Chapter 10:

Toboe woke from his nap. He looked around and saw that the wolves were gathering around the valley. The brown wolf didn't understand what was going on so he turned to the wolf next to him. Only to find that the black wolf was nowhere to be found, this made the pup really uncomfortable. Toboe then rose to his feet slowly since his leg wasn't healed all the way, and tried to leave the den he occupied earlier but stopped mid step.

He noticed Knight coming down from the Alpha's den. The young wolf signed in relief; he thought he was having one of those daytime nightmares or something. As Knight arrived back at the den he had a confused look on his face. Why was Toboe putting strain on his paw when he knew his leg wasn't healed quite yet? With a nod the brown wolf let the black wolf lead him back to the den.

"So what's going on Knight? Why is everyone gathering at the bottom of the Alpha's den?"

Knight chuckled to himself. He really was amazed at how little the pup knew about pack life. The black wolf smiled at his friend, but decided to answer his questions anyway.

"They are gathering because it is time for the pack to hunt. They gather to explain where they will be hunting and what animal, then they will listen to a speech from Hige, and finally the pack will set out on the hunt."

Toboe listened and watched as the pack talked together, waiting for their alpha to arrive. After a few minutes Hige arrived and stood at the edge of the den. A welcome howl rose up from the pack, they enjoyed welcoming the alpha. Hige nodded his acceptance and began explaining the hunt. While Hige was doing that Toboe realized something, did that mean that Knight needed to go with them?

"Um...Knight?"

The black wolf turned his attention to his friend. He watched the pup as his face showed he was trying to think of the right words to say. The young wolf chuckled and nudged the pup to get on with his question.

"What is it Toboe?"

The pup suddenly blushed when he realized the black wolf answered him. He soon shook that feeling off and decided to answer him. So with a deep breath he asked the question that was on his mind.

"If the whole pack has to hunt...Does that mean that you have to le-leave?"

Knight smiled at his friends' shyness. The pup was seriously cute sometimes. But he shook his head. He didn't have to, and he knew that Blue understood, which automatically meant that Hige understood. The alpha knew better then to argue with his mate when it came to the well-being of the pack and guests.

"No Toboe I don't."

"But what abo-

Knight shook his head again.

"No I am not leaving. Blue understands, and so does Hige. They know I can't join the hunt tonight."

"Why? I thought you would jump at the chance to show off your talents. Why would you want to spend the night with an injured weakling like me?"

Toboe said as he turned his face away from the black wolf. He didn't want Knight to see his sadness, not again. Knight was shocked at the sudden change in mood with the brown wolf. How can someone be curious the next, and then turn right around and be depressed again. He couldn't understand it and frankly...He really didn't want to know.

"Toboe your not a weakling, you beat Zeal so don't put yourself down. You really should be proud of what you did."

"Yea well that was just a fluke, it was nothing but luck."

Toboe...Look at me...Please?"

The pup kept his face hidden. He was too ashamed to meet his friend eye to eye. So Knight decided to take matters into his own hands. He moved closer, opened his mouth, and clamped down on the pup's ear tip. Toboe yipped so loud that some of the pack members turned toward the nursing den. But when the sound didn't come again the wolves went back to listening to their alpha.

"OWWWW! KNIGHT WHAT DID YOU DO THAT FOR!"

Toboe yelled as he took his good paw and rubbed his now sore ear. Knight smirked at the reaction he got. Good now the pup was looking at him, so he leaned in and licked the pup's cheek, which redden on contact. He apologized for the bite earlier and kept eye contact with the glaring pup. The brown wolf watched his friend closely, he watched every move he made, because he didn't want to be caught off guard again.

"Toboe the reason I am not going on the hunt tonight is because I made a promise."

Toboe rolled his eyes; he knew that one, Knight was to keep an eye on him while Kiba and Tsume weren't around. Which he did and is still doing, he got that much. But it was really starting to feel like the only reason Knight stayed with him, is because of what Kiba told him. But deep down he hoped that wasn't true, what about the day they left the den, when Knight taught him some hunting tricks, and some basic fighting skills. Oh how he hoped it was for a different reason, because he thought they were friends.

