Story by Dream Web

Edit by parsonkid1,theMikMik


Hopes

I don't think this is best time to tell the leaders, but they MUST know. Katherine thought to herself as she was heading towards the main den.

Once the den came into view, she saw that a celebration party was going on.

What the hell? A party? For what?She thought as she went off to find Winston and Tony.

"I told you this would work. See how well our packs have bonded?" Winston was saying. Katherine found Winston chatting with Tony at the very edge of the crowd.

"Yeah, you're right. Maybe I worried a little too much." Tony admitted. He was smiling, which made him look a whole lot friendlier than he normally was.

"Winston, Sir. I have something to tell you." Katherine said as she approached them, interrupting their talk. "This of utmost importance." she added.

Winston looked at her with surprise.

"Is anyone hurt?" He asked his healer.

"Well…no."

"Well then, I think it can wait. C'mon, enjoy the party!" Tony said. "We've completely united the packs now. Isn't that worth celebrating?"

"With the birth of Kate's pups, now we will definitely have future pack leaders." Winston agreed.

Oh. So THAT'S why there's a party. This is really gonna mess things up. She thought with regret.

"No, it can't wait. It's about Garth, Kate, Lilly, and ...Humphrey." She said with a very serious tone. "Kate looked like she was about to kill herself because of how bad things really are."

"Humphrey? That lone wolf that recently came back?" Tony asked. "And why is my son involved? He didn't do anything wrong did he?"

"What happened to Kate? I thought she was with Eve." Winston asked with concern.

"Well, she was. She's now at my place." Katherine answered. Then she turned to Tony. "Yes, Humphrey, the lone wolf. And no, Garth didn't do anything wrong. Well, I don't think. But, if he did, he didn't mean to."

Winston and Tony exchanged a glance.

"We can talk inside." Winston said as he turned towards the main den, and walked inside with Tony and Katherine behind him.

"Do I need to call Garth?" Tony asked. He pointed to the middle of the crowd. Garth was there, having the time of his life with his friends.

"No, not now." Katherine said. "It'll just make things ten times more difficult."

And with that, Katherine began recounting the events of the past couple days.

"...and she was screaming his name. It seemed to hurt her more than anything in the world. I think that not only was she enduring extreme physical pain, but I think her heart was also tearing to pieces." Katherine said. Actually, she thought that all of this was her fault. She blamed herself for telling Kate that Humphrey returned before she went into labor.

Winston and Tony were in shock. They couldn't believe their ears. They could hardly believe that Kate and Garth were faking it all this time. They knew that she was speaking the truth, but they still found it difficult to believe.

"...and at the howling rock, Kate screamed at me about Garth and Lilly." Katherine continued. "They were in love as well."

"I should've known! They were howling together the night of the attack. Damn it!" Tony said with irritation.

"And now, I don't know what to do." Katherine said with tears in her eyes. Stupid! I was so stupid! "I am here for help. That's why I came to you guys. I thought that maybe we could talk, and somehow work this out for the good of everyone involved."

Silence.

"We need to do something as soon as possible." Tony said, breaking the silence after about three minutes.

"I agree." Winston nodded, and turned to leave. "I'll go find Eve."

"Oh, and Katherine?"

"Yes, Sir?"

"Later, you will tell us absolutely everything in detail."

"Yes, sir." Katherine said.

There's hope. For all of them. Katherine thought.


"Well, we thought that you wanted to see –"

"Kate?" Humphrey finished briskly.

"Well…yeah." Shakey admitted, speaking for himself and the other two.

They were on their way to 'Rabbit Poo Mountain'. Lilly had jokingly given the mountain that nick-name, but somehow, it stuck.

"I was going to but now…. well, let's just say I'm not anymore." Humphrey looked away. He didn't want to talk about it.

He didn't know whether Kate knew that he was back or not. But he knew that if he went to see her, she would over-react. Even though she still loved him, it was impossible for her to have any good reaction. No matter what, she would eventually end up hurting him, and that was the last thing he wanted.

More pain.

Humphrey's friends couldn't understand why Humphrey was acting this way. So they just looked at him with questioning faces.

"Guys, you don't want to know. It's too long of a story. By the way, why this place is called 'Rabbit Poo Mountain?" he asked.

"Because, this is where rabbits like to poo." a soft, sweet voice answered, coming up from behind a small hill to their left.

Humphrey knew that voice. Lilly walked out, greeting them.

