Chapter XXXV: Saints Can't Help Me Now, Part One
The man coughed for air.
She stood infront of the human defensively as he bared his teeth at the fallen noble.
'We know you have the stone that will open Paradise: what're you waiting for?' He growled.
"For two wolves: I've been waiting for you." The noble replied.
"What d'you mean, 'you've been waiting for us'?" She spat coldly.
"Soon, you will lose everything, as I have lost everything. All that you possess must be discarded before entering: that is the law of the new world…"
"Like hell it is!" She snarled.
'The seal has been broken. Hurry: Paradise is right under your nose.' The noble growled, flashing a set of sharp teeth, before he turned and disappeared with the wind.
A maniacal cackle followed his retreat into the dry air.
It died down then, leaving the angered wolves and human behind.
"Hey, are you all right?" She asked the man, looking at him with slight concern.
He coughed and looked up at the black wolf with silver eyes, nodding.
"Yeah. Thanks for that." He said, looking at her offered hand of aid and letting her help him up.
She smiled slightly.
"Normally I'd have let you die if I still disliked humans. But you've helped us by keeping Cheza alive when we couldn't. Thanks." She said.
The man laughed slightly. "You're welcome, I guess." He said sheepishly.
"Come on, let's head back." Her mate declared, grabbing her hand and taking off at a sprint.
She nodded and smiled at him, following at his heels as the man followed them.
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She blearily looked up from sitting at the pup's side to see the two wolves returned with the human in the lead.
Nikki walked around them to pat her friend on the shoulder, her blue eyes sad again; Eri smiled weakly, watching the black wolf sit down next to her as the human mourned over the death of the old man.
Kiba looked down at Toboe's face, his blue eyes sad. "Toboe," he said quietly.
Her loud howl tore the cloudy sky with a mournful note as she threw her head back into the air.
She threw her voice into the air with her, howling mournfully.
He howled loudly, his howl syncing with her own.
The gray, tan, and black wolves joined in, all six wolves singing a mournful dirge to the shattering world.
The girl's wordless song chimed in, a soft monotone to the dirge the wolves sang.
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"We have to keep moving; he's still out there, searching for Paradise. But it's our Paradise he wants to open." He stated grimly.
"It doesn't make sense: if he can open Paradise, why doesn't he open the one for the nobles?" He wondered quietly.
"The Tree of All Seeds is there, on the horizon: it told this one where it is." The girl spoke up softly.
"We have to find it before he does, then." She mused, straightening to her feet and nodding to him.
"There's no time, we have to go." He added, looking at the others.
"So what's your plan, Porky? After coming all this way, what're you gonna do?" He wondered, speaking up since he'd found the pup dead what felt like days ago. "Where're you gonna run to this time?" He looked over his shoulder at the tan wolf.
"Tsume, please," She began, scowling at him with slightly puffy silver eyes.
He looked down.
"I'm not running. I just figured you guys never needed me in the first place; I guess you never did." He muttered the last part, slightly clenching his teeth.
"None of us is any more vital than the other, Hige. Nothing is indispensable: not anymore." He reminded pointedly.
"Except for you and Nikki. Our Paradise can't be opened unless the both of you are there. You two are the only ones out of all of us that can go all the way; even Tsume must've realized that by now." He shot back, briefly eyeing the gray wolf.
Her hands balled into fists at her sides.
"You pudgy moron, don't you get it? Paradise is meant for all of us! Not just Kiba and me; for all of us who've been busting our asses and shed blood, sweat and tears to get this far. I'll be damned if I leave behind my pack, and that includes you, Hige!" She snapped sharply, glaring at her old friend even as the sting of warm tears began in the corners of her eyes.
He looked up at her in slight surprise before looking down again.
She also straightened to her feet.
"I don't care; I'm still going. Even if I'm turned away at the gates of Paradise, I'll keep going for as long as I can. And so will you: we made a pact to stay together." She stated, looking down at the tan wolf.
He pretended to ignore her words.
Her fists shook slightly.
"Stop making excuses; I know you wanna go!" She exclaimed.
His eyes widened slightly, "Blue." He said.
The ground trembled sharply beneath their feet, cracking in some places.
He pulled her to his chest protectively as the silver wolf held onto the girl, the trembling stopping moments later.
"It's starting to fall apart, even this close to the center." He mused quietly, looking down at her. "You okay?"
She nodded and smiled slightly, "Yeah, thanks." She gingerly pulled free of his grip, taking his hand habitually and squeezing; he smiled at her.
The man nodded, "he's right. We'd better get moving; you won't have to worry about me. When it starts to look like I'm slowing you down, I'll take care of it myself. Come on; I wanna see how far I can go, too." He said, taking a concealed gun from the old man's coat and checking it before putting it in his coat pocket.
"Go on ahead; I'll catch up. I wanna talk to the runt for a while." The gray wolf said, perking her ears.
"We understand." He mused, letting the girl go first before he followed with the black wolf at his side.
She looked over her shoulder at her brother, "Tsume." She began softly.
"I'll stay with you," the silver wolf offered as she neared his side.
"You two go on, as well. Don't worry about me, okay?" He quieted both black and silver wolves, looking back at them reassuringly.
She nodded and smirked slightly at her brother. "Don't be too long, then, Tsume-nii." She replied softly, letting the white wolf drag her along.
She smiled softly at him and nodded.
"Say goodbye to him for me." She added, looking at her pack and taking up the rear, leaving the gray wolf alone.
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["Howl" - Florence + the Machine, Lungs (2009)]