(In the middle of the Forest of Death)

By the time the sun was fully in the sky, the pack of five wolves were in the heart of the vastly dead forest. There was nothing around them but dull, grey trees. The water and animal life weren't present in this forest, the only living things were the wolves and the flower maiden.

The trees were so thick that the sky wasn't at all visible and no sunlight could break through the branches.

Kiba, Luna, Tsume, and Toboe weren't really bothered by it. However, Hige was a different story. He just couldn't get over how the forest looked. "Man, this place is depressing as hell. Shouldn't forests be… y'know, alive?" he questions, raising an eyebrow as he looked around.

Luna rolled her eyes and scoffed at Hige's naive comment. She walked in front of Tsume with her arms dangling by her side. "Hige, you didn't forget that this place is the Forest of Death, right?" Toboe quoted, looking over his shoulder at the Mexican wolf. "Yeah, the name gives it away. The only thing breathing here is us." Luna commented.

Kiba glances over his shoulder too. "That's why the humans can't follow us in here." the white wolf said. Surely, Hige wouldn't be complaining if the forest was named the Forest of Life. They mentally wanted it to be but they were stuck with this one.

"Well, none of us have to rely on compasses or whatever. But shouldn't there be some other animals? Like a rabbit or a fox at least?" Hige said, opening his eyes. That comment showed that he was hungry yet again. He didn't even try to hide it.

The pack stops walking and they look in Hige's direction. "Something tells me that you're hungry. You are looking for a snack, huh?" Luna smirked, teasing the Mexican wolf. He gives her a look. "Don't look at me like that, Hige. You know I'm right." the black she-wolf says.

"Oh, sue me, Luna!" Hige spat, but Luna only smiled still. When wasn't there a time when Hige's stomach was his only priority? "Alright, enough. If we hang on long enough, we oughta find something in the next town." Kiba said, getting the two wolves to glance at him.

"If the forest doesn't kill us before we get out of here, that is," Tsume added, kicking a bare skull away from him. Luna was startled a little but kept her composure. However, it scared the hell out of the red wolf, causing him to gasp with wide eyes.

He takes another step back only to cause a giant bug to fly around them. Toboe yelps in surprise and tried to block his face from the on-coming bug, that did a u-turn towards him. "AAAHH!" the red wolf screamed with wide eyes. Before the bug could hit him, Tsume quickly catches it with just his hand.

"There are plenty of bugs though," he says, pulling the bug away from Toboe. The large bug struggled and hissed in Tsume's hand. Toboe lowered his hand and took a deep breath. "Thanks, Tsume," he sighed in relief.

Luna walked up to Tsume to better inspect the bug closely. "Damn, this bug is bigger than anything I've ever seen," she commented. "You and me both," Tsume agreed. He looks at the black she-wolf and gives her a smirk. She smirked back at him back, thinking the same as him.

Tsume walks over to Hige and holds out the struggling bug to Hige. "Here. Chow down," Tsume says. Hige yelled in disgust, backing up a little bit. "Ugh!" he exclaimed, "What the hell are you doing?!"

"You said you were hungry. Eat up," Tsume said bluntly. Luna would have to admit, she would rather starve to death than eat a bug. She refused to do so. "Hell no! Why the hell do you guys think that I'm hungry enough to eat that?!" Hige argued, his tone sounding offended.

"Aren't you the one with the strongest stomach out of all of us?" Luna asked, crossing her arms across her chest. Hige blinked in surprise at Luna's question. He looked at her as if she was crazy or something. "Eat," Tsume said. "Hey! I didn't come with you guys to be your taste tester! And why are you barking out orders?! You're not our leader or anything, right?!" Hige protested, looking passed Tsume and to Kiba.

Neither one of the wolves answer him, making it sound more awkward than it should be. Ever since they became a pack, nobody established an alpha. They never saw the need to.

"Ugh…" Hige groaned. Then, he took the bug from the grey wolf and bounded over to Cheza. The flower maiden backed up a bit in surprise. "Hey! Why don't we give it to Cheza? You should be hungry by now!" Hige said, holding the bug out to her.

