Chapter 25

A/N: I had so much fun with the last chapter that I couldn't wait to write another. Thanks for the reviews, I hope to see more of them. In this chapter, plot happens.

Kurama shifted slowly to gaze down at the fire demon who was currently furled against his side. Hiei had been rather vocal of his enjoyment of the fox's ministrations, much to Kurama's delight. When he had offered to return the favor, Kurama had declined citing fatigue. Now however the fox found himself unable to drift to sleep.

In an unusually sweet gesture Hiei had allowed Kurama to hold him, most likely meaning to move away once the fox fell asleep, but it seems the yokai had been more tired then he admitted to as he was the one to fall into slumber first. Naturally Kurama hadn't minded in the least, Hiei's natural body heat made a wonderful heating blanket and seeing the smaller man so calm and relaxed in his sleep made the redhead feel almost giddy.

Without meaning to, he reached over gently and let his hand caress Hiei's cheek softly. The yokai blinked in surprise, startling Kurama as well. Sleepy red eyes locked onto him.

"Sorry, I couldn't help myself," Kurama admitted quietly, his hand still resting on the face of his teammate. For a second he feared that he had finally pushed Hiei's tolerance too far and that the fire demon would pull away from him.

"Go back to sleep Kurama," Hiei murmured at last, his eyes dropping shut once more.

Smiling foolishly, and not caring Kurama leaned in and planted a quick kiss on Hiei's forehead.

"Yes sweetheart," he whispered. Snuggling closer to the warmth of his partner Kurama was finally able to fall into the first peaceful sleep he'd had in what felt like weeks.

Approaching the bridge Kali slowed her pace and sniffed around carefully. She could smell the scent of others, but because of the rain she wasn't sure how recent the smells were. She heard a murmur of voices and dropped to a crouch to peer out from behind the cover of the shrubs. Inching closer on her stomach she could make out the conversation.

"What do you think she'll say?"

"After so long, I'm not sure, but you owe it to yourself to try."

"But if she..." The voice stopped, Kali dropped herself as low as possible, but a shift in the wind gave her away.

"Kali?" Malcolm's voice called out. Her eyes widened and she leapt to her paws dashing out into sight. Sure enough, her brother stood in the center of the bridge, pale skin illuminated by the moonlight.

Changing quickly to her human form she rushed toward him catching him in a hug.

"Mal, where have you been, I was so worried. Are you hurt?" Kali asked in a rush, pulling back she looked him over carefully, her eyes narrowing on the bruised cut in his lip. Malcolm caught her eye and smiled reassuringly.

"It's just a small cut, I'm fine. By the time they came back to look for me I'd already found a safe spot to hide so no worries," Mal said soothingly.

"I was able to find him before the others did," Varden interrupted, stepping out from behind Malcolm in his human form, "I knew you'd be worried so I brought him with me."

Kali looked up at the man, noticing him for the first time. She had forgotten how tall Varden was in this form. Evidentially so had he for he stood slightly hunched as if unsure how to stand properly. He was wearing a red tunic that looked terribly old and wrinkled as if it hadn't been used in years. His shaggy brown hair was chopped in mismatched waves that fell over his face. Kali found that except for his eyes he looked nothing like she'd remembered him. Even his body looked too lean and muscular to be familiar.

"Thank you, I owe you for returning him to me," Kali said formally.

"I'm standing right here you know," Malcolm said.

"Malcolm, do you mind if I speak to your sister, eh, alone?" Varden asked. Malcolm moved to comply, but Kali grabbed his arm.

"Whatever you have to say you can say in front of him," Kali insisted. Varden looked surprised for a moment, then Malcolm's throaty laugh drew both of their attention. He moved away from Kali's grasp and smiled at her mischievously.

"Dear sister, I appreciate the sentiment, but I don't think I need to be here for this. I'll keep an eye out so you aren't disturbed."

With that he dropped into his wolf form and jogged off the bridge, his lame paw dragging slightly as he made his way into the underbrush. Confused, Kali turned back to Varden, but he was looking down, his hair falling over his eyes. She almost thought she saw a slight scarlet blush across his cheeks, but then it was gone.

"What is going on here?" Kali asked finally, once Malcolm was out of earshot.

"Haven't you guessed?" Varden questioned, raising his murky green eyes to meet stormy blue ones.

