wr chapter 10

It has been almost a week since Jagura's ambush on the pack. Almost a week since Kiba and Cheza was taken by Jagura's forces. This past week has been hard on the pack, especially Toboe. He was still limping badly from the bullet that struck his right hind leg. He was struggling on bravely, but both Hige and Tsume could see that he was struggling to keep up. Tsume didn't have much to say since Jagura's attack. Losing Kiba and Cheza to Jagura's forces as well as Blue getting split off from the group had put him in a more sullen mood than ever. Hige tried to lighten the mood, but after being met with sullen looks from Toboe and Tsume, he finally gave up and grew quiet. The pack had hardly spoke to each other as they traveled. What could they possibly say to one another? Kiba was probably dead or worse, Cheza was in the clutches of the nobles, and Blue was still missing. It was highly likely that she was dead but Hige would hear none of it. Without any clues to go on where to start looking, all they could do was continue traveling in the direction they were going which was up the second mountain.

'This is stupid,' Tsume thought. 'I'm about ready to say to hell with this stupid journey.' He wouldn't admit it, but losing Kiba had really rattled him. He found himself leading a heart broken Hige and a scared pup. 'I'll bet ol' Porkey will barely be able to eat tonight,' he thought. 'Ever since that half breed disappeared, he's been heart sick.'

He looked behind him and saw that Toboe was starting to fall behind again and his limp had got more pronounced as he was favoring his leg more and more. A few minutes later, they came to the edge of the forest they were traveling through that opened into a clearing at the edge of a cliff. "Alright, lets stop here for the night," he said. Toboe and Hige didn't argue, but instead let out an exhausted sigh as they plopped to the ground.

Tsume soon had a fire going and they all stretched out around the fire in their wolf forms, trying to make themselves as comfortable as possible. Hige looked over at Toboe and said, "Hey runt, hows the leg holding up?"

"I can put more weight on it, so that's a good sign," he said.

"Glad to hear it," Hige replied. Hige sat in silence for a moment and then he got a look on his face that he had adopted whenever the subject of Blue came up. "I wonder how Blue's doing," he said. "I hope she's getting along alright on her own. I really miss her."

Tsume scoffed and turned his back to them. He had become even more sullen than ever in the past week. Toboe laid there staring into the fire, thinking about all that befell them in the past couple of weeks. 'What do we do now,' he pondered. 'Kiba's always led us, despite how Tsume feels about that.' "What do we do now Tsume?"

Tsume was quiet for several minutes, his back turned to the others. Finally, he shook his head and, looking at Toboe, said "I for one am done."

Hige glared at Tsume. "What do you mean your done," he asked incredulously. "Kiba and Cheza's in trouble, not to mention Blue, they need our help. "Yeah," Toboe spoke up. "Kiba would never give up on us," Toboe snapped. "Therefore we shouldn't give up on him. He would do anything in his power to rescue one of us." Tsume looked away, trying to keep his patience with the pup. "And where do you suppose we look? Unless you have picked up on either one of their scents, found a trail, or have any intuition at all on where to go, I would like to know," he said. Toboe just stared angrily into the flames and then sighed in defeat, for he honestly didn't have any idea where to even start. All he knew was that Kiba was probably being tortured or worse right now and he yearned to be doing something to help him. He thought and thought about it until, finally giving up, sighed in defeat. "I don't know," he admited. "I just don't know." He looked around him at the snow covering the ground. Snow that was the same shade as Kiba's fur. He thought for a while longer and then said, "I don't know where to even begin, but we have to start somewhere." "I'm with the runt," said Hige. "Like he said, Kiba definately wouldn't abandon us so easily so we shouldn't abandon him.

Toboe smiled at Hige and then looked at Tsume hopefully. Tsume just stared back at the pup for a minute before turning away completely. He stared up at the sky for a while before contemplating the next course of action. They hadn't picked up Kiba's scent since the ambush, and it was doubtful that they would in the near future.

Tsume looked back at the others. "You idiots don't know when to quit do you?" Tsume spat. He turned away with a humph and stared at the sky past the cliffs edge. Toboe looked at Tsume sadly for a moment then went back to staring into the fire. He moved his leg to a more comfortable position and tried to come up with an idea on how to find Kiba. Hige glared at Tsume for a moment then scooted over closer to Toboe. "Don't listen to him runt, me and you will go and rescue him ourselves if we have to. All we have to do is figure out where Jagura's keep is." Hige said. "How do we do that though, it's not like anybody is going to tell us and we don't even know where to start looking." Hige could tell Toboe was starting to lose heart.