Luna furrowed her brow at Hige's actions. Did he really think that Cheza would eat it just because she's a flower? Kiba didn't like what Hige was doing and he knocked the bug out of Hige's hands. The bug split in half and its green-colored blood spills everywhere.

"She doesn't eat bugs!" Kiba growled, standing in front of Cheza protectively. Hige was confused now. Wouldn't anyone eat something like this if they were hungry enough? "Well, what does she eat then?" he asked. Cheza wasn't at all offended by Hige's remark on her diet.

"This one doesn't eat. Anything," she responds soothingly. Needless to say, Hige was the only one who was genuinely surprised by this fact. "Yeah, she hasn't eaten a thing since we got her." Tsume interjected. "Yeah, you're right. She didn't ask for anything or even a comment about it." Luna added, glancing at the grey wolf.

Toboe makes a point of Cheza drinking some water before. It all makes sense since Cheza's a flower. "This one drinks and basks," Cheza explains cooly. She then looked up at the closed-off ceiling that didn't let any sunlight in. "But not here." she sighs sadly, the warm smile on her face fading away.

Luna looks at her sympathetically. It wasn't anyone's fault that this forest was too thick. It was obvious that she would need water and sunlight or moonlight soon.


(Later on…)

The pack moved out again without another word. After what Cheza had told them about basking in the sunlight, they all secretly worried. But no one mentioned their worry.

Luna walked behind Tsume and she looks up at him. However, he didn't look at her back. For some reason, she couldn't understand why she sought the need to stay close to him. All she knew was that he heart started to pound in her chest. What was the reason that he had saved her from Quent?

Tsume too could feel his own heart quickening. And he had the urge to keep the black she-wolf safe at all costs. However, he couldn't let himself get attached to her. He wouldn't let himself.

"Agh!" Toboe yelped from behind them. Luna stopped and looked behind her to see Toboe holding his right ankle. He looked to be in pain.

"Toboe, you okay?" she asked, walking back over to him. Toboe couldn't hide that he was hurt. "I hurt my ankle. It hurt's really bad." the red wolf groaned.

The pack had to stop to tend to their packmate. Luna helped him sit down on a large overgrown branch that had come out of the ground. "Here. Let's have a look at it." Kiba said, kneeling down in front of the red wolf. They had to remove Toboe's boot to see the damage on his ankle.

Tsume stood far from the other four wolves. Cheza sat beside a tree with her back facing them. She closes her eyes and sighs, leaning back against the tree.

Kiba took Toboe's foot into his hands. "Well, it doesn't look sprained," Kiba said, barely turning it to the right. "Agh!" Toboe yelped, jumping from the pain.

"Why doesn't this surprise me? Nobody listens to me when I said don't bring little kids to the woods. Especially city kids." Hige scowled. "Shut up, Hige." Luna spat, looking at the Mexican wolf. She looks back at the red wolf. "Can you walk, Toboe?" she asked.

"Don't worry, I'm fine. I can-" Toboe said. He tried standing up only to be grounded again from the immense pain. They couldn't move on as long as Toboe was injured.

Cheza gets up from the tree and walks over to the wolves. She knelt down in front of the red wolf. "Cheza?" Kiba wondered, watching what Cheza was doing. She carefully picks up Toboe's injured foot and starts running her hand over it.

"Agh, Cheza." Toboe winced, closing one eye. Cheza simply glances up at him with a smile. And just like that, the pain in Toboe's foot faded just as fast as it came. "Wow, thanks Cheza." Toboe gratefully said.

Hige knelt down beside Toboe with wide eyes. He saw just how fast Cheza had healed Toboe. "Does that feel good?" the Mexican wolf asked, now intrigued. Toboe looked at him with a huge smile on his face.

"Very good! The pain just melted away!" Toboe laughed with joviality. Hige looks at Luna, knowing that Cheza had petted her too. "You bet your sweet ass it does. It's like all your troubles melt away." Luna agreed, smiling at this fact.

Cheza kept petting the red wolf, making him giggle hysterically. It felt so fantastic that anyone who'd feel it would be mesmerized by it. Hige began to take interest in this. "Um, Cheza? Could you pet me too?" he asked.

