14. FLOWERS AND TERRITORIES
MY RIGHT FOOT GOT TANGLED IN A NEST OF SHRUBS AND I LOST MY BALANCE.
Bramble caught in my hair, tore at my jacket. A surprised yelp slipped passed my lips before I could stop myself. Kiba whirled, so startled that he almost broke the branch he was holding onto for leverage. Toboe, Hige and Tsume turned along with him, wearing identical expressions of astonishment. I squirmed uncomfortably under their gaze. Immediately the wolves relaxed after realizing I wasn't in any danger; that I had simply tripped. Tsume shook his head disapprovingly and walked into the forest. Just before vanishing behind vegetation, I could have sworn I heard him say "What a dead weight." Embarrassment unfurled in my chest.
Toboe began to rush toward me. "No!" The sharpness in my voice came out angrier than I intended, and made him jump. "I don't need your help."
"I was just trying to be nice." Toboe muttered below his breathe, hanging back with a frown. He watched as I stubbornly hauled myself to my feet.
I expelled a sigh, feeling the familiar bite of guilt in my gut. "Sorry for yelling at you. I'm just very tired, I guess." Which wasn't entirely true. I was mainly upset because Tsume thought I was a burden on the pack. After that, I didn't want to make it seem like I couldn't take care of myself.
"That's alright, Amber." Toboe said, accepting my apology.
I picked out twigs from my wind-blown hair as we made our way through a vine-choked rain forest of coachwood and sassafras. After crawling out of the damp, dark hole of the caverns, it was like I entered a whole new world. An alien planet. Everything was too green: the trees, their slender trunks covered with moss, their long coiling branches hanging with a canopy of it, the ground densely carpeted in ferns. Carefully I stepped over a low branch that knotted unnaturally with another branch. I couldn't tell if it grew from one or two trees. Every tree here reminded me of giant monsters. In my minds eye I could see the ground heave upward and several tentacle-like branches broke through the earth beneath my feet. Bark would flow like warm taffy up my thighs, past my waist and towards my throat, strangling my screams to whispers. The thought made me shudder inwardly.
When the sun started to fall low, shadows gathered thickly around the wilderness. We just kept moving, pausing only to check for predators. The trees are too thin to offer concealment. The thickly ferns that muffled our footsteps also made tracking animals harder when we needed them for food. The ground sloped up. I particularly liked this. Hills made me feel safe. I wanted to be high where I can see my enemies approaching. Beyond thin trunks and tangled branches, I watched the last remnants of the sun set in the distance until I was completely surrounded by dim darkness. We walked another five minutes before settling down for the night. Being in the forest was rejuvenating. Night creatures came out. I heard the occasional owl hoots, chirring crickets hidden in the tall ferns, croaking frogs, and groans from beasts. Mountain lions no doubt. But it sounded like they were miles away so I didn't worry too much about them. The crescent moon rose high among the glittering stars. I hugged my knees to my chest, listening contently as the forest melody lulled me to a half-sleep, half-awake state. I may actually be able to get a few hours of sleep. If only I wasn't so hungry . . .
I haven't really slept in two days, and then there was that long day's journey into the cold caverns. Slowly, I allow my muscles to relax. My eyes to close. But a low guttural growl woke me up. I snapped my eyes open in time to catch Tsume leap in the air, clawing at the owl perched on the branch above. The feathered creature screeched as it flew off into the darkness. The gray wolf landed lightly on the balls of his feet. "Stupid bird." He grumbled under his breath and returned to the boulder he proclaimed ownership for the night, hopping on the mighty rock with a single spring. I inwardly cussed him out for disturbing my slumber. He caught me glaring at him. "You got a problem?" Tsume challenged, who was sulky after getting left behind with the runt and female while the other half of our pack went hunting.
Unbothered by his intimidating stature, I said: "No, I just couldn't help but notice you get annoyed easily. Be careful with that hot temper of yours. You might start a fire."
Tsume's surprised look hardened into something else. With eyes narrowed, his lips drew back from pointy fangs to make a suitably cutting retort. Until a high pitched cackle interrupted him. Toboe sat on the ground laughing so hard, he lost his balance and fell backward. Tsume produced a deep, clipped growl that silenced the chortling pup in a heartbeat. The gray wolf's eyes averted back to me then. He didn't need to say anything. That look of repugnance screamed a thousand words. Finally, Tsume broke eye contact to turn around, literally giving me the cold shoulder.