She's changed a lot. Humphrey thought to himself. She was even more beautiful than the last time Humphrey saw her, and now her fur had a tint of silver in it. She was also much taller.

"Lilly, Humphrey wanted to see you." Mooch said to her as he shot Shakey a glance. "I think it's time that we left, we have things to catch up on. Sorry we couldn't join you guys."

"Oh, no problem. Have fun!" Lilly said happily.

"What? Why? I wanna know why Humphrey needed to see Lilly!" Salty complained quietly behind his friends.

"Shut up, you idiot!" Mooch said, and turned to Humphrey. "See you later, dude. Remember, come to see us before… you know…" Mooch quietly whispered to Humphrey so that Lilly couldn't hear, "before you leave…" Mooch said and dragged away an annoyed Salty, with Shakey following close behind.

Before long, they were gone.

"Wow. That was fast." Lilly said.

Humphrey was staring at Lilly's face. Surprisingly, he couldn't find any hint of fake emotions. She's a really good actor. He thought.

"Why are you staring at me?" Lilly asked with a little discomfort.

"Oh. Sorry," Humphrey said, a little embarrassed.

After an awkward silence, Lilly finally spoke up.

"So, what is it that you wanted to talk about?" asked Lilly with a cheery voice.

"Haha, it's good to see you again Lilly. It's been a while, wouldn't you agree?"

"Yeah…it's been two years, right?" Lilly asked.

"Yeah I think so… it's been so long since I left." Humphrey said, half-smiling.

Another pause.

Man I really hate awkward pauses, Humphrey thought to himself.

"So… It seems that we have all learned to wear masks, now haven't we?"

"You could say that… but…" Lilly continued. "I don't wear a mask. Not anymore."

Humphrey closed his eyes in thought. He knew what she meant.

"So… you gave up?" Humphrey asked.

"What are you talking about? You mean, did I give up on love?" Lilly asked.

"Yeah…"

"What kind of question is that?"

"Um... I don't know…"

"No! I would never give up on love, not for the life of me."

"Oh…" Humphrey breathed, a little confused.

"Humphrey, why are you really here?"

"I..." Humphrey didn't know how to answer the question, because really, he didn't know why he came to see Lilly either.

Lilly turned around, and started to walk.

"Come. Maybe I can help you."

Humphrey thought about it for a second, then reluctantly followed her.

They walked to the top of the hill. They also noticed that the moon was already out.

"Wow. Time really does fly by." Humphrey said. It felt like that only an hour had passed since he had lunch with his friends, yet it was already evening.

"Yeah... It seems to, doesn't it?" Lilly agreed.

There was yet another pause as both were in deep thought.

Lilly broke the silence again.

"Humphrey, look at the moon. What do you see?"

"Well...a moon." Humphrey answered. What is she getting at? He thought.

"Yes, a moon." Lilly then looked at Humphrey. "A moon that will never change. Never has, and never will."

Humphrey could see joy and faith in Lilly's eyes.

What the hell? Why is she happy? He thought.

"You're confusing me." Humphrey said.

"Tell me, after you left, did you ever howl at the moon?" Lilly asked.

What does this have to do with anything? Humphrey thought again, dumfounded.

"Well… Yeah! What kind of crazy wolf wouldn't?"

"Then what were you thinking when you howled? What was the reason?" Lilly asked further, making Humphrey really think.

Humphrey raised his head. Man. That's a question…

"Well…I think the reason was Kate. She was the only one I thought about when I howled." Humphrey answered.

And she is also the only one I want ot howl with…

"Yeah! Isn't that more than enough?" Lilly asked, beaming all the more. "Think about it. What was the reason that Kate howled at the moon? When Kate howled at the moon, she was thinking about you! Isn't that enough for love?" Lilly said, turning to Humphrey.

Lilly's words seemed to be like a calm breeze, slowly pushing away the fog from Humphrey's mind. It doesn't make sense… does it?

Seeing that Humphrey hadn't quite understood what she said, she explained further.

"I once was depressed, just like you were. I was trapped, thinking that the whole world was against me. I hated it." Lilly sat down, still talking. "I hated the law, I hated the pack, and hated the world."

"But," she said, emphasizing the word. "One day, I screamed at the moon. I screamed all my thoughts at the moon, as if it could understand and help me. Then, I poured out my soul into a howl. That was the first time I had actually looked at the moon since the day of the wedding." Lilly said, turning her attention back to the moon.

"After I was done, I started to wonder 'Why do us wolves like to howl at the moon? Why?' Then, it hit me."