Cheza complied and started stroking Hige's hair. The longer she did this, the more excited he felt. "Heh, hah!" he laughed, closing his eyes. Toboe turned to look at Tsume with that same smile on his face. "Tsume! This feels incredible! You've gotta try it!" he laughed gleefully.

Tsume, however, refused to come over there. Luna wasn't surprised at all when he wouldn't comply. He'll come through eventually.

The pack got moving again after a few minutes. They continued to walk down the barren path for another half hour before Hige broke it. "Y'know something? This place isn't really that bad once you get the hang of it. There's no humans here to get the jump on us! We've got it all to ourselves." the Mexican wolf interjected.

"Yeah, and there's many bugs we can snack on if we get hungry." Toboe agreed, walking behind Hige since he was taking the lead. Hige scoffs at the red wolf's comment.

"Right! Like that's ever going to happen," Hige scowled, closing his eyes. Luna rolled her eyes. As long as she's been on her own, she's never grown hungry enough to crave a bug. She'd rather starve than eat one of those.

"You better not whine when we don't share them with you," Tsume commented curtly. "Unlike you two, I'd rather starve than eat one of those damn things," Luna added.

The pack stops once again and Hige glances back at them with annoyed glances. "I'll say this again, who the hell died and made you the leader here?!" Hige snapped. Luna gritted her teeth and took a step forward.

"Dammit, would you calm your ass down? Why are you the one complaining about one of us being the alpha here?" the black she-wolf growled. She was starting to lose her patience with him.

"Calm it, you two. Besides, we're the kind of pack that is without an alpha." Kiba said, mediating the argument. He kept his voice calm as he spoke. Honestly, he wasn't in any mood to hear the pack argue like this.

"What kind of pack are we then?" Tsume asked, looking over his shoulder to glare at the white wolf. Everyone here was a lone wolf that just came together by sheer coincidence therefore, nobody has established an alpha.

Toboe, seeing this was getting out of hand, stepped in. "Hey, c'mon, that doesn't matter right?" he started. Then a thought popped into his head, "Hey, I know! When we get out of here, what's the first thing you guys want to do?"

"The hell do you think?" Hige scoffed. Luna crosses her arms over her chest. "Eat some real food before getting some sleep," she answered. "Eat as much as I can," Tsume commented. "Eat and sleep," Kiba says blankly.

Sleeping and eating are at the top of the list since no one has really done that for a good while. Toboe's stomach growls after the mention of food. "I guess you're right," Toboe chuckled in embarrassment, scratching the back of his head.

"You morons! Isn't it obvious?" Hige interjected. Luna rubbed her face in annoyance. She didn't want to have another argument. Cheza was starting to feel a bit dizzy and her breathing became heavier by the minute. Something wasn't right, especially after falling into Kiba's arms.

"Cheza!" he exclaimed, kneeling down after catching her. The other four gasped and looked at what was happening. Cheza had her eyes closed and was panting heavily.

"Are you exhausted? We can stop if you need to," Kiba suggested. Luna had a gut feeling that something wasn't right with the flower maiden. She looked at her worriedly. "It is alright. This one is fine," Cheza breathlessly said, putting a hand on Kiba's.

Luna glances down, feeling uncertain of Cheza's answer. "A bird!" Hige's voice suddenly came. It brought Luna out of her melancholy thoughts. "Huh? Where?" Toboe asked, looking over his shoulder and up at the dead branches.

"You can't be serious. We're in the Forest of Death. You are hallucinating," Tsume scowled, not falling for that kind of trick. "N-No! I saw it! There is a bird! Which means that we got meat!" Hige laughed, storming after the bird.

"Hey! Get your ass back here, Hige!" Luna barked, not in the mood for his bullshit. However, he was already far away from hearing her. Tsume growled and shook his head in disbelief.

"What a moron," Tsume commented, "Toboe, stay here. Luna, let's go get him," "Lead the way," Luna agreed, running beside the grey wolf.

The two wolves bolted in the direction Hige took off in. All Luna knew, that Hige was gonna get his ass beat for going after something that isn't even there. Just once, that wolf needs to get his ass out of his head for once and focus on the matter at hand.

