Chapter 13

The Best Approach

The first thing Sango realized when she opened her eyes again was she was hungry. Starving, in fact. Apparently, in her mad dash to avoid the ookami, she'd forgotten to eat.

Shaking her head in self-disgust, Sango stretched till she could hear the satisfying pops up her stiff spine. Even taijiya trainees on their first mission knew better than that. Still, she supposed it was better to sleep and be alert than full and tired. How long had she been asleep, anyway?

The rhythmic pounding of water in her ears reminded Sango of where it was she was hiding. The cave behind the waterfall. She couldn't guess the time of day from the light on the other side. There wasn't any flashes of light or shadows she could detect through it, provided she could even remember what direction the cave was facing.

If she was smart, she'd just grab her pack and get the hell out of there. Unfortunately, she was so exhausted, the only thing Sango felt the urge to do was fill her stomach, or warm her stiff body.

The realization she woke up cold, if not shivering, had the taijiya snapping sharp eyes all about in a desperate search for her friend. Kirara would never leave her side unless she felt she had to….or someone made her.

However, she saw no signs of a struggle and the fire Sango remembered sleeping by was still warm, if not charred sticks by then. So, she didn't feel the instinctive panic that came with Kirara's absence. Perhaps, she'd decided to go hunt…..

The sudden gurgling of her stomach had Sango thinking that probably wouldn't be a bad idea. She already knew she didn't have many rations saved in her pack and those were only for a complete emergency. She was hungry but not about to starve to death.

So, hunting it was.

Too bad that meant she had to leave the warm straw bed she'd collapsed on. But, there was nothing to be done about that.

Nodding in convincing confidence, Sango pushed herself to her feet and started digging through her pack for any snare rope she could find. She could hunt with her weapons but a good snare was always excellent backup, just in case. Afterall, if you can't fell a boar, a rabbit could do just fine.

And, with how hungry she was feeling, food was food.

Finally finding what she'd hoped for, Sango snatched up her boomerang and shouldered it tightly before skirting quickly around the freezing waterfall.

Everything seemed exactly as it was before and, seeing no signs of a fight out there neither, Sango made her way back towards the surrounding forests. Even with the white snow now covering the ground, she had no doubt some game would still be about. And, as long as she took the right precautions, the pack would never find out.

Perfect.

Stepping lightly, Sango started to study the white blanket beneath her for any tracks. She wasn't sure exactly what all was normally in these mountains. However, the tell-tale prints of a Sika deer had her coming up short.

It had been months since she could remember having venison and the memory of the warm earthy taste practically danced on her tongue. The size of the tracks suggested it was a hart, as opposed to a female with young. And, if she could get it without damaging the hide too much, it could mean a fresh warm blanket to be cured.

Quarry set, Sango crouched down to study the movement of the tracks before racing off after the trail.

SSS

Hakkaku had no idea how long he'd stood out in the snow scouting but he was already getting right sick of it. Not that it was too cold. He'd handled far worse. It was that it was so damned quiet. It was driving him insane!

With the Birds of Paradise gone and game starting to prepare to disappear for the winter, there was nothing to do. And, Hakkaku hated wasting time…..or at least feeling like he was wasting time. And, there was nothing that seemed so useless to him as continual silence. Unlike some of his other pack-mates.

'Ginta would have loved this,' he thought before quickly giving himself a sharp shake to snap out of the line of thought.

He had promised himself he wouldn't think about that traitor and he meant it. He refused to feel guilty or sad about throwing Ginta out. He'd failed not only Koga but the whole tribe. He deserved to be thrown out!

The distinct sound of a footfall snapped Hakkaku out of his inner rantings. Snatching up his spear, he pointed it towards the surrounding trees, ready for anything.

"Come out!" Hakkaku shouted, the tip glinting in the light.

After the last couple of days, he wasn't sure how much more the pack could take but he was damn-sure prepared to deal with it as soon as possible. However, no-sooner did Hakkaku level his weapon to strike than he spotted the tell-tale flash of orange-red that could only belong to the kit Shipo.

With a frustrated huff, Hakkaku planted the butt of his spear back into the snow.

"What's the matter with you?" he demanded as the little kitsune hopped up to him. "I could have struck you dead for startling me like that."

"Are you saying I snuck up on you?" the kid had the gall to say, causing Hakkaku's face to flush in irritation.

"You wish!" he snarled, half-heartedly swiping at the smart-ass kit. "What are you doing out here, anyway? You make yourself useful for once and find us some food?"

"I'm always useful," Shipo squeaked in outrage, tiny fists waving in unbridled fury. "And, just so you know, I was looking for food. But, I found something else. Something Koga's gonna want to know about."

"Oh, yeah," Hakkaku challenged. "And, what's that?"

"Footprints," the kitsune stated. "Leading out of Koga's territory and right into the Northern tribe's."

Hakkaku felt a chill suddenly slide through his veins like ice-water. "You….don't mean—"

"That there's a traitor amongst us?" Shipo pressed. "Yeah. I gotta tell Koga. And, I suggest, you start figuring out who's missing. Because, someone is in the Northern tribe. Right now."

Hakkaku looked towards the sky and suppressed a groan as he rubbed his eyes. Great. Just, frickin' great.