"Well," Hige said, "i think we should go find a couple of Jagura's soldiers and beat a location out of them. What do you say." Toboe looked at him and smiled. "What about Blue," Toboe asked. " She's missing also. We can't be everywhere at once can we?"

"One thing you both are failing to realize," Tsume said, "is the fact that even though Blue is missing, she is out there somewhere but should be safe. On the other hand, Kiba is a prisioner of Jagura and who knows what he's going through right now."

Toboe and Hige both turned to look at Tsume and saw his eyes flashing with determination. "So, heres the deal. I like your idea Porkey, lets find some soldiers and show those bastards what hell really is and teach them that the last thing you want to do is mess with wolves. What do you say?"

"Damn straight!" Hige declaired. "When do we get started?"

Tsume looked at the sky again and said "Tomorrow, we need to get some rest tonight and I think a storm is moving in so we will probably need to find shelter soon." Hige was about to respond when the wind suddenly shifted direction. Hige sniffed the air. What he smelled disturbed him greatly. He continued to sniff the air, attracting the attention of the others. "What is it Hige?" Toboe asked. "Is that," Hige asked. Toboe and Tsume joined Hige as he continued to check the scent in the air. "No way," Tsume muttered. "It can't be," Toboe continued to sniff the air as if he couldn't believe what his nose was telling him." Is that...Kiba?

Then they saw a figure walk out of the woods. A pure white wolf with yellow eyes. His eyes seemed to glow unnaturally and he wore a strange metal collar on his neck. But the thing that startled them most was the lips peeled back baring ivory white fangs in a feral snarl. "Kiba," Toboe asked. "What's wrong with you?" Hige shouted. Kiba squatted down, tensed, and waited for a minute. He than, quick as lightning, sprang into the air, claws extended, fangs bared, and a snarl of rage as he soared towards them with the promise of death in his eyes.

"Look out!" Hige yelled. He dove right while Toboe jumped left. Tsume, however, jumped towards Kiba and met him in the air. They collided in a flurry of snarles, claws, and teeth. They hit the ground where they went at each other again. Hige was about to jump in and help Tsume, but couldn't because he might accidently hit him instead. He crouched and waited for the right moment.

Not long into the fight, Kiba had two cuts on his left cheek and one starting at his forhead and running over his snout and ending under his left eye. Tsume wasn't faring any better with a gash on his right side and bleeding badly from a wound on his left shoulder. They seperated for a moment and that was when Hige saw his chance. He ran at Kiba, who saw the movement, and turned to face him just as he leapt.

Hige thrust his claws into Kiba's chest, bearing him to the ground. Kiba then suprised him by rolling with Hige's momentum and throwing him on over. Hige hit the ground with a yelp and made his way back to his feet. Tsume leapt on Kiba before he could get up. He wrestled with him, trying to keep him pinned to the ground.

"I don't know what the hell your problem is," Tsume snarled. "But you need to get the hell over it." Kiba continued to struggle, trying to get free, and was able to roll enough to get his fangs on Tsume's left foreleg. He yanked on his leg, throwing Tsume to the ground. In a flash, he leapt on top of Tsume, fangs flashing, going for the death stroke. Tsume closed his eyes, knowing he was about to die.

In a split second, Hige had leapt to Kiba's back, throwing him off Tsume. Kiba landed on his side with a yelp and rolled several times. Hige jumped on him, trying to pin him as Tsume had. Kiba swung his head up, catching Hige under his chin with a headbutt. Hige was thrown back and Kiba lunged at Hige, grabing him by the throat with his fangs, and threw him hard into a tree. Hige hit the tree with a yelp of pain then hit the ground and lay there, unmoving.

At this time, Tsume charged Kiba but Kiba saw the attack coming. Kiba jumped to the side, slashing out at Tsume, ripping his left side open horribly. Tsume hit the ground and slid a few feet, leaving a smear of blood. Kiba tried once again to finish him off but was intercepted by a brown flash. Kiba was thrown on his back but was back on his feet lightning quick. Toboe stood before him, looking scared but determined. "Kiba please," he pleaded. "I don't know what's going on with you, but this isn't the Kiba I know. Please, you have to fight this." Kiba stared at him for a second with a far away look in his eyes. Then he shook his head and looked at him again. "...Toboe?"