"Yea I know you are to keep an eye on me while my pack members are away."

"Yes that is one promise I-

"Well good and seeing as I am doing fine I now give you permission to leave. You're services are no longer required."

With that said the brown wolf stood up suddenly and limped out of the den and headed for the forest. Knight on the other hand was completely shocked at what just happened. Why did he get so angry? What did he say to make the pup so angry? But he would figure that all out later, right now he had a wondering wolf to find.

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Tsume and Kiba arrived back from their hunt, with their stomach's full, and stress free. As the two trotted into the valley, they noticed that Hige and the pack were getting ready for a hunt. So when Hige released a howl the pack was off running, they ran out of the valley and into the forest to begin to look for their pray. Hige walked down from his perch and approached his friends, who nodded at him. Blue followed her mate and smiled at the now relaxed pair in front of her.

"I see you're hunt went well, considering how relaxed you two seem to be."

Kiba chuckled and nodded.

"Oh yes it was wonderful, I can't remember the last time I felt so alive. Right Tsume?"

Tsume chuckled at his mate and nipped at his neck. The white wolf smiled and placed his head under the gray wolf's chin. Blue watched her friends and saw the love that they had for each other. She turned her head to her mate who smiled back at her; she licked his cheek, and whimpered happily as her tail wagged. Hige cleared his throat and took one last look at his friends, licked Blue's cheek and headed out to follow his pack.

"See you guys later I better catch up before the pack does something stupid. And Blue, make sure you are careful okay."

Hige called over his shoulder as he ran out into the forest. Blue nodded her head and the three wolves watched at how the light-brown wolf acted and talked about his pack. Kiba then looked back to Blue, why wasn't she going with her mate? Alphas and their mates always hunted together. But why didn't the blue-tinted wolf go?"

"Blue why didn't you go with him?"

The navy blue eyed wolf smiled and shrugged her shoulders and began walking toward the nursing den. She wanted to check on Knight and she was sure Kiba wanted to see how Toboe was doing. The white wolf was confused why did his friend not answer his question? Was she sick? Hurt? If not either one of those, then what was it?

"Tsume what is going on why is Blue acting so weird? And why did Hige tell her to be careful?"

"Well why don't you go ask her again, maybe she'll answer you this time."

Kiba pouted at his mate but ran ahead anyway to find out what was up with his friend. Tsume watched as his mate ran after the female, and couldn't help the chuckle that left his throat. He was sure once Kiba found out what was bothering Blue he would go into shock himself. But with that last thought in mind the alpha decided to quicken his steps just in case something bad really happened. When the three adult wolves arrived at the nursing den where they left Knight and Toboe, they were met with a scene that they never thought they would see.

"Well this is an interesting development."

Blue said as she and the other two wolves stopped to see what would happen next. The scene they came upon was Toboe seeming to be leaving in a huff, and Knight being left behind as the young wolf limped into the forest. Kiba watched this and wondered what happened, and was about to find out when Blue made him stop. The white wolf looked at his friend and back to his mate, who just shrugged his shoulders. So with a sigh he sat back on his haunches and watched.

"Let's see what Knight does in this situation shall we?"

Blue said as she watched closely at what the black wolf would do. Then none too soon did the young wolf get up and trot after the limping wolf. He met up with the brown wolf right before he entered into the forest. Toboe growled at him as the black wolf stood in his way. The brown wolf glared at the cocky wolf and went to get by him, but failed miserably as he put pressure on his bad paw and yelped.

"Toboe are you alright?"

The brown wolf said nothing as he began to limp back the way he came. He knew he shouldn't have tried it, but he wanted that smirk on the black wolf's face to disappear. Well it disappeared alright but he received a concerned look instead. Knight trotted next to Toboe and kept quiet as he watched the pup head back to the nursing den. He didn't want to make the young wolf anymore uncomfortable then he already was.

"Toboe I'm sorry I upset you I wanted to just explain what promises I made."