Approaching footfalls grabbed my attention. Toboe's goofy grin was unmistakable in the dark. "It takes a while to get used to his cranky attitude." He assured, taking a seat next to me on the dirt.
I rolled my eyes. "More like a lifetime."
"He's not that bad once you get to know him." Toboe said. "He's actually a nice guy."
I scowled in disbelief. "Did the heavy dose of sedatives damage your braincells?" That made him laugh. Suddenly, there was a rustle in the ferns behind us. Rounding a trunk with twisting bark, Kiba and Hige walked out of the shadows each holding bloody game in their muzzles.
"Alright, food!" Exclaimed Toboe brightly, salivating at the sight of five plump hares.
"We were lucky enough to find a whole litter. Here, catch!" Hige tossed the first mammal in my direction and I grasped it by its long hindlegs. The hare dangled limply in my palm. He dropped the second one in Toboe's lap, keeping the last for himself. "Bon appetit."
But Toboe eyed the feeble creature with blatant discontent. "How come you get the biggest rabbit, Hige?"
Hige threw himself on the dirt ground. He savagely tore out a mouthful of pink flesh from the creature's abdominals. "Because I caught them, duh." He replied, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world while strings of entrails hung from his mouth.
Toboe groaned, thinking Hige's excuse was unfavorable. Nonetheless he lifted the animal to his fangs and gorged hungrily.
Peering down at the brown hare that was given to me, I nipped a small piece off, chewed, then swallowed. Amazed at how delicious it tasted, I finished the animal in three whole bites - bones and all. My stomach still growled for more. I lamely lapped up blood from my fingertips while wishing to eat more food. Just then somebody tossed a dead hare before my feet. When I looked up, I was surprised to find Kiba the only one not eating. He sat across from me, slouched against a tree with one knee bent toward his chest. "I am not hungry," Kiba answered my unspoken question.
"Are you sure?" I carefully asked, touching the small animal's matted fur. It still felt warm.
Kiba studied me carefully with those icy blues, devoid of any emotion. Moonlight filtered through the interstices of the arching trees, making his face pale. "Go ahead," He brushed back the fringe of brown curls from his forehead before glancing away into the shadows of the forest.
Even though he was not looking at me, I gave him a pleased smile anyway. This time I ate slowly, savoring each morsel. It felt great to finally have something in my stomach. A fresh breeze snaked through the forest, cooling the sticky humid air and the sweat on my nape. The silence seemed to stretch into infinity, and I dimly wondered where we would go at the first signs of daylight in the eastern sky. Absorbed in my own thoughts, I failed to notice Tsume was awake until he addressed Kiba. "Nasty bullet wound you have there. I'd cover it up if I were you . . ."
Bullet wound? My eyes scanned Kiba's body in the dim light of the moon. Between his neck and shoulder, dried blood caked his jacket. I didn't see it before because it blended well with the fabrics dark color. That's right, he got shot pretty badly by Gino last night in the factory.
"I'll be fine . . . it's just a superficial wound." Kiba replied in a rather stiff manner, not turning toward him.
Tsume snorted. "Like hell it is. . ." But he didn't sound angry. Hige started conversing with Toboe in low tones, talking about what they thought Paradise would be like. I listened carefully up until the part where Hige hoped attractive females greeted him in flocks. Typical male. Toboe happily added to Hige's envision, conjuring up vast meadows to spend all day running in, and endless herds of savory meats to feast on like antelope and buffalo. The two wolves sighed with content, both deeply absorbed in their daydreams. But it was Kiba who won by default.
"It's the one place where you can live without pain, without any worry of the human's hunting you. No cities to pollute the air. No machines to damage the land. It's just you and the lunar flowers." He smiled gently as if reliving a special memory. "I would give anything to be there right now."
"You sound like you've been to Paradise." I found myself saying without even realizing.
"That's because he has!" Toboe exclaimed cheerfully next to me.
"There is no Paradise." Protested Tsume. There was a lazy contempt in his gold eyes.