"What?" Humphrey asked, turning his eyes to Lilly. Lilly noticed that his face was no longer tense with emotion.

"You already know, Humphrey. The moon is always here, and it will never leave. In the same way, memories are always there. In the same way there is—"

"There is always someone thinking about you." Humphrey finished, with realization written all over his face.

Lilly smiled. He finally understands.

"If there is already love, it is etched into our very being. And then, there is no need for hugs and kisses for us to feel love, or to give love."

Humphrey slowly nodded.

"Do you understand?" she asked.

"Only bits and pieces." Humphrey said. "But I believe I will understand everything soon enough."

"Good." Lilly said, but then the smile on her face vanished.

"Lilly, are you ok?" Humphrey asked, a little concerned.

"It's Garth" Lilly said, with tears falling from her eyes. "He just doesn't understand."

Humphrey remembered what Garth had told him the day before.

"He said he was tired." Humphrey recalled aloud. "Garth came to me yesterday. He told me everything."

Lilly wiped her face. She slowly walked to the highest point of the hill, from where you could see all of Jasper Park.

Humphrey continued. "When he told me that he loved you, I could see the pain. I could see the hurt. And, I could see the hopelessness that he felt. But then, all of a sudden, the emotion left, as though he never suffered. He is at war with himself, denying everything he holds dear, hoping that it will heal him. But it never will." Humphrey said sadly.

Lilly started crying again.

"I want to help him…" Lilly said, choking on her tears, "…but…I…can't….he won't let me…he…" Lilly was crying so much, that her tears completely drowned out her voice. Humphrey put his hand on her back, trying to comfort her.

"I think… I can help you." Humphrey said.

"No… you can't. I have asked many wolves to have Garth come and meet up, but he hides from me… it will be no different if you try to help…" Lilly finally said, completely calm now.

She smiled.

"Thanks, Humphrey. But I think it's time you leave. It's getting late."

"Ok…" Humphrey reluctantly sighed.

"I'm still single, remember?" Lilly said with a suggestive tone.

Humphrey's face reddened.

"WHY do you make it sound like something LEWD is going to happen if I stay any longer?! I am NOT a pervert, you know!" Humphrey said, extremely embarrassed as he walked away.


On his way back to his den, Humphrey realized that Lilly still had not completely overcome the pain, although she was extremely peaceful. He wondered how she could do it.

If I were her, I wouldn't have half the emotional strength she has. He thought to himself.


"Gabriel, You can't do this! You will only cause pain and destruction. Don't do it!"

In a den two figures were talking face to face. They both had wings, but one figure was white, the other was a dull gray.

"The higher you want to jump, the more you gotta risk." G said. "You know what I want Michael, and I mean no harm to anybody."

"No! Deep down inside, you know this is wrong. Love is God's power, and no one else can control it! Everything will go wrong if you go through with this!" Michael yelled.

"I don't want to argue with you Michael. But this is what my father told me I must do, and nothing you can say will change my mind." G turned his back to Michael and started to walk away.

"Gabriel, don't do something you'll later regret!" Michael yelled.

"Father told me to wash my wings. How could I possibly regret washing my wings?" G said. "And don't call me Gabriel. You know I'm not worthy of that name any more."

"I..."

"When I asked my father how I could wash my wings, he said only one word, and that was 'love', and love is what I'll get." G turned back.

"This won't work." Michael said. "Your wings are not completely black yet, you still have a chance to turn back!"

"Go away, if you know what's best for you. I have work to do." G said coldly.

After a while, G completely tuned out Michael's voice, and kneeled over a golden-furred wolf in the middle of the den.

He start to draw a circle on her head, and turned around to see that Michael had a sad expression on his face.

"Why, Gabriel? Why?"

"It's just a push…" G tried to explain, but there was a flash, and Michael was gone.

G looked at Kate with hint regret. What AM I doing?

"Don't be sad, you're not doing anything wrong." A cold voice said to him.

"You said that this was the way to get back. But why do I feel so bad?" G asked.

"Be strong, G. It is a sacrifice you must make. If you go through with this, I promise you, you WILL get home. Remember, us angels can't lie." The voice said again.

G suddenly saw another flash in front of him. After that he felt that he had no question that this was the right thing to do.

"I will have the contract. And I'm going to prove Michael wrong. This WILL work."

Then, there was another flash, and G was gone.


Fixed at 2012-11-1 10:54 pm time zone = +8