"Clearly not, why are you helping us? I thought you were Captain of the Guard now? Shouldn't you be at Brogan's side?"

Varden sighed heavily, "There is much to explain it seems."

"I suggest you start then," Kali said, crossing her arms and glaring at other wolf. Varden opened his mouth, then frowned and turned away, he stepped over and leaned against the bridge rail looking up to the sky instead.

"Do you remember the last time I saw you, before you left?" He asked finally, his voice soft.

Kali thought carefully, then slowly nodded, "I think so, yeah. I told you I had been banished and that I was going to find the kitsune."

"I asked to come with you, but you wouldn't let me," Varden supplied glancing back at her. Frowning slightly Kali made her way to stand at his side, also glancing up at the sky. She wasn't sure where he was going with this.

"Your father needed you here," she replied. Varden shook his head quickly.

"We both know he didn't. I was never Alpha material. He knew that."

"But why Brogan? How could Asimov have made such a mistake?" Kali asked. Varden sighed again, he didn't respond right away, as if trying to think of a way to reply that didn't disgrace the memory of his father.

"He wanted it to be you, but when you didn't come back and everything started to fall apart," he bit his lip slightly, "In the end it didn't matter, Brogan took what he wanted, nobody could stop him."

"Why didn't you stop him?" she questioned.

Varden shook his head sadly and leaned to face her properly, for the first time she noticed the wetness in his eyes.

"Varden?" she frowned, surprised by his demeanor. He reached for her suddenly and pulled her tightly against his chest his strong arms wrapped around her firmly. Kali stiffened instantly, unsure if she should pull away or attempt to comfort him. She heard him breathe in her scent.

"Gods, you smell so good, I'd almost forgotten," he whispered in her ear.

"Varden, what are you doing?" she asked nervously.

"Please, I promise I'll explain everything, just let me hold you now," Varden asked desperately, "I've missed you so much," he added.

"I think you need to explain now," Kali replied her voice shaky. Her mind was swirling with confusion.

"I'm afraid to let you go," he admitted, his grip loosening, "you might not like what I have to say."

"Honestly at this point I'd just like to know what's going on," Kali said, taking a step back. Varden nodded and cleared his throat.

"I went looking for you, the day you left. I wanted to tell you then, I should have told you sooner, but I was scared you'd reject me," Varden started nervously, " I thought you'd be by the pond, where you always went to visit the kitsune, but when I got there I found Brogan instead. He told me that you'd betrayed us to the kitsune and were running away with the little thief."

"That's a lie," Kali interrupted, her blood boiling at the mention of Brogan's name.

Varden nodded, "I told him it was, but he laughed and told me to ask you myself. I told him I would and he looked scared. I never understood why, but he said he'd go looking for the kitsune himself and that I could go with him if I wanted."

"Did you?" she asked.

"No," he shook his head, "I went to Malcolm, he said that we should just wait for you to return."

"What about Brogan?" Kali frowned.

"He left and brought back the shard. He said he'd found the kitsune, but not you. I was afraid that he'd killed you both so I went looking for you," he explained.

"How long were you gone?" Kali questioned him. Her posture looking less defensive as she took in the wolf's story.

"Long enough, I nearly died trying to find my way back, but your brother found me and brought me home. We were too late though, my father had already passed away by then," he said sadly.

"I'm sorry, he was a good man" She said, her thoughts drifting back to the pack's former leader.

"He was a fool to have sent you away," Varden said.

"Varden, is it true? Has Brogan caused the tribe's deformities?" she asked, changing the subject quickly.

"I cannot say for sure," Varden replied scratching his head, "he started experimenting with the powers of the shard, but I have no proof that it was intentional or even if he did anything at all. Malcolm thinks so."

"Have you asked him?" She questioned. Varden chucked at this.

"You give me far too much credit if you think he would reveal his plans to me," he replied.

"Why did you want me to meet you here? Who's side are you really on?" Kali asked quickly her eyes searching his.

"I've been asking myself that for years," Varden admitted, "as for why I asked you to come, I guess I'd hoped you'd figure it out on your own."

Kali made a face, "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Kali... if I told you that I cared for you what would you say?"