The white wolf delivered him a frosty glare. "Believe what you will. I don't care."
Silence rolled in, and I took that opportunity to speak. "Kiba, why do you search for Paradise?" I asked, sounding small.
He turned his head toward me, a half smile playing on his lips. Kiba recited his tale, his voice was neutral. "When I was a cub, I used to live in a place where white flowers grew in abundance. I used to sit alone at the edge of the field, watching them bloom in the moonlight. They were so beautiful . . . But the humans didn't like them . . . They set fire to the land." His peaceful expression slowly transformed into a deep frown. Kiba was silent for a long time, and I began to wonder if he was finished until he spoke again, quickly as if saying it faster would ease the pain of his memories. "They burned them all, every last one of them . . . including my pack. I was the only one left alive. I had nothing left. I cared for nothing else but to find Paradise after that."
His tragic story left me speechless. I glanced around our small circle. And for once I saw Tsume's face not crumbled in his usual scowl, but rather displaying an expression of reconciliation. I could tell at that moment Tsume finally understood Kiba. He rolled to his other side, away from the group.
I sprawled across the ground, the ferns beneath me still warm from basking in the sunlight all day making a comfortable mattress. All my thoughts ran as slowly and thickly as honey. After a short period, my eyelids eventually grew heavy and I allow them to close. The warmth and gentle buzz of insects carried me off into a deep sleep.
The sky was overcast. I was standing in the same field of flowers I last left my sister in my dream. Except these blossoms were not the cheerful yellow sunflowers I knew. They were pale white. A sudden breeze rippled the sea of beautiful flowers, lifting wisps of petals. They swirled around my legs, under my arms, over my head. A delicious scent filled me with joy. A series of giggles erupted from my throat as I tried to catch them with my fingers. But the petals danced away from my reach, soaring higher into the heavens.
A soft voice, like it belonged to a small child, traveled toward me suddenly. I almost didn't hear it over the sound of my own laughter. Going completely still, I waited for it to speak again. The wind whistled over the land, white flowers swayed. And that was when I heard it.
"I missed you, my sister." It had said, sounding distant as if carried by the wind from miles away. I took a step toward the voice, straining my ear to listen. It repeated four times after long pauses in between. Relief and happiness poured from every syllable. I picked up my speed, careful as to not step on the delicate blossoms.
"I missed you, my sister."
My eyes widen when I finally realized who the voice might belong to. "Lydia?" I shouted at the top of my lungs. "Where are you?"
"I missed you, my sister."
At first it was one voice, but then several others joined in. Hundreds of voices echoed the same sentence, over and over and over, filling the field with a lovely song. But no matter how hard I searched, or how far I ran, I could not find Lydia.
"Amber, wake up! Wake up!" Someone was shaking my shoulder fiercely, hollering my name. I instantly swat them away, but a strong hand grasped my arm and yanked me upright without hesitation.
I snap my eyes wide open. "Tsume? What are you doing?!" I shouted as he began to run, dragging me along with him.
"Cats!" He said, releasing my arm so I can run on my own. "Six of them. They attacked Kiba when he went hunting."
"Dammit." I leaped over gnarled tree branches and pushed aside foliage as I made my way through patches of dawn light that painted the entire area rose pink. "Where are the others?"
"Scattered." Tsume rasped uphead. "Heading west, there's a river we can cross!"
Just when I was about to ask how he knew that, a grey brown blur jumped out of the ferns to my left and landed with a furious snarl between Tsume and me. I drew back, eyes wide. It was a mountain lion, female. Needle sharp claws flexed deeply into the soil, breath coming in low grunts from between massive fangs. A thick black-tipped tail lashed angrily behind her haunches, and acidic green eyes clashed dangerously with my surprised golden ones. "This is our forest!" She snarled menacingly.
A second cat, male, pounced out from the trees behind me. I twisted around, growling, prepared to attack if need be. "I don't smell your boundaries." Tsume replied cooly.
"Insolent fool!" Hissed the female, words dripping with contempt. "Of course you don't, you are beyond them."
The male slinked around me, his eyes cold. "You hunt our prey, sleep on our land . . ." He purred angrily. Tsume stepped forward, only to be stopped by an angry swat from the female. Unwilling to face her murderous claws, Tsume reluctantly remained stationary. The male continued. "We don't take kindly to intruders."