By the time they found him, he was looking around for that bird. "Gah! Hige! What the hell are you thinking?!" Luna shouted, standing in front of him.

"I saw what I saw! There is one here!" Hige exclaimed, not giving up on what he saw. Tsume wasn't having any of this either. There wasn't any food or water in this forest so it could've been just a mirage.

But the black she-wolf and grey wolf were proven wrong when they heard the sound of an owl from behind them. They turn around to see nothing more than an owl perched on the branches. "Huh? That's what you saw? An owl?" Luna questioned, looking up at the bird.

"Yeah! But there's not enough to go around," Hige smiled, walking towards the lone bird. Because of his naivete, he failed to notice that the bird had no scent emanating off of it.

"Wait a minute," Luna started, "There's no scent on it," Hige furrowed a brow at her, thinking she was crazy. "There's gotta be," Hige said.

"No, she's right. There's no scent at all," Tsume agreed, sensing something was off. Hige looked at the owl and sniffed a couple of times. "Something's not right with that thing," Luna said, feeling her spine tingle with unease.

"An owl that looks suspicious, wolves that look delicious. They all wandered to this forest and got lost as one. Well done!" the owl spoke in an echoey yet haunting voice. The owl turned its head completely to the side, making Luna shiver.

Tsume growled, not liking this owl's comment. "Damn thing's screwing with us!" he barked. He leaped up and onto the ashen trees to kick the owl as hard as he could, causing it to fly away quickly.

Tsume landed next to the other two wolves, still looking up at where the owl was flying. "Lost as one! Well done! Well done!" the owl chanted as it flew away in circles. Luna usually doesn't get scared by subtle things like this, but she felt uneasy by this owl.

"What the hell?" She shivered. Then, Toboe's howl echoed through the forest, sounding distressed. "That howl," Hige says. "Toboe… let's go," Luna urged, running back to Kiba and Cheza. Hige followed her before Tsume did.

The sound of Toboe's howl sounded like something bad was happening. When they made it, they were shocked to see Cheza was getting worse than when they left. Luna became worried and knelt down next to her.

"What's going on?" Tsume asked. Toboe looked at them in a concerned way and said, "All of a sudden, she just…" To their horror, Cheza had veins on her neck. "Oh my… is she withering?" Luna said, starting to get scared. To say everyone was shocked that Cheza was starting to die was an understatement.

"She needs water and sunlight!" Kiba said, starting to panic a little. Even so, it was merely impossible to do that because of how dead this forest was. "But there isn't any." Tsume said, looking up. "You're right. It's too thick and the ground's too dry," Luna agreed.

Kiba put a hand on Tsume's shoulder, staring at them in the eyes. "We have to! We still have to try," he said, his tone serious. They couldn't give up; they had to keep going for Cheza's sake.

That's what they did, they got moving. Cheza was being carried by Kiba, who had her on his back. The small pack walked on for ten solid minutes and they were going in circles.

They stopped in front of a tree and there were two different paths. "Are we lost or something?" Luna asked. Hige started sniffing the air for any source of water. "We should go to the right," he muttered.

"Hige, do you smell any water?" Kiba asked. Hige looked back at the white wolf with a saddened look on his face. "No, not one drop. But standing around here isn't helping any." Hige said. They didn't seem to be getting anywhere.

"Here isn't helping! Here isn't helping!" The voice of the owl said from behind them. All of them turned around to face it, eyebrows raised. The bird was perched on a branch above them, just staring down at them with an eerie, blank stare. Luna felt that same chill run down her spine.

"What? An owl?" Kiba said, eyes slightly widened. "Jeez, did it follow us?" Luna wondered, "It better leave if it knows what it's good for," "It can't be helped if there is no light. It can't be helped if there is no water. It can't be helped if the flower is withering," the owl says to them.

Kiba didn't like that and he stepped forward, a killer look in his eye. "What did you say?!" he shouted angrily. Toboe suddenly comes up to him before things could get bad. "Wait, if that owl lives here, then, he's gotta know where water is," he said, smiling in anticipation.