"I'm not sure," Kali admitted, caught off guard. Varden turned to her, his eyes searching hers carefully. He reached and took her hands in his.

"What if I told you that I cared for you more than anything else, more than anyone else, more than the pack, or the tribe, that you were the only thing that mattered to me in this world?" he asked.

"Personal feelings should never come before loyalty to your pack," Kali replied trembling at the implication of his words.

"No, they shouldn't, but what if they did?" he asked nervously.

"Is that why you just sat back and let Brogan take over? Look what he did to Jervis and the others, look at Mal's leg, how could you do nothing?" she asked jerking her hands away from his.

His words were of the highest treason. All Ookami learned that no matter what the preservation of the pack had to come first. All had to be ready to die for the cause at any time. To hear Varden say that he had ignored the plight of their home was too much.

When she had been unfairly accused of betraying her people she had endured it only because she knew that had she not befriended the kitsune none of this would have happened. She had not put her pack first then, though it had seemed innocent at the time, her carelessness had cost them all greatly.

"When you went away I felt like I had nothing left worth fighting for," Varden pleaded, "Brogan saw it and made me captain to keep an eye on me. He thought I might do something drastic, but in the end I couldn't bring myself to even change back to human form any longer."

"You could have condemned them all by your actions," Kali hissed, "how could you let them suffer that way?"

Overcome by her anger she threw a punch at him catching him squarely in the eye. He fell back holding his face, but made no move to defend himself. She glared at him panting as her emotions boiled over.

"I thought I'd lost everything when you left," he whispered at last, refusing to look up at her, "You're right, I could've tried to stop him, but I didn't have any fight left in me. Until I saw you with Malcolm today I had no reason left to even hope for something better, let along try to make things better for the others."

"So, you blame me for your inaction?" She demanded.

"No, I didn't mean that," he glanced at her, his eyes red and moist. He dropped to his knees, "Kali, I'm sorry."

Growling she moved to hit him again, but was caught from behind by Malcolm.

"Kali Stop!" Malcolm snapped.

"How can you defend him Mal? Look what he's allowed to happen," Kali growled turning to face her brother.

"If you blame him, then you must blame me as well," Malcolm pointed out, "I didn't stop Brogan either."

"At least you weren't his personal lapdog," Kali hissed her words hitting their intended mark as Varden winced. Malcolm grabbed her roughly, she snapped back around to face her brother and softened at the anger she saw in his face.

"Kali, not everything is black and white, evil and good, remember what Asimov taught you," he demanded, "sometimes things exist in shades of gray."

"And you think this is one of those things?" she asked glancing back at Varden's steady form. "He says he cares for me, yet he'd let everything I care for be destroyed."

"I think you cannot blame him for trying to do what is right, even if it took him longer than it should have to find a reason worth fighting for," Malcolm replied. Kali searched her brothers face, then slowly she nodded.

"You really have grown so much," she said at last.

"Maybe it's a little easier for me to see things from the outside," Malcolm suggested.

"Perhaps it was you who Asimov should have made Alpha," Kali said. Malcolm blushed slightly at the compliment.

Feeling uncomfortable Varden cleared his throat drawing Kali's attention back to him.

"Mal, could you give us a minute," she asked, suddenly feeling completely embarrassed at her behavior.

"Sure," Malcolm nodded and strolled away, giving Varden a quick nod.

"Varden, I'm sorry," she said softly moving to kneel beside him, "it's Brogan I should be taking this out on, not you."

"It's okay," he mumbled his hair still covering his eyes.

"Did I hurt you?" she asked reaching over she pushed the hair back to see the bruise forming around his left eye. He glanced up at her causing her to pause, he didn't look angry at all, just so deeply sad that it made her chest hurt to look at him.

"I'm sorry I wasn't strong enough," he said. Kali let out the breath she'd been holding in and pulled him close against her. He wrapped his arms around her once more. Kali found she couldn't blame him for his failure, it was hers as well.

"Can you be strong enough now?" she whispered, stroking his hair gently.

"For you I will," Varden swore.

Kurama blinked his eyes against the dim sunlight that had crept its way into the cave. He was aware of the absence of warmth at his side that indicated that Hiei had snuck off. This was sadly expected, Hiei always disappeared before morning, sometimes remaining gone for days or weeks after allowing himself to be vulnerable to the fox.

