.

Anya whipped around as she heard Kagome scream. The wolf youkai from earlier had slung the helpless miko over his shoulder and run. Anya growled and was about to go after him, when two wolves grabbed her arm and leg, sending her over the edge too. She caught the cliff's edge with her free arm and hung on tight, grateful that she'd thought to put the bandages on her hands.

Anya proceeded to shake the two wolves off, causing them to fall into the water below. She pulled herself up, wincing, and got back onto the mountain path. Her leg was fine, barely and teeth marks visible, but her arm was a bit worse for wear, bleeding heavily. She examined it, looking at the tooth marks that streaked down the flesh. She swore under her breath, it was her sword arm too.

"We've gotta go get Inuyasha." Anya called to Miroku and Sango. "He fell over the cliff." She added. "Shippo is gone!" Sango yelled. "He probably tagged along with the wolf and Kagome." She said as they walked closer. Miroku and Sango mounted Kirara, who then leaped into the ravine, flying down. Anya hopped from ledge to ledge, glad that she hadn't injured her legs badly. She landed on the bottom, then walked the length of the river.

Anya spotted something latched on to a rock. "There!" She called, pointing. Kirara landed and Miroku got off. He walked to the edge, then held out his staff. "Inuyasha!" He called. The cold and soggy dog hanyou grabbed it and Miroku pulled him to dry ground. Anya washed the blood off herself, then straightened, "Let's go get Kagome." She said.