Here you go! Next chapter! Find out just what happened to the two stragglers... and learn a well guarded secret that Tsume has carried for quite some time.

Ciri slowly stood up, shaking bits of ice from her fur. She looked around her at the pale blue light that seemed to emanate from the walls. Her eyes slowly adjusted to the low lighting, allowing her to make out objects around her. Large pieces of ice and rock lay scattered across the hard floor of the cavern she was in. Off to one side was a large slab of the glacier that had given out underneath her and Tsume. Tsume! Where was he!

"Tsume!" Ciri shouted, her voice echoing off the walls. "Can you hear me?!"

She strained to listen for an answer. Hearing nothing she shouted again. This time she could hear the cascading of more debris as it fell in on her. She shook off the small ice shavings and looked up. The whole she had fell down twisted and turned and she was unable to tell just how far she had fallen.

"Ciri?" A weak voice muttered from behind her.

Ciri whirled around at Tsume's voice, looking for where it came from. "I'm here. Where are you?"

"Under here…" The silver wolf groaned shifting the ice above him a little.

Ciri saw the slight movement and rushed over to the slab that held Tsume pinned. She grasped the ice in her teeth and pulled with all her strength. The slab was too heavy. She released the ice and wiggled her body underneath the side of it, next to Tsume. She braced her back against the slab and pushed off with as much force as she could muster. The slab moved slightly before it settled back in place. Tsume gave out a quiet whine as he winced from the pain.

"Again!" He ordered.

Ciri braced herself again and pushed against the slab, moving it a little further. Tsume clawed his way out from underneath it as Ciri held the slab barely up off of him. As soon as he was clear the she-wolf darted out from under the ice as it crashed to the ground, shattering the smaller chunks underneath it.

"Are you okay?" Ciri asked, staring at the silver wolf.

"Yeah… where are we?" He replied, holding up his right hind leg.

"Are you sure your okay? We fell quite a ways…"

"I said I'm fine! Now how do we get out of here?!" Tsume barked.

"I don't know!" Ciri snapped back. "And your in no condition to travel!"

Tsume looked away. The fall had severely injured his leg. He would be surprised if it wasn't broken in more than one place. He glanced up, towards the shaft they had fallen through. There was no telling how far they had fallen, or how long they had been down here.

"We need to try and get out…' Tsume muttered to himself as he limped away from the opening in the ceiling.

"But how? The others will surely come for us."

"I wouldn't count on it… not with a fall like that." Tsume argued. Ciri left it at that. She knew that it was a long shot. They had to rely on each other now. To either find their own way out or freeze to death in the ice caverns…

The pack stood around the large hole in the ice. Peering down the dark abyss that winded its way downward.

"TSUUUMMMEE!" Blue shouted at the top of her lungs down the hole. There was no response.

They had been standing around for at least half an hour. Shouting and hollering out for the two list wolves. Pausing to listen for any answer. The hole was to deep, and the darkness seemed to just swallow up their words.

"They can't be gone!" Toboe whined, laying down with his head on his paws.

"We can't give up on them." Blue whimpered.

"It's no use. It's too dark to see anything…" Shiego muttered. He was trying to hide the regret that was rising inside him. Regret for not expressing his feelings for Ciri sooner, and even a sliver of regret for the way he would bicker with Tsume.

Tsume continued to limp on, leaving a crimson vein in the ice as he dragged his injured leg. Ciri was close beside him, being careful not to touch the silver wolf. They were traveling slowly uphill, and the light up ahead continued to increase in brightness, but it was little comfort due to the increasing cold.

"Tsume?" Ciri asked. Slightly startling herself as her voice cut through the eerie silence.

Tsume shrugged, "What?" He continued to limp on, his discomfort apparent in his tone.

"I was wondering if we could just talk. Maybe it would help take our minds off our situation?"