Before Kurama could begin to worry about how to get himself home without the yokai's assistance, he caught sight of a familiar star burst of white entering the cave.

"You're back," Kurama said bluntly, blushing slightly when he realized what an inconsiderate greeting that was.

"Do you always have to sound so surprised when I return?" Hiei asked, setting down the fish he'd brought with him.

"I'm apologize," Kurama said quickly, "I'm just very glad to see you."

Hiei smiled slightly at this, "you too Fox."

He sat down and began cleaning the fish carefully. Trying not to make too much of a mess of their current living quarters. Kurama pushed himself up slowly, testing his legs. He made his way to the mouth of the cave.

"Going someplace?" Hiei asked, not bothering to turn around.

"I'm afraid I need to step outside for a moment, nature and all," Kurama said.

"Don't wander too far, or I'll have to collect you," Hiei said smugly. Apparently he was in a rather playful mood.

"With an offer like that I might have to take my chances," Kurama said smiling as he exited the cave. Inwardly he was debating about whether he should hurry back or take his time and see if the fire demon would make good on his threat. Both options were equally interesting to his cunning fox mind.

Edging his way around the outside of the cave he finally found a private place a bit further off to take care of his personal business. After which, his curiosity won out and he slipped back to the stream under the guise of washing up a bit before returning for breakfast. If he should take too long for his impatient little yokai, well that was a risk he'd have to take.

Malcolm hurried along as best he could at his sisters heels. Even though he had told her not to slow down for him, he could tell she wasn't running her full speed. His jaws locked around the handle of the small medical kit he carried between his teeth. At first she had insisted that she be allowed to check on the kitsune herself, but eventually she had agreed that having Malcolm along to tend his wounds would be more beneficial. Perhaps his inability to talk about the events of the previous night while he carried the kit this way was the deciding factor for her.

She'd been unusually quiet on the run back to the camp and had taken leave to go to bed as soon as they reached their tents. Had he not been an early riser she would have slipped away this morning before he'd even had a chance to notice she'd gone.

Malcolm could sense that his sister had a great deal on her mind. He only hoped that she allowed him and the others to help her deal with it.

Pausing along the stream Kali dipped her head and sniffed carefully at something to catch a scent. Malcolm set his med kit down and panted lightly, while he waited for her to find what she was looking for.

"The cave is just up ahead, you'll see it from the water, I'll catch up with you in a moment," she sent her brother with a fixed look.

"Where will you be?" Mal asked, stretching his haunches casually so as not to seem too interested.

"I need to speak to the yokai alone, go along and check on your patient," Kali replied sitting down a moment to wait for him to comply.

Seeing that there was no way around it, and that further questioning would yield no results, Malcolm dropped his head and picking the med kit back up continued his jaunty trot toward the direction she had indicated. Once she was sure he was following her orders Kali shifted back to human form and followed the fire demon's scent further along the stream.

Hearing some light splashing she hurried along and pushed some overgrown Makai leaves out of her way. Kurama jerked around quickly, surprised by the noise and the lack of familiar aura that should have accompanied it. His surprise was surpassed by Kali's as she jumped at the sight of the red head, clad only in his shorts, cleaning himself.

"Sorry, I thought you were Hiei," she stammered quickly as she blushed and let the leaves fall back into place. Despite the fact that she couldn't see through the foliage, she turned her back anyway to allow the kitsune more privacy. All the while sniffing the air, a confused look on her face.

"Kahli, wait," Kurama called, he pulled the borrowed wolf tunic back over his head and stepped out to where the girl was waiting. He was met with a peculiar look.

"You have his scent all over you," Kali said her eyes cocked as if trying to figure out how that could happen. Despite himself Kurama felt a slow blush creep into his cheeks. Apparently this was enough as Kali's eyes widened in surprise.

"Oh, oh, um well yeah I guess that makes sense," she said quickly, now it was her turn to blush.

They were both saved from any further embarrassment by the sharp blade of a katana slicing back the leaves to their left. Hiei stood there glaring at the two of them, Malcolm ran up behind him, still in human form and looking as if he wouldn't mind a break from all the running.

"Well good, we found them," Malcolm said between breaths.

"Yes, we have," Hiei replied his blade still raised as his eyes locked on the Ookami.

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