"Yeah, it's me," he exclaimed happily. Kiba shook his head again. "Toboe," he said again in a strained voice. "Run, get as far away from me as you can. I don't know how long I can...AAHH!" Kiba screamed in pain and started shaking violently.

"Kiba," Toboe said worriedly. "What is it? What's wrong?" Kiba suddenly stopped shaking, a low, menacing snarl came from him and he slowly lifted his head. Toboe backed up a few steps in fear, for in Kiba's eyes was that unatural glow again. Kiba suddenly lunged at Toboe. Toboe, in fear and panic, dropped on his left side and rolled. It was too late for Kiba to stop his forward momentum. He was sailing right over the cliff that was behind Toboe. He did a miracolous twist in mid-air and just managed to catch the edge of the cliff with his front paws, claws digging into the ground. Toboe lunged at him, slipping his fangs around the strange collar on his neck. Kiba started thrashing wildly, snapping at Toboe.

"Kiba, stop." Toboe yelled through the mouthful of collar. "I'm trying to help you." Kiba continued thrashing and trying to bite at him. Toboe started struggling backwards, trying to drag Kiba back onto the cliff and onto solid ground. Suddenly, the collar gave way, breaking into several pieces. Kiba lost his grip on the cliff face. Toboe lunged again, trying to catch him but to no availe. "KIBA!" he screamed as he watched his friend fall. As their eyes met for the last time, Toboe saw saddness and acceptance in Kiba's eyes.

Kiba plunged down, hitting a ledge and bouncing off on the way down, leaving a smear of blood. He continued his descent, falling about a hundred feet, before landing into a snow drift.

Toboe stood there, staring. He couldn't accept that Kiba was actually gone, dead. He suddenly started sobbing hysterically, screaming Kiba's name again. He started to jump off the cliff, but suddenly was grabbed from behind.

"Let me go, let go!" he screamed. Suddenly he heard Tsume's voice from behind.

"Stop kid, just stop it already. He's gone. He's dead just stop."

Toboe kept struggling until he heard the grief and sorrow in Tsume's voice, something he never heard come from the tough gray wolf before. He turned around, burying his face into Tsume's chest, sobbing hysterically. "I killed him Tsume, I killed him," he kept screaming over and over. Tsume held him for a long time until, slowly, his sobs quieted

"I know kid," he said. "I know, but there's nothing we can do now. It's over."

Toboe looked at him, eyes red, face tear streaked, and said, "We got to at least find him, check and make sure."

Tsume looked at him for a few minutes and then said, "I'm not in any shape right now to be trudging through the snow, Hige's unconscience, and you're leg still hasn't healed. We will look for him, but we need to recover first."

"But Tsume, we got to look for him now. He might die if we don't"

"Think kid," Tsume cut him off abrubtly, "You saw him fall. Does it look like anyone could have survived that." he snapped. Toboe looked like he was about ready to burst into tears again.

"Look kid, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that. I just...this has been a really shitty day." he said. "Come on, let's go check on Porkey. He took a pretty nasty bump to the head.

"Okay," Toboe said softly. They turned away from the cliff and went to make sure Hige was okay.

The nightmare was back again. The burning, choking wall of flames. The smell of blood and burned flesh. The sound of the distressed howls of his pack. He was running toward the flames, screaming out someone's name. He couldn't hear the name he continued to scream. It was someone he knew, someone close to him. But he was never able to hear it. the only sound around him was the gunfire, flames, and the cries of his pack as they perished. Yet, he continued to run to the flames, calling her name. Just when he thought he spotted her, he fell and kept falling into blackness. He fell and fell for what seemed like forever. and then, he saw a flash of light.

His eyes snapped open and he loked around frantically. All he saw was snow all around him. 'That damn nightmare again,' he thought. He tried to make his way to his feet, but fell back to the ground, screaming in agony as pain wracked his body. He lay there, waiting for it to subside. The pain dimmed but didn't go away.

'Okay, think,' he thought. 'Let's assess what is damaged.' He was laying on his left side and he slowly looked over his bloody shoulder at his body. He immediately wished he had not. His ribs looked uneven and one was even poking through his skin.

He quickly looked forward again. He tried stretching out his forelegs and winced when he did his right one. He looked at it and saw it was twisted funny. After trying with his back legs, he realized his back left leg was no better.