The brown wolf limped the final couple of feet to the den, and lay down at the entrance. Knight stayed back a few moments until Toboe was sure he was comfortable. When it looked like he was, the black wolf walked slowly toward his friend and sat down next to him. Toboe just sighed as he rested his head on his good paw, which Knight took as a good sign for him to take his place next to the pup. As silence formed between them, the adult wolves decided to make their presents known.

"Toboe how is your paw this evening?"

Blue asked as her, Tsume, and Kiba arrived at the nursery den. Toboe's head shot up and had a bright blush on his face, but kept his eyes locked on the female in front of him. Knight moved a few inches away from the pup when he felt Tsume's eyes on him. Blue smiled at the nervousness that the young wolves were giving off, but she waited for the pup to answer her. Toboe realized that Blue was waiting for his answer and spoke up right away.

"Oh sorry Blue, um my paw is doing fine, it's a little sore though. But I'm sure when we leave tomorrow I will be able to make it back home without any trouble."

Knight was a little disappointed hearing that Toboe would be leaving the next morning. Although it was the right thing to do, considering it would be pushing their luck if they stayed another day. But the black wolf decided he was going to finish explaining himself before the pup left. Kiba and Tsume looked at each other; they were surprised at the seriousness of the pup's voice. They hoped that everything was okay with their young pack mate.

"Well that's good to hear, now Knight I want you to go and join Hige and the others on the hunt. Seeing as Kiba and Tsume are back you don't need to watch over Toboe."

The black wolf was shocked at the order. He thought he was excluded from the hunt, seeing as he was told to keep an eye on the visiting member of another pack. He glanced at Toboe who was now chatting happily with Kiba, who was sitting next to his pack mate. With a nod and a sigh, he stood up excused himself and ran off into the forest to catch up with the rest of his pack. Toboe watched from the corner of his eye the retreating form of the black wolf. He was a little sad to see him go, but he turned his attention back to Kiba as he explained how his and Tsume's hunt went.

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The next morning Tsume woke up early. He wanted to leave as soon as Kiba and Toboe were ready, that way they could have a little morning hunt on the way home. When he returned from getting a drink he decided to wake Kiba up. The white wolf was out cold, the gray wolf really didn't know how to wake his mate, but he would try. He walked up to the wolf, laid down in front of him, listened to his breathing, and smiled as he noticed the content look on his mate's face.

"Kiba...you need to wake up...Kiba...come on..."

The white wolf whined in his sleep, but stayed where he was. Tsume realized he would have to try a little harder. So he stood up, walked around his mate, and began nipping at Kiba's ears. The white wolf began to squirm, and whine in his sleep, Tsume saw this and tried one more time. The gray wolf nipped his mate's ear and this time Kiba woke up with a yelp.

"Oww...Tsume I love you but did you have to wake me up so roughly?"

"I'm sorry Kiba but it's time to head home. I told you that we would leave early."

"I know I know, but give me a minute to wake up first. Why don't you go and wake Toboe up, then we can head out okay."

Tsume watched his mate as he slowly stood and stretched his stiff muscles. The gray wolf smiled at him, licked him on the cheek, and then trotted off to find Toboe. When the gray wolf was about three steps away, Kiba's voice made him stop. Tsume turned and looked at his mate with a questionable look. The white wolf stood and smiled at his mate, he wanted him to say something and wasn't going to let him leave without saying it.

"Tsume aren't you forgetting something?"

"Um...no I don't think so why?"

"Are you sure you didn't? Because I said something earlier to you, but I didn't receive an answer."

The gray wolf played back his conversation with the white wolf. As he remembered it he couldn't figure out what his mate was talking about. But after a few minutes of replays in his head, it all finally clicked. So with an apologetic smile, he trotted back to his wolf, nuzzled his neck, licked his muzzle, and whispered sweetly into his ear. Which made the white wolf melt on the spot.

"Kiba I love you with all my heart and soul, and I will continue to love you for as long as I live."

With that he licked Kiba on the nose, winked at him, and trotted out of the den to find the youngest member of their pack.

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Toboe was already awake; he couldn't sleep so he decided to walk around to clear his head. So he walked to the river that ran between the territory, took a drink, and sat down next to the river and looked up at the morning sky. The sky was still a little dark, but light was starting to come out. The brown wolf sighed as he took in the sight, sounds, and smells around him. He wished this quiet time wouldn't end, but typical Toboe he wasn't able to enjoy this one either.

