Gray Silence

It's been so long since I've written any Fanfiction. I put up a 100 line poem for D. Gray Man, so please check it out. It feels good to be writing again. Oh yeah, this is gonna be really long. I'm going with shorter chapters which means, you're gonna get over 20 chapters. Know that now!

Note: More angst again. Sorry. After this chapter and the next, there will be a major fight and twist. This chapter just demanded to be written after I heard the song 'Little House' by the Fray. Next chapter involves a Christmas/Birthday celebration for Allen. –winks-

THANKS, ALL OF YOU! I HAVE FINALLY BEATEN DDR REWRITTEN WITH LENGTH AND REVIEWS, AND I'M DAMN PROUD OF IT! THANK YOU FOR READING, AND I HOPE YOU CONTINUE TO DO SO!

Oh yeah, the song used for this chapter's title is by the Fray. Every song fits the chapter, by the way.

SPOILERS FOR LATER CHAPTERS

Little House

The Fray

-

"You will never be a true wolf!" A small and elderly – yet strong – wolf snarled at the black lump cowering in front of him. "Your mother was a sorry excuse for a human, Exorcist, and wolf! You're just the same. And your father! Him being a-" Here his voice always cut out of her dream. For this, the wolf was glad.

Suddenly snorting and twisting around, the grey wolf stared in dominance at the rest of the wolf pack that stood behind and watched while he attacked and ridiculed the pup. His dark grey eyes were as hard and cold as ice, making every wolf fear yet respect him. Tail lashing back and forth, he addressed the pack he led.

"If anyone takes pity on this pup and either feeds her or tries to care for her, I'll personally rip you apart. Tomorrow we'll see what she's worth when she's placed into the forest on her own with Akuma." A cruel sneer appeared on the wolf's muzzle as he mentioned the 'test' all young wolves had to face. Many died. Out of ten this spring, only three had survived. He doubted this pup would ever survive.

Turning back and giving her a smirk and a smoldering gaze, he chuckled lightly. "Hope you enjoy getting ripped to shreds."

The black pup with bright blue eyes looked up at him in horror, not quite sure of wait lay in wait.

-

Her lungs burned as she breathed in painfully. Letting her mouth hang open to breath and to stop her body from heating up so much, the wolf ran through the forest. Terror clouded her gaze, making her clumsy. Tripping over a tree root, she looked back and choked on her cry. Eyes wide with fright, the pup watched as the Akumas neared, ready to finish her off. Cuts, lacerations and bruises already covered the wolf's body. Frozen in fear, she could only watch as they neared, pointing their gun barrels at her.

It was the end.

Suddenly three figures jumped over her, surprising the Akuma. Turning their attention to the new threat, they blasted away carelessly. The black wolf pup crouched low to the ground in fear, and watched as a grey, silver, and a black wolf attacked the Level 1 Akuma and destroyed them with ease. After a few minutes, it was all over. They dropped back to the ground, covered in the dark blood of their opponents. The silver wolf strode towards the other wolf and looked down at her with curious, pale blue eyes.

"What's your name?" The older wolf demanded sternly.

Staring at the three older pups, the younger charge pulled back further into herself. Growling, the male black wolf stepped forward, baring his sharp fangs. Whining softly, the female started backing up, ears down, tail tucked between her legs. Her fear scent drifted around the two males and the female wolf. Blinking kindly, the female repeated her question. "What's your name?"

Finally gaining some courage, the black wolf lifted up slightly. "Cat."

"Cat?" The male that had advanced, sneered. "What an appropriate name for a wolf. You're a coward! How could you not defeat them? Not only are you a wolf, rumors have it that you have Innocence from your mother, Yuki. You're such a disgrace to her. Don't you want to be strong and make her proud?" This statement surprised and angered the youngling.

"I am not a disgrace!" She growled, standing up and puffing out her chest. Her ears were still back, but her fluffy black tail was straight up, challenging them. A tail that's up on any canine signifies they were confident and ready for a right.

The silver female stepped forward, pushing the male back. "You aren't. Night here is just being an ass." She sent him a glare from the corner of her eye. "I'm Sora, and this is Storm." She gestured to the dull grey male behind her. Cat knew who he was; Storm was Arashi's grandson. That's why they shared the same name; one was in English while the other was Japanese in origin.

"Would you like to be friends?" Sora then asked, smiling. Cat stared at them, and even Night seemed to be smirking lightly at her. Standing tall and letting her ears perk and tail go down to signify she was calm now, she nodded.

"Yes, I would…"

-

"You helped her?!" Arashi was circling the four young wolves. His tail lashed and his broken, crooked, yellow teeth glinted in the sunlight. He'd rip them all apart if it weren't for the fact that they were the future of the pack.

Storm spoke for Sora, Night, and himself. "Yes, we did. She's only five years old, Arashi. We are – and were – eight years when we took the same test. We also had training. She's been here for three days, and you practically – no pun intended – throw her to the wolves. It's not fair. Let her train for one moon, and then she can repeat the test. Are we not all equal? If we're equal, we deserve some of the same allowances."

Narrowing his grey eyes, the Alpha thought about it for a moment. Snorting finally, he growled this; "Who wants to teach the worthless waste of flesh?"

Several heartbeats and no wolf stepped forward. Arashi was about to say 'forget it' when a large brown wolf stepped forward. His amber eyes stared harshly at Cat and then flickered to his leader's gaze. "I will teach her."

