Chapter VIII
"Hey, wait, your staying there?" Arashi asked, sounding surprised.
"Yeah? Why?" Keira replied, looking up at him in confusion.
"Because I live there." He said, not really sure what emotion to feel. He was going to invite Keira's pack to his den anyway, but it seemed they had invited themselves!
"You do? Oh my gosh, this is hilarious! Ha ha." Keira couldn't help but laugh at the irony.
Arashi started to laugh as well.
"Hey guys!" Keira called, approaching the shelter. Every one else had returned. But Tory.
"Whose this?" Corii asked, looking at the Wolf beside her.
"Guys this is Arashi. Arashi these are my Clan mates." Keira said, making hasty introductions.
"Arashi?" a timid voice asked, and everyone looked to the doorway of the small ware house to see Lana. Her eyes were glassy and her skin had gone pale.
"Lana?"
"Arashi!"
"Lana!" The two Wolves ran over to each other and embraced happily.
"You know him?" Keira asked, looking at the pair.
"Yes – sniff – Yes, he's my brother!" Lana was ecstatic.
"Oh Gawd Lana I missed you! Where did you go after we were attacked?"
"I couldn't find you! I looked in every city, and every village! Oh Shi, I missed you!" Lana cried into his shoulder.
"Sh, shh, I'm here now. Its okay." Arashi spoke soothingly, comforting her.
"Come on, lets go inside." He said, leading her in.
"I think its best to leave them for awhile. We will stay out here." Corii said, a small smile on her lips.
"Where's Tory?" Hige asked, looking around.
"She's not here?" Keira said, alarmed. "Crap."
"What?"
"I thought she came back here!" Keira was frantic.
"Calm down, now, where did you last see her?"
"We were walking, and Tory was thirsty, so she stopped to get a drink, and I went a head because I smelt some food. I met Arashi and then when I walked out, she was gone. I thought she came back here." Keira sobbed, realizing what a bad friend she had been.
"Keira, we need you to calm down and show use where you last saw Tory." Corii said gently, half hugging her from the side.
"O-okay." She sniffled, starting back the way she and Arashi had just come.
"It was here where I last saw her." Keira pointed to the well.
"Hige, can you smell anything?" Corii asked, deciding to use Hige's overly sensitive nose.
"She was here, then she went over- mmm what's that smell? Its delicious." Hige then walked over to a back ally.
"Food!" He exclaimed, and everyone hurried over.
"Don't touch it!" Someone exclaimed, and Nicole hurried forwards. She picked up the meat and sniffed it.
"Rhitzome." She spat, throwing the meat back onto the ground. "Just what I thought. It's a common herb used as a sleep stimulator. Its smell is especially attractive to Wolves." At this she looked at Hige. As an after thought, she picked up another hunk of meat. She walked over a small clump of grass growing out between the ally wall and the paved ground. Making sure everyone could see, she squeezed the meat with all her might. A few drops of black liquid squeezed from the meat and dropped on the blades. Within a matter of moments, the smell of burning filled the air as the fluid ate through the grass.
"It liquid form, it is highly dangerous. Even deadly if it is taken in high quantities. But luckily, there were only a few drops per hunk of meat. Depending on how much Tory ate; she should only be out for a few hours. Hige, how long ago was she here?"
"An hour- an hour and a half, more or less."
"Good. Hige can you still track them?"
Grim determination crept into his features and he growled "Yes." Before bounding off, in his true form, after the scent.
"Go, I'll go get Lana and Arashi." Sam said.
"Me too." Toboe call out, and, in Wolf form, bounded off back to the warehouse.