"I can't seem to win at all these days."

Toboe said to himself as he heard footsteps behind him, but he didn't have to turn around to know who they were. Knight slowly trotted up to the young wolf and sat a few inches away from him. The brown wolf sighed as he kept his eyes locked on the view in front of him; he really wasn't in the mood to deal with Knight so early in the morning. But seeing as the wolf still sat there he decided to deal with him, whether he liked it or not. When the black wolf sensed that Toboe let his guard down, he happily moved closer to the pup.

"So what may I ask are you doing up this early in the morning?"

"I came to talk to you about something important before you left."

"And that would be?"

Toboe said as he glanced at the wolf from the corner of his eye. He was angry with him, but for some reason could not get enough of staring at him or his eyes. The young wolf knew he was in trouble, and he just couldn't figure out how to deal with it just yet. He liked the wolf sure, enjoyed being around and with him yea, but he wasn't quite sure if it was the L word or anything close to that yet. Although either way you looked at it Toboe was in a tight spot at the moment.

"I know we haven't known each other long, considering we just met two days ago. But I really enjoyed hanging out with you, and I hoped you did to. So I really wanted to tell you that you are a very interesting wolf to be around, and I know you are still new to pack life, hunting, and pretty much anything wolf."

"Is this supposed to make me like you more or something?"

Toboe said as he finally turned his face to the black wolf, which was nothing but a glare. Knight mentally kicked himself for his slip; he didn't want to pup to hate him completely, so he tried it once more.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to say any of that, I'm just trying to say that I really like you. I want us to be friends, and hopefully I could maybe help in your training. That is of course if your alpha and Kiba say it's fine of course. Then we could spend more time together, and get to know each other better."

Toboe listened to the wolf and when he finished he was a little surprised. Did that mean he wanted to see him again? But they weren't planning on coming back, at least that's what he thought. The brown wolf was really confused now; he needed some time to think this through. He was getting a little uncomfortable with this whole conversation; he needed to change the subject or something.

"Um...I don't really know what to say to all of that...really..."

"Just think about it okay?"

Knight said as he watched the brown wolf's reaction. From what he could tell the pup was running some of the things he said through his mind. Which was a good sign...right? But as he waited for Toboe to say something, the black wolf heard movement from behind the two of them. As the sound got closer he realized it was Toboe's alpha Tsume.

"Toboe it's time to go-

Tsume stopped when saw Knight with the pup. He growled deep in his throat, and raised his lip to show his teeth. The black wolf instantly flattened his ears to his head, tucked his tail between his legs, and whimpered softly. The gray alpha saw the display of submission, but continued to stare at the wolf. With one last growl Tsume turned his attention to the dazed pup.

"Toboe!"

He called when the pup didn't answer him the first time. The pup jumped at the sound of his alpha's voice and snapped out of his thoughts. He looked around and noticed that Knight was laying on his stomach and whimpering, while looking up at Tsume. He had no idea what happened and why Tsume was here, but he trotted up to his alpha and sat in front of him.

"Yes Tsume?"

"It's time to go home, Kiba's waiting now let's go."

Tsume turned and headed back the way he came. Toboe glanced back to the black wolf that was slowly rising to his feet. He slowly walked over to his friend, and nuzzled his cheek. The black wolf was surprised, but accepted the gentle caress; he wanted to return the gesture but Tsume's voice made him stop.

"TOBOE! NOW!"

The brown wolf flinched at the volume of his alpha's voice. He really needed to go, so he quickly licked Knight's muzzle, whispered something in his ear, and took off after his alpha who was waiting for him at the top of the hill. As Knight watched the young wolf leave he replayed the whispered words in his head once more.

"Sorry about Tsume but I would really like to see you again sometime too."

Those words were so great to hear that it made the black wolf want to jump, and howl with joy. Toboe wanted to see him again, that made the rest of his day worthwhile. Even though he had no clue when he would see the wolf again, he would spend every waking day waiting, and hoping to see the young pup once more.