"Yes, I can see that. We didn't know this forest belonged to you." I tried explaining. "We will leave your territory as soon-"
"It's too late for that now." Came the thunderous roar of the male. In one fluent motion, I spring to the side just as a hefty paw swung at my head and plunge into a sprint on all fours, avoiding the female cat.
My claws kick up dirt as I ran for all I was worth to the west. There was the occasional glimpse of long, lithe feline bodies moving swiftly through the trees. The forest seemed to go on forever, but not even my tireless pace could outrun the cats. Two drew even with me, one on either flank. One grinned wickedly, and swerved sharply toward me. My muscles reacted and I jumped out of the way. However, I failed to notice the other feline had done the same. Our bodies collided with a sickening crunch, and I went sliding on the ground. The cats chuckled cruelly, quietly circling me as I struggled to get up, green eyes narrowed and fangs bared. "This is the end for you, wolf." They hissed.
I lowered my ears flat against my skull, snarling furiously. My options dwindled rapidly. If I run between them, maybe they won't expect it . . .
A lone howl raised the air. The cats jerked their heads in the callers direction, and I took my chance. Darting between their massive bodies, I ducked beneath a flying claw, and raced through the tall ferns with my tongue lolling from my jaws. "She's escaping!" I heard one of them snarl over the sound of my rapid beating heart. Now in human form, I headed toward the howls source. Coiling branches, tree roots, large rocks, nothing deterred me from my straight path. All of a sudden the ground dropped and I fell waist-high into a small pit of brown water. Desperate to keep moving, I tried lifting my legs but they felt heavy. In the most terrifying motion I had ever experienced, I felt myself being sucked into the bottomless pit. Quick sand!
Mind racing, I frantically looked around for something to grab on. My only hope of survival was a feeble vine that dangled in the air about a few feet away. Without moving my feet, I extended my arm across the brown surface and stretched beyond its capability. Every muscle fiber strained painfully but I refused to give up. Fingertips brushed against the plant. Just a little more. I took in a deep breath before the water flowed over my mouth, my nose, my head. When I thought I couldn't stretch any further, my hand seized the vine. And I held on tight for dear life. Pulling my face free from the perilous water, I gasped in a lungful of oxygen. Once I hauled my body out of the treacherous pit, I rested on the ground and tried to breath evenly. A vicious snarl alerted me of my pursuers. The two female cats leaped into my field of vision, unaware of the quick sand. They plummet into the brown water. I watched as their cries became nothing but gurgling bubbles on the dirty surface.
Another howl resonant through the forest, this time closer than before. It was Tsume calling for help. I turned away from the pits and ran toward him. I picked up the speed, my powerful legs working like pistons. The trees thinned, and opened up on the bank of a rushing river. I found Tsume by the shore struggling furiously with the male cat on top of him. I wasted no time as I lunged at the massive feline in my wolf form, tackling him off Tsume. We rolled on the pebbled ground, snapping my jaws and growling at the cat. He unsheathed his claws and embedded them into my chest. I howled in agony as his sharp daggers tore through my flesh, leaving deep gashes. Suddenly he toppled to the side, unconscious. Tsume stood over the cat, carrying a large rock stained with blood. "You look like shit." He commented, regarding my wet and dingy brown clothes.
"Well you look like where shit comes from." I said in my breathless voice. A huge smirk spread across his scratched-up face.
"Over here!" Hige's voice sounded faint. I glanced up to find the rest of our friends shouting from across the wide river.
Snarls erupted from inside the forest. Tsume's golden eyes flashed to me, becoming serious once again. "Come on!" He urged. We turned to the torrential river, and dived into its icy depths.
A/N: Woop woop! I hope you liked this chapter. A lot of love and care was put into it :) Also, I really appreciate all of your reviews and messages. I had no idea so many people would like my story, I'm truly grateful! Thanks everyone for honoring me with such nice comments. Constructive criticism are welcome too.
Just a heads up, Amber's obscure visions and dreams are very important to this story. So keep them in mind. Their purpose will be throughly explained later in future chapters. Aahh I can't wait! Lol
Until next time, take care everyone!