"Start talking." Tsume said through his teeth. Pain continued to shoot through his leg with each step. He hadn't been able to put the leg down, and with every step the pain was renewed. Tsume did his best to hide it, but even now it was almost impossible to hide behind his ever-present scowl.

"You don't talk much, and I was hoping you could tell me a little about yourself."

The silver wolf paused, a red drop echoing off the walls as it struck the ground.

"Tsume, are you sure your alright? Can I take a look at it?"

Tsume turned to the side to let the she-wolf get a good look. Ciri took a step closer as she examined his leg. The fur was heavily matted with both blood and ice. It was visibly swollen and Ciri could tell that he had taken quite a beating.

"Don't touch it." Tsume hissed through clenched teeth.

"Your legs broken, you need to rest!" Ciri said forcefully.

"No way, we have… OWW!" Tsume bellowed as the she-wolf barely brushed against him.

"The bone needs to be set. Lay down."

"Not on your…ARGH!" The pain from the pressure was too great and he just collapsed to the ground as Ciri pressed on his thigh. He tried to get up but slammed his head back on the ice, howling out in pain as the she-wolf applied pressure to different parts of his wound.

The pack walked quietly on. Everyone silently grieving in their own ways for the loss of their pack-mates. Kiba led the pack forward, continuing up the glacier as they approached the cradle it had carved out of the mountains. A tear fell from the black she-wolf as she thought of her friend. She had come to really enjoy the company and companionship that had grown between them. Ciri wasn't much older than she was, but she knew so much more than any other wolf her age, other than Shiego that is. Blue looked up at the scar covered white wolf. He hung his head low, a stern look on his face as he prevented any emotion from escaping. Blue couldn't tell if he was hurting inside. But given his past he might just be used to it by now…

Toboe walked silently between the two white wolves. Barely able to see as he sniffled. Tsume was, for lack of a better term, like a father to him. He knew Shiego would always look after him, but with Tsume it was different. As if he felt he had to prove himself to the silver wolf. Shiego just accepted him as he was, but Tsume always seemed to be challenging him to be more than he was. To strive to obtain a higher goal, be the wolf he wanted to be. Shiego didn't push him like that. Don't get him wrong, Shiego was always there when he needed him. But Tsume was the one that would teach him to find his own way out of a situation, to think for himself and be independent. Only now he didn't want to independent. He wanted them to all be together again. To be able to laugh and live like they had before. To be together again, searching for Paradise…

Tsume whined softly as he rested on the cold, hard ice. Ciri sat nearby gently licking her paw. His leg still hurt tremendously but thanks to Ciri it was at least manageable. He slowly lifted his head and looked over at the female wolf. She paused, her tongue still pressed against her paw.

"How'd you learn to do that?" Tsume muttered, trying his best to sound calm and collected.

"Learn what?"

"You know, that thing you did to my leg."

"Oh, that…" She put her paw down and looked down the passage they had been traveling. "Life in the city wasn't all it's cut out to be…"

Tsume could feel a story coming on so her kept his mouth shut. Instead resting his head on his paws and he repositioned slightly to face her.

Ciri kept looking down the passage, a distant look in her eye. "We weren't a normal pack. All the other wolves would only look out for themselves. But our alpha showed us all a better way… You see he had lost his pack when they came to the city. One by one they turned, abandoning each other as they sought out food and shelter. Even fighting amongst themselves. Eventually he was the only one left. That's when he found me… I barely remember it, the fire. Everything around me was burning. I had crawled away from my littermates in an effort to hide from the terrible sounds that kept getting closer. I squeezed under a bench as part of the ceiling caved in." Ciri looked to her feet as she remembered that fateful day. "That's when I saw him, he was standing there, digging at the rubble where my family had been. I let out a small cough as he was getting ready to leave. That's when he came over. He stuck his ash covered nose under the edge of the bench. I reached out and licked it, letting him now I was there… I don't remember much else. Over time the pack grew. He taught us all many things, but most importantly he taught us to look out for each other. He kept us together, working as a pack, caring for each other. Once he finally died was when things started to change. It was subtle at first. We would quarrel over food, argue about sleeping spots, have an occasional scuffle. We were slowly starting to fall apart. That's when I saw him, Shiego. I knew it was him. I thought if anyone could bring us back together he could…"

"You still didn't answer my question." Tsume said, trying to redirect the conversation. He didn't really feel like talking about the white wolf right now.