"You, Kamots?" Arashi asked in crude surprise. The other wolf nodded. Kamots was the second oldest wolf in the Pack below Arashi, and he had seen many moons of battles. He had trained many and he felt confident he could shape up the half-breed.

"Yes, me." The wolf replied scathingly. Being Beta, the teacher and second-in-command of the pack, he was the only wolf who would dare match Arashi's rage. Satisfied by his answer, Arashi smirked challengingly.

"One moon; if Yuki's daughter can't survive the Akumas, then it'll be on your head, not mine. Understood?"

Kamots smirked right back and dipped his head mockingly. "Of course."

Cat looked up at the deep brown wolf and met his gaze. Right then and there, a silent promise was made between the two.

Kamots would help her learn to be strong.

Cat would not let her new mentor down.

…And she never did…

-

Staring blankly at the warm cup of coffee in her hands, Cat let out a sigh. Her dreams the night before had been full of ghosts of the past, and now she felt the need to be alone. When she had entered the cafeteria, Lenalee and the other Exorcists had waved at her, in hopes she would join. Instead she had frowned deeply and walked the opposite way to sit closest to the wall and windows. Every now and again, she'd look up to the windows and at the grey sky beyond it. Two weeks of the same monotonous grey was beginning to bug the wolf. Didn't it ever shine sun here in the valley, even during the winter?

Concerned with the girl's actions, Allen had walked over and asked the same question the others were wondering; 'What's wrong?'

Cat had only stared blankly at him as well and waved him away. Without uttering a single word, Allen was shooed by Cat. Walking back to the wood table where the others sat, waiting curiously, he shook his head in frustration. Biting her lip, Lenalee looked back at the wolf and looked concerned.

"Did something happen between you yesterday when you and Cat were locked in the library?" Here, everyone sent a nasty look Lavi's way, and the red-head scratched his head and chuckled nervously.

Allen paused. He thought about what had happened after Leverrier had been the one to find them. The white-haired teen gritted his teeth and clenched his right fist under the cover of the table at the thought of that cruel man. He'd rip Leverrier apart if he got the chance. He was surprised he hadn't been having dreams of killing the man, lately.

Allen looked up in surprise at the brown-haired, middle-aged man that was glaring down at him. Barely moving or breathing, he offered the man a grimace of equal hate. One could have cut the tension between the two with a knife. Leverrier then found it necessary to repeat his earlier question.

"Care to explain what you're doing?"

"Lavi locked Cat and I in here. That was nearly an hour ago." Thinking of an excuse for the girl as to why she was fast asleep and leaning against him, he continued smoothly. "Cat hasn't been getting much sleep lately, so she fell asleep awhile ago. I didn't move because I know she needed the rest. I've just been watching the snow fall since then."

Leverrier clearly didn't buy it. "Come with me."

Sighing, Allen started to move but felt Cat's grip on his left hand tighten automatically. Looking slightly surprised, he managed to pull away and stand. Satisfied that she wasn't going to fall to the side and wake up, he followed Leverrier.

They walked down the hallway, opposite the way Lavi had gone. After several confusing turns, they came to a door. Opening it, Leverrier held open the door and pointed to a chair opposite of a small desk. Allen sat, but didn't get comfortable. He was tense, and watched as the older man moved behind the desk and pulled out an elegant leather chair to plop down onto. Once situated, he closed his eyes, placed his elbows on the wood desk, and rested his chin on his interlocked fingers. After a few heartbeats, his dark brown eyes flashed open and stared at the crude boy in front of him.

"What were you and Cat doing alone in the library?"

This again? Allen felt irritation rise up in him. "I told you; Lavi locked us in there."

"The door was unlocked when I walked in." Leverrier reported. Allen blinked in shock. When did it open? Who had opened it? Had Lavi returned, feeling guilty and unlocked it without telling them? Or was there someone else? He remembered when both he and Cat had tried to get the door open and to no avail.

"I…don't know…who opened it…or when it was opened." Allen said slowly, trying not to incriminate either himself or Cat. "Whoever did it made no notion to let us know."

"I see," Leverrier smiled like a lion with its prey. The Exorcist felt sick, just looking at him. "You may go." He sounded bored now, and dismissed him with a wave of a gloved hand.

Allen stood and walked to the door. As he reached to the knob and began to twist it, Leverrier suddenly spoke up. "Tell no one about our…little…discussion, hmm? And I recommend staying away from Cat. Forgot what Cross Marian said about killing someone you-" as soon as he said this, the door was pulled open and slammed shut behind the infuriated boy. "-love?"

"Allen?" Lenalee's voice snapped the boy out of his thoughts. Shaking his head in response to her question, everyone looked frustrated and tired.

"She hides too much." Chaoji declared.

Shoes scuffing the hard stone floor made everyone look up. Allen had stood and now stared coldly down at the new Chinese Exorcist. "Sometimes people have reasons for the things they hide; either to protect themselves, or to protect others." With that, the white-haired boy walked away, leaving them all questioning his actions.

He would not look back.

-

Meh, shorter chapter again; I thought it was good to leave off there. Next chapter will be focused around Christmas and Allen's 'birthday'. Aka, the day Mana adopted him. After that, a big fight will ensue. –laughs manically-

-PA