Not once did they think of asking this bird that. Kiba gasped in realization and glanced up at the owl with determination. "Alright, tell us! Where is the water around here?" he asked. However, the bird didn't answer, only giving them a head tilt.

"Stupid bird! Stop with the theatrics already and spill it!" Hige spat, starting to lose his patience with this bird. Kiba was too. "If you live here, then tell us! She needs to have it now!" he shouted with determination. He was gonna make sure that Cheza was gonna have water if it was the last thing he ever did.

Cheza heard Kiba's desperate tactic and she lifts her head up a little. "Kiba… who're you talking to?" she weakly asked. Kiba glances over his shoulder at her and says, "To an owl, Cheza," The owl tilts its head at the wolves again.

"C'mon, isn't there any at all?" Kiba shouted, looking up at the bird. He wanted to make a final attempt to get through to this owl but it was no use. The bird leaps off the branch and flew off behind them. "Go astray! Go astray, my good wolves! Answers always lie in confusion," the owl said as it flew away.

The pack ran after it in their wolf forms. Cheza had her arms wrapped around Kiba's neck, her face buried in his white fur. "We can't lose him! He's the only lead we got!" Tsume said, baring his wolf fangs a little. Luna kept her wolf ears raised and her yellow eyes on where the owl was.

"You'll never find what you're looking for! If a searcher were to find his objective, it would be a mere object," the bird said, landing on another branch that was in front of a cave. The wolves stand in front of the cave in their human forms, looking up at the philosophical bird.

"The answer lies within the darkness. It lies within confined spaces. Only those who bravely enter will be rewarded," the bird continued. They all stared up at the owl in confusion. "That a riddle?" Toboe asked, raising a brow.

"This rat with wings wants us to go in there," Luna commented. The red wolf looks up at her and asked, "So does that mean we gotta go in?" "Might have to. At this point, Cheza's not gonna be only to die from thirst," she shrugged, crossing her arms. Kiba started walking towards the cave mouth.

Hige thought this idea couldn't be all that good, and he didn't want Kiba to go through with it. He stops the white wolf from going in with his hand on his shoulder. "Hey, you're seriously not going to listen to what some old owl tells you, are you?! You're out of your damn mind if you're gonna do that!" Hige scolded, doing such a poor job of convincing Kiba otherwise.

Kiba turned to look at him, hatred lit up in his blue eyes. "If you're so good at finding things, then you tell me where we can find water!" Kiba snapped. Hige backs up a little, his attitude shut down instantly. "At this point, there's no other choice," Kiba said, calmer now. But he was stressed from trying to find water for Cheza.

Inside the cave, it was dull, grey, and dry. Not to mention, the pathways seemed to be endless. They spent ten minutes walking around, going in circles. They eventually made it to a wall where two paths were.

"Didn't we see this a while ago?" Hige asked, trying to make sense of where they were going. "Are we going in circles?" Toboe said, looking off to the side. Luna, to say the least, was starting to get frustrated with them going in circles.

"This damn place is like a maze," Tsume commented. "I agree. And to make matters worse, everything looks the same," Luna added. Kiba walks passed the black she-wolf and the grey wolf. "We went left last time," he suggested.

Kiba neglected to see a small ledge in the ground and trips over it, nearly dropping Cheza in the process. He growled in frustration. "Damn it all!" he snarled, gritting his teeth. 'He's gotta calm down,' Luna thought to herself, shaking her head.

"Hey, you need to calm down, okay? Don't get yourself worked up," she piped in. Kiba didn't want to be told what to do. He glared back at the black she-wolf, baring his teeth a little. He was getting tired of them directing him while Cheza's life was at stake.

Toboe walked around the white wolf with a concerned look. "Kiba, you gotta be tired. Want me to carry her?" he asked hesitantly. He could sense the tension coming from the white wolf. Kiba wasn't having any part of this.

"Why, can you carry her?!" the white wolf snapped harshly. Toboe took a step back, eyes wide in fear. "Answer me! Do you think you can carry her?!" Kiba shouted. Toboe wasn't able to answer Kiba, he was shaking a little bit. "I'm fine! Keep moving! We don't have time to take a rest!" Kiba barked.