"Oh yeah, sorry." She grinned back at him. "My alpha taught us a little bit about how the humans treat each other when they get hurt. That's how I was able to rescue Toboe after he nearly drowned… We would practice on each other until we were confident that we could do it for real. I just never had the chance to…"

"Well, I'd say it worked."

"You would?"

"Yeah, Toboe's alive and well, and my leg's feeling quite a bit better."

"Really!?"

"Yeah, now how 'bout we get a move on. It feels like it's getting colder." Tsume slowly rose to three feet. Holding his rear leg up against his body to prevent it from getting jarred from any sharp movement.

"Okay?" Ciri said hesitantly, as she walked over and braced herself against his side.

"What are you doing?"

"Just lean on me, okay."

Tsume gladly obliged. He started hobbling forward, with the extra support that the smaller wolf offered. They made slow progress but they knew they were getting closer.

The pack slowly came up to the cradle. The lowest point in the mountains that would allow passage. As they reached the top, one by one they turned to face the shadow cast glacier that held their friends captive. Only Shiego didn't look back. For him the pain of loss was just too much. He had spent his life losing everything he had worth living for. And now that he had found more than a companion, he had lost her too. Would it never get easier? Death was an unnatural part of life. It plagued Shiego, seeming to follow him everywhere. Striking at those that were closest to him, yet leaving him untouched. How he wished that, just once, he could take their place…

They had been quite for some time now. Tsume's pace was quicker than it was before, but it was still slower than the silver wolf would have liked. They pressed forward, steadily climbing as the passage slowly started to widen. The walls were starting to drip and rivulet's of icy water were starting to form at the base of the cave walls. Tsume slowed considerably, the slick ice making it harder for him to maintain his balance, even with Ciri's help.

"Ouch…" Moaned Tsume as he slipper again. Touching his injured leg to the ground as a reaction to stabilize himself.

"You need to take it easy. We can go slower if you have to…"

"But where almost there… Can't you smell it?!"

Ciri took in a deep breath. Beside the overwhelming scent of the wolf beside her, the blood that was matted in his fur, and her own sweat… she could just make out the faint scent of a forest. A slight breeze brushed against her fur as she turned to Tsume. "I smell it… but if we go too fast we'll never make it. One wrong step mister and we both go sliding back down this cave."

"True…" Tsume grumbled under his breath as he steadied himself against the she-wolf once more.

They took there time. Tsume only slipped once more, wetting his chest as he struck the water covered floor. Ciri grabbed his nape as he started to slide backwards. Digging her claws into the ice she was able to help him get back up. She stood facing him. The moonlight visible behind her at the entrance to the long tube they had clambered up.

"You okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Tsume panted. The moonlight glimmering off the wet scar that was emblazoned across his chest.

"Tsume, one question."

"Sure." Tsume coughed, still trying to catch his breath. They were so close to freedom, he didn't want to ruin their chance now.

"That scar… Shiego told me once about a wolf that was part of his pack. He had a scar like that."

"Tiberius," he said as his breathing began to return to normal.

"Yeah, Shiego mentioned that he got that from his pack before they joined up. Do you… did you?" Ciri stammered, looking for the right words.

Tsume looked solemnly at the black and brown wolf that stood before him. He had brushed it off the first time. Barely keeping from telling Shiego how he knew of Tiberius. Ciri could see the pain in his eyes as he stared straight at her. Maybe she should have just kept quite. Tsume opened his mouth, taking a shallow breath before he spoke.

"He was my brother…"