Another big thanks to all of my reviewers!

All Disclaimers apply!

Just a few quick things in response to some of the reviews: The wolves do revert back to their wolf forms when they are unconscious but I decided to ignore that for right now. And there is some romance coming up but it has a light tone to it nothing hard core.

Hope you like this one! I'll start to work on making longer chapters.

Tala's ears twitched as she became aware of hushed voices. She stirred and began to wake up.

The three men from the woods were hovering over the wounded girl as she opened her eyes.

Tala stared at them blankly and the one with the warm eyes asked "Do you remember what happened?"

She thought back, and everything that had happened since her owner died rushed into her thoughts. The terrible ordeal in the woods flashed through Tala's mind, and that's when she felt the slight throbbing of her wound through the bandages that were wrapped tightly around her shoulder.

"BLUE!" Tala shouted, sitting up. Her eyes frantically searched the room.

"Is Blue the woman you were with?" the same man asked.

Tala nodded slowly.

The second man came over to her "She's in the next room and she's going to be okay."

He reached out to put a reassuring hand on the girl's shoulder. Reflexively Tala pulled away and looked up at him fearfully. (an: she doesn't really trust human men)

The man put his hand back down and Tala thought she saw a quick flash of hurt in his eyes, but it was gone as he shook his head and left the room.

The first man stepped forward and murmured "We aren't going to hurt you or your friend. Try and get some rest."

He turned his attention to Brandon "Stay with her." With that he left the room.

Brandon pulled a chair next to the bed Tala was in. She studied him carefully. He looked a little older than she looked as a human, so she figured he had to be at least 16. He had light blue, almost grey, eyes and short sandy-brown hair that sat in an unruly but styled way on his head.

He smiled and blushed slightly under her scrutinizing gaze "My name's Brandon."

Tala just sat there, not really trusting herself to speak.

He cleared his throat nervously "So um... that's a cool necklace."

Tala looked down at her silver collar that now hung loosely around her neck.

"Is Tala your name?"

Again the girl simply nodded her head.

"You don't talk much. Do you Tala?"

She shook her head. He looked at her as intently as she had looked at him moments earlier. Tala felt her cheeks heat up and she shifted her weight uncomfortably.

Brandon's eyes focused on the black cast on her arm. "How did you break your arm?"

Looking down, Tala quickly thought up a reasonable answer "I fell."

"Oh..." he said simply. Brandon looked up at her face trying desperately to avoid an awkward silence. "What about those cuts across your nose, how did you get them?"

She flinched as she remembered how Tsume had bitten her. "A dog." was all she said in reply.

"That's terrible." Brandon whispered.

Tala just nodded.

The awkward silence that Brandon was trying to avoid fell over the room when he couldn't think of anything else to say. He studied the floor and Tala looked around the room she was in.

The room was quite small and its only link to the outside was the oak door the other men had left through. The walls were dirty and even with her keen eyesight Tala couldn't decide whether their original color was blue or green. The floor was covered in thread bare Berber carpeting.

The only furnishings in the room were the bed Tala was in, a chair next to the door, and an end table that sat in the corner holding a lamp that was the only light source in the room.

A few minutes passed and Brandon cleared his throat again. "Um... do you want to go sit with your friend?"

Sitting up straighter, Tala nodded excitedly.

"Okay. Let's go." He helped her up.

Tala was still a little shaky on two legs and almost face planted on the floor. So, Brandon put his hand around the girl's waist to steady her. This time they both blushed.

He led her down the hall and into Blue's room. Brandon pulled over a chair and gently helped Tala into it.

He walked over to the door "If you need anything I'll be down the hall."

"Thanks." Tala responded timidly.

Tala then turned her attention to Blue. She was sleeping. The wound through her stomach was bandaged and she looked okay.

The young wolf dog noticed her back pack sitting beside the chair. She opened it and pulled out the blanket. Tala wrapped it around herself and leaned back in the chair, keeping watch over Blue.

Almost an hour later the older female began to stir. Tala sat up and leaned over the side of the bed. Blue opened her eyes and looked at the girl hovering over her.

She noticed the silver collar and gave the girl a questioning look. "Tala?"

Tala nodded with a small smile and Blue smiled back.

"Well look at you." Blue commented as she reached up and ruffled the girl's short bangs.

Tala laughed "Yup. I finally did it!" she said with hushed excitement.

Brandon came back into the room. "You're up." he said amazed.

Blue pushed herself into a sitting position and glared at him. "And you are?"

Brandon laughed a scared laugh and rubbed the back of his head. "I'm Brandon, the one who accidentally shot you."

The older wolf dog climbed out of bed, grabbed her jacket off the back of the chair, and pulled it on.

"What are you doing, Ma'am?" Brandon faltered a little worried.

"First, it's Blue not Ma'am. Second, we're leaving." She motioned for Tala to follow her.

Tala grabbed her back pack and stuffed in the blanket before zipping it up and putting it on her back.

"But you ... you can't leave. You're hurt. You both need time to rest." Brandon stammered.

Blue walked over to him and placed her hand on his shoulder "Don't worry. We'll be fine." She walked out the door and called behind her "Let's go Tala!"

The young wolf dog nodded and hurried after her. Tala turned back to Brandon unsure what to say.

"Bye." she said meekly.

"Bye…" he answered as he helplessly watched the pair go out the front door and take off into the woods.