"Would you cut the crap? You need to calm down and take a damn breath. Listen to what Luna said," Tsume said to him cooly. Kiba turns his aggression onto Tsume. "She doesn't need to get involved! And you don't either!" Kiba shouted.

"Kiba, you're not thinking rationally. Pretty sure that your nose is screwed up because of Cheza's scent," Tsume said, keeping a cool attitude. "My nose is fine!" Kiba barked, turning completely around to face them.

Luna could sense that Kiba was trying to provoke a fight. Looking at Tsume, she saw that he was more relaxed and have better control of the situation. "Kiba, put Cheza down," Tsume says.

Kiba gets even more angry and growls, "Do you still not trust her, Tsume?!" Tsume's eyes narrow and he says, "With how you've been acting, it's you we can't trust," Kiba was surprised by Tsume's answer and he gasped.

"Kiba, I was always taught that an alpha needs to remain calm and detached. And I speak for all of us as I say that you don't have that. You can't be right all the time, you know. Take a page from our book and listen to us for once," Luna explained calmly.

Tsume glanced down at the black wolf, secretly impressed at how she said that. He didn't know her past but he could tell that she was raised right. However, Kiba wasn't impressed in the slightest. "Stay out of my way!" he snarled challangingly.

"Is that a threat?" Tsume growled, baring his teeth slightly. Kiba was too stubborn to listen to them. He wanted to do things his way. "Guys, cut it out!" Toboe shouted, stepping on a hard object that broke under his foot.

He lifted his foot up and looks down at what he stepped on. "What is that?" Hige asked, lifting a brow as he looked down at the object. It was a bird's skull and bones. "I'm not so sure, they look like the bones of an owl," the red wolf says, looking closely.

Suddenly, there was a loud screeching sound as a large pill bug jumped out of the ground. The bug crawled up Hige's leg. "Agh!" he cried out, throwing a heavy kick to get it off of him.

The bug smacks into the wall and curls up into a ball. Then, a whole bunch more crawl out from behind that rock face. The pack close in an circle with their backs facing one another. "Jesus! What the hell is this?!" Luna exclaimed.

"There's a million of them!" Toboe cried in fear. The bugs start lunging at the pack with their teeth bared. Luna uses her reflexes to punch the thing away from her. Another bit her harm, causing her to cry out in pain. Her arm started bleeding so she had no choice but to swing it off and crush it under her shoe.

"I should've known that we shouldn't have trusted that owl!" Tsume growled, punching another bug. "We gotta get the hell out of here!" Hige shouted. "Where do we go?!" Toboe squeaked in fear.

Cheza then cries out in pain because a bug jumped onto her back and latched on like a leech. Toboe turns around an pulls it off her, stomping on it with his boot. Green blood spilled out.

There were too many to fight off and they couldn't fight them off with Cheza there. They managed to get Cheza up on a ledge to keep her out of the line of fire. The pack stood in a line in a fighting stance. Tsume leaped down with the rest of them in between Luna and Kiba.

"Are wolves going to lose to bugs?" Tsume declared. Luna gives a huff and smirks, "Not a chance in hell," "Though I gotta admit we both like to be around flowers," Toboe added. "Heh, well said, runt," Hige agreed. "Here they come!" Kiba growled, ready to fight.

The pack lunge at the bugs in their wolf forms. Luna gallops through them, sinking her fangs into a few of the bugs, it's blood getting on her muzzle. When one jumped on her back, she would pull them off with her wolf fangs, throwing it aside.

All the wolves were getting bitten by the bugs, causing all of them to bleed. Once they were able to kill the majority of the bugs, they all stopped to take a breather, their legs shaking.

Luna stood in a alpha stance, raising her tail, her yellow eyes narrowed. Tsume lowered his wolf head and bared his fangs, growling low. His green-yellow eyes lit in hatred. Hige's wolf head was dropped a little as he panted heavily. Toboe had blood dripping from his open wounds. Kiba was still growling at the remaining bugs, his white fur stained with crimson red that was his blood.

Above them, Cheza was watching the pack fighting off the bugs. She saw that they were getting hurt by the bugs and caught the scent of their blood. Standing up, she jumps into the bugs and starts running through them.