'Great, how did I wind up like this?' he thought miserbly, for he honestly couldn't remember. 'If I don't get to shelter soon, I'll die of exposure,' he thought. He tried to get up again, but his body was just simply too battered. He stretched his left foreleg out and, tucking his right hind leg under him, he pulled with his left foreleg and pushed with his hind leg. Doing this caused him to move a couple of feet. 'Okay,' he thought. 'That's an improvement.' He continued to do this until he lost what little strength he had. He laid in the snow, panting, trying to catch his breath. It was then that he started shaking violently, his body convulsing due to the damage done to it. He continued to shake as darkness overcame him.

The white she-wolf with the black markings stopped to catch her breath, shaking the snow off of her fur as she did so. She still doesn't understand what came over her. She had always been a rover ever since her pack was destroyed by soldiers and flames but this was different. It was like something was pulling her to continue running, like she was trying to find something or someone. She tried to resist the pull at first but it was like an itch that needed to be scratched. She finally decided, 'What the hey. Things happen for a reason don't they?'

Now, after all this traveling, she was getting fed up. What was pulling her all this way. It was like a nagging feeling. She started moving again at a trot. She had traveled no more then an hour when she stopped again. She had caught a scent in the air. A scent she had never hoped to smell again. It was the smell of blood. Wolf blood. She put her nose to the ground and sniffed around. She sniffed the air again and then went back to sniffing the ground. She tracked the scent for the next fourty minutes of so until she came to a large pool of blood. she looked up and sniffed the rock wall beside her on her right. The same scent was up there as well. Then she noticed the blood smear about eighty or so feet up.

'So this is what drew me out here.' she mused. 'A dead wolf.' Regardless, she continued to track the scent, following the trail of blood. Several more wolf scents came to her from at the top of the cliff, but she ignored them. After following the trail for twenty minutes or so, she came across a creature in the snow. She couldn't even tell what color it was it was so covered in blood. She looked around the area, trying to make sure there was no immediate danger, then walked up to the battered, broken wolf who was half buried in snow. She started digging and after a few minutes, had the wolf uncovered. She put her nose to his side and felt for a heartbeat. Strangely enough, it was there. It was soft and shallow, but it was there nonetheless. She remembered a cave about fifteen miles back. 'Damn it Astra,' she chided herself. 'How do you always get yourself in these messes?' She bent down and carefully put her maw on the nape of the wolf's neck, tasting the coppery taste of blood in her mouth, and then began the slow, ardurous process of dragging the wolf to the cave.

Hige paused in sniffing around at the base of the mountain. He had no luck whatsoever at locating even a whiff of Kiba. He stopped for a moment and, shifting to his human form, streatch his arms and back. He then shifted back to his wolf form and trotted up to Toboe and Tsume.

"Any luck guys."

"Nothing." Toboe said worriedly.

Tsume came over to the other two. His side looked like hamburger. It had finally scabbed over, but was a long way from being healed.

"No luck on my end either. I Say we give it another hour and then be on our way. This was the direction he fell in. If he was still in the area, we should have found him by now."

"Can't argue with you there," Hige said, Toboe looked at him, saddened. "Don't worry Runt," Hige piped up. "I'm not giving up on Kiba. We just need to get moving again. Even if we don't find him, if he's alive, he'll catch up with us. He's a tough bastard, as you well know, so I doubt he's dead."

"How can you be so sure Hige. You didn't see him fall." Toboe said sadly.

Hige was about to respond when he caught a familiar scent. He stood there and sniffed for a moment.

"What is it Porkey?"

"Smells like blood." He continued to sniff the area with his nose only an inch from the ground. As soon as he got to a certain area, the smell was stronger. Hige started to dig, Tsume and Toboe staring at him dumbfounded.

After a moment, he had dug up some congeled blood. He sniff at it again. "Yep, it's Kiba's alright. Only thing is, He's not here. That means he is eather been drug away or he somehow got up and walked away on his own accord. I'm thinking first thing I said. Because if it's the second thing I said, then that means he's more badass than I ever thought possible."

"You see any drag marks?" Tsume asked.

"No, but that doesn't mean that they wasn't there earlier and got covered up. It is still snowing after all.

"Alright, see if we can pick up on which direction his scent goes in and we'll try to track it."

As they headed off again, Toboe was feeling more guilty then ever. 'Please be alive Kiba. Please.'