I…. Am… Back! This story is written to the song Bellissimo Cosi. A very pretty Italian song I said I would be back and I plan to write a lot starting now. I was on a sort of low point with so much going on and with family and church issues. One of our deacons has cancer in several parts in his body, and it's pretty severe. Even if you aren't a believer, please pray for him, or find someone who is. He is a very good man and I hope he gets better.

Chapter 10: Explanations

Axel's p.o.v

Crashing through the woods, running with what felt like the wind under his feet, Axel couldn't help but feel alive. The sounds of paws thundering against the ground and the flora seemed to chase away the darkness in his heart, and for a moment he could feel the same light he had before his transformation.

Not everyone could enjoy the feeling of running with the Wolves, though. Yuffie still was unbalanced due to the wound caused by the Rouge's attack and Axel swore he could smell the cloy scent of infection. He felt bad for Xaldin as he carried her, since his connection to air made his nose more sensitive.

The Wolves took a sudden right, before disappearing into thick underbrush. Axel let out a small sigh before continuing to run. It had been close to almost an hour now, and he felt the malnourishment taking over despite the thrill of dashing through the woodlands. The moment they camped, his clan would need to hunt, far away from the humans.

The bushes clung to him, but above the thick growth he could see the tips of the mountains to the West. Soon it cleared to a barely grassy Cliffside overlooking a steep waterfall. The water had an almost greyish tint to it from the spray emitted from the bottom thirty feet down. The river itself was at least a seventy foot distance. Coming closer to the cliff's edge, he could see numerous amounts of stone pillars dotting across the water, sculpted from years of water and wind.

One of the Wolves, the large brown male, came up to them before shifting into a tall man. It was a strange transformation, and he could see that the Hunters were confused. He knew some humans believed that they simply shed or grew fur, but that wasn't the case. It was like he was suddenly replaced with his other form; like it melted on and off him in a sudden blur of the sight.

The man turned his head to the water before looking back at them. As he began to speak, Axel couldn't help but catch the contempt and hatred in his eyes. Why would someone with so much hate towards something help it?

"-show them how."

Axel realized he had missed the entire discussion, but soon he caught on to what his mind had blocked out. The female blonde padded towards the Cliffside, her eyes focused directly in front of her. Her muscles seemed to tense before she gave a strong leap towards the first pillar.

She landed gracefully on the top, her back paws overlapping the surface and her front appendages as she yet again pushed off towards the other rock formation. She repeated this until all four paws where safely on the other side. The large Wolf-man gave a nod to them,

"It is your turn. We will follow after you."

The others stared at him as if he was an idiot, no one wanting to cross something that looked so dangerous. The water pounded over and below them, and one wrong step could send them crashing to the rocks below. What felt like hours, but truly only a minute, passed before Axel gave a sigh and walked up to the rocky edge. He turned to the Wolf-man,

"So, just jump frequently and don't look down? Sounds easy enough."

With that said, Axel took a leap of faith, land a bit messily on the first pillar. In retrospect, he realized how stupid this was, but this revelation hit him only when he was already half-way across. He swore he heard Larxene using her poison laced tongue, and Marluxia laughing alongside with Vexen. He simply gritted his teeth, aiming towards the next foot hold.

After a few near misses, he landed on the other side. He gave the blonde Wolf a huge grin before waving at the others on the opposite cliff. He watched in amusement as the others began to cross, though some like Xigbar and Xaldin cheated; using their abilities. It was quite obvious in his eyes that the Vampyres were having better luck.

With utter boredom, he turned towards the only other occupant on the side of the river he was on. He noticed with faint surprise that she wasn't completely blonde as he had thought. Her muzzle was a creamy white that barely streaked through her chest fur. Her blue eyes where underlined by grey smudges along with her spine and the top of her tail. Looking at the other blonde Wolf, he saw that he too had the grey smudges. The only thing he lacked was the white patch on his bottom jaw along with the lower chin and throat.

He looked back to see the she Wolf watching him, her eyes narrowed. With a sigh, he rubbed his neck before smiling at her. Her ears went back a bit as her back right paw readjusted itself. For a moment, he wondered how he would talk to her. In that form she couldn't answer back, and he highly doubted she would phase for him. As he pondered, a sudden thought hit his mind, causing his eyes to brighten and look up.

"I got it! How we can talk, I mean." He added the last part at the confused look on her face. He continued, trying to add a happy pitch to his voice.

"Um, okay, here it is. If you twitch your left ear, it's a no. If it's your right it is a yes. Okay?"

His smile widened to a grin as the Wolf sat down, her posture showing her exasperation as her eyes shone with it. She nodded her head to him, her gaze saying to get on with it already. Axel moved to sit next to her, briefly checking to see that the first three people had made it across. He turned back to the Wolf, and began to talk.

"Geez, this is going to sound stupid. Were you our prisoner?"

A slight narrow of her eyes and a one on one gaze caused Axel to feel wary, but she looked away after a few moments with a twitch of her right ear. Axel nodded at this, before continuing,

"Do you hate us?"

That answer was given no reply. In fact, she even began to stand up, causing Axel to panic. He put his hand on her back paw, enticing a growl from the angry Wolf, and he realized that he really shouldn't have grabbed her. His eyes darted around him, only to freeze at the sight of the whole group minus the Wolves watching from the side of the river he was on. He turned to look back at the Wolf,

"Sorry about that, I didn't mean to offend you."

The Wolf gazed into his green eyes, before huffing. She sat down again, before turning her head to see that the other Wolves had made their way across. She quickly got back up as the large male walked towards them. The Wolves seemed to gather around, but he couldn't help but notice that the one he had just been talking to stood away from the others. An outcast?

He walked back to his Clan and the Hunters then began to run alongside Tifa as the Wolves yet again started off. He quickly thanked whatever god was out there for somehow putting it in his mind to cross first. He was able to gain a nice amount of rest, and talk to the she- Wolf.

He looked towards the front where he could see the Wolves, feeling a spark of worry in his chest. The brown male and the she-Wolf had both of their lips curled as they slowed down to a fast gait. A small growl escaped her lips before she lowered her speed to the point that she ran behind the other Wolves. Axel narrowed his eyes in confusion; they had worked so well earlier with the Rouges. Why where they fighting now?

He met gazes with Saix, sending his hidden question through facial features. Xemnas, who ran next to the blue- haired Vampyre caught the look as well. Axel sighed and did a half shrug. He didn't know the ways of the Wolves, but if they were anything like the normal packs then he could give a sure guess. It was either she disobeyed the Alpha, who was obviously the brown Wolf; or she wasn't actually part of this pack. She was only tagging along.

Looking back to the pack, he quickly chose the later for his answer.