BSA: As promised, here it is. The final chapter.
Disclaimer: I do not own Wolf's Rain, or any of its characters.
(If you really want to get into the mindset of this final chapter, you can listen to the song I had on repeat the entire time I wrote it.)
"A Thousand Years" - Christina Perri Cover / "Twenty-Four" - Switchfoot (Mashup) by Tanner Patrick
~~ Previously ~~~
As his tired limbs began to burn with strain, Toboe gave a vicious shove and as he glared, he saw green eyes go wide in panic. A feeling of weightlessness surrounded him, the wind whipping his hair, he stared unblinking, as the forest floor beneath them, disappeared. And then they were falling…
~~And finally, the final chapter ~~
Seconds ticked by.
Time stopped.
All sound faded and the landscape around him began to blur and fade.
Golden eyes widened with dread as the realization hit; with it came a crushing weight on his chest.
'He's gone…' the silver wolf thought, feeling his legs begin to tremble. 'He can't be...' and as swiftly as the wind changed direction, he was speeding down the edge of the Cliffside. Looking, searching, and frantically seeking any possible way down.
A steep ledge offered minimal support to the large wolf as he weaved his way down, barely conscious of anything but the painfully loud beating of his own aching heart. Nothing else mattered. Not the numb cold on his paws, nor the freezing wind nipping at his face; nothing mattered but reaching the bottom. Reaching him.
Skidding to a halt in the powdered snow, he turned his nose to the air in searching gasps.
There, in the distance a faint smell began to reach him. A smell of rust. It was a smell that was all too familiar, that sent him sprinting once more into the falling snow.
'The smell of blood…' he thought frantically. 'His blood…"
Weaving through trees and brush, over rocks and passing panicked animals scurrying out of his path; he ran. He ran for what seemed like hours, finally coming to a dead stop.
There, in the clearing, still and silent; lay two forms, covered in a thin layer of white snow. On trembling legs, he dared venture closer. Each slow step bringing him closer to what he was sure would destroy him.
Fine strands of auburn hair were strewn through the surrounding white, touched by the faintest tint of red. Pale limbs stretched about, face quiet and still.
Dropping to his knees, Tsume sat in the screaming silence; afraid to even breath. Finally drawing on a strength he didn't have, he brought a shaky hand to his young love's face; caressing with the softness of a summer breeze, searching for any sign of movement.
"To-Toboe…" he whispered quietly, barely noticing the strain his voice held. When he saw no movement, he closed his eyes tightly; a stinging feeling stabbing at his lashes.
Opening them once more, he gripped slender shoulder gently, lifting the younger man into his arms and pushing the wild hair from his face.
"C'mon kid, you can't give up on me now." He spoke softly, unable to stop the cold tears from falling. "Not now…"
He didn't notice the tears. Didn't notice his friends rushing into the clearing behind him.
He felt only the shattering pain of uncertainty.
"Tsume…is he?" Hige began to question, chancing a step forward but pausing when movement in another direction caught his eye.
There, groaning into the ground, Malikai struggled to get to his feet. Managing only a few painful feet before he froze at the sound of growls echoing in his ears, the forms of Kiba and Hige came into his blurring vision.
"Don't tell me you're leaving," Kiba started, moving to the man's left side.
"The fun is only just starting," Hige finished while moving to the right.
Green eyes widened, his arms struggling to pull himself away as the panic began to set it.
"Yo-you really think your gonna intimidate me with that..." he stammered, trying to sound confident despite his clear disadvantage. "I aint' scared of you."
The crunching of snow ahead of him gave him pause, and he looked up to meet the blue eyes of a large white wolf. Turning his head swiftly and finding an equally cold pair of brown eyes standing behind him. Suddenly the pounding of his heart seemed the loudest sound in the forest, realizing he was cornered.
"S-st-stay back!" He looked about frantically, searching for any way out. "You stay the hell away from me! This shit aint' worth it….all this for one stupid kid?"
A deep growl reached his ears, causing his attention to turn behind him. The shaking form a massive grey wolf stalked towards him, casting a shadow across the now trembling man.
Golden eyes shone with rage, guttural growls growing louder as he closed in on his target. Malikai's eyes grew larger as the shadow grew, a massive grey paw slamming into his chest and forcing him to the ground.
Tsume saw through the red, images flashing; Toboe, huddled in his arms with tears on his face; wide with fear and clinging to him like a lifeline. He saw this red haired man standing over him, smiling.
His eyes narrowed and as his jaws tensed he saw the man before him. Eyes wide with terror.
"D-don't…please..." the man pleaded in a broken voice, quickly swallowed in a scream as sharp jaws sunk into his throat. Struggling with the last of his might, Malikai felt hot wet blood flooding from him and pooling into the snow.
With one final whimper, he fell still; eyes glazing over as his heart beat its last pounding beat.
And silence fell, once again over the small pack. Heavy and cold.
Tsume stood with slumped shoulders; turning away from the corpse in the snow and walking numbly to his young pack mate's side. With a great sigh he dropped to the ground, laying his head heavily on the still chest in front of him. Straining to hear, to feel any movement; a single breath or heartbeat, anything to prove that it wasn't hopeless.
"It's all over now…" he said softly, closing his eyes. "No one will hurt you again."
Kiba and Hige stood quietly, close enough to offer what comfort they could without crowding their distressed friend.
"We can finish this kid, all of it. Finish this ridiculous journey, stop running and hiding." He talked to fill the silence, to keep himself intact; anything to keep from accepting. "We'll find it together, we'll find…paradise…but we can't do that without you. I can't…I can't do that without you."
"Tsume, maybe we should…"Hige began, sharing a look with Kiba. "I mean, should we…move him?"
Without the heart to protest, Tsume said nothing. Hearing the others slowly move closer, the snow crunching under their paws and their steady breathing.
Softly, amidst the movement, there came a different noise.
A quiet, strained sigh; followed by a light groan.
Everyone froze.
Golden eyes flew open suddenly, not daring to breath.
"Ts-tsume… you're kind of heavy…" a quiet voice broke through the air, causing all members of the pack to turn their heads; eyes wide.
They all watched a pair of honey brown eyes open, taking in the hazy air surrounding him.
"Why is… everyone staring at me?" he asked cautiously.
Hige felt at a loss; overwhelmed and unable to stop it, he laughed. He laughed till his eyes watered and his sides hurt, seeing the twin looks of relief on his friends faces.
Toboe watched confused, not understanding when a smile broke out even on Kiba's normally stoic face; he watched until he felt himself pulled into a tight embrace.
"You had us all pretty worried for a while." Kiba said carefully, dropping to sit heavily in the snow; the adrenaline of the fight finally wearing out.
"What? Why would you be…"he paused as the day's events came flooding back to him; the cave, the fight…the fall. "What happened to..." he trailed off as his eyes fell on a still body laying several feet away. The mixed feelings of relief and concern caused him to turn to the man embracing him, "Tsume are you okay? What happened?"
Tsume could have shaken his head at that, if the situation had been anything but what it was. Instead he only let out a breathy laugh; of course after all that had happened, Toboe was worried; after all that had happened to him, he was worried about everyone else.
"After everything that's..." Tsume started, trying to pull his jumbled thoughts into a complete sentence. "You're worried about me? "He laughed again. "You really are something kid."
"I hate to break of the reunion," Hige said, finally managing to pull out of his laughing fit. "But I am starting to lose feeling in my feet."
"Yeah, we should head back up. Get out of this wind." Kida added, turning towards the steep incline they had come down; Hige following closely.
Silence fell again, though different from before.
"Shouldn't we catch up Tsume?" the young man asked, looking after his companions.
"Yeah, just…gimmie a minute." Tsume answered quietly; he needed to ground himself. To breath in this moment and regain his composure.
"Are you…okay?" Toboe began.
"You scared me kid…" the grey wolf cut him off, pulling back from his tight hold to look into the wide eyes of this boy that meant so much to him. Lowering his head he forced out a small whisper. "I thought that I lost you."
Brown eyes softened, a small smile coming to his lips. Pulling himself up, he wrapped his arms tightly around the older man's neck; silently holding onto him. Tsume returned the embrace, turning his head into auburn hair and breathing in the calming smell of nature that clung to them.
"Let's get back to the others." Toboe said, feeling as the taller man stood; lifting him into his arms effortlessly and beginning to walk.
The wind blew around them as they moved up the mountainside, each taking the silent comfort of the other's presence. And as a single bright ray of sunlight burst from the clouds, two new lovers held each other close.
"Just don't leave me…" Toboe whispered softly, burying his face into the older man's shoulder.
His grip tightening slightly, Tsume made a promise to them both.
"Never."
BSA: And here we are, 11 years later. Finally at the end. I hope that it was worth the wait, and that I brought a good ending.
To all my loyal readers, thank you for sticking by me.
And so, for the last time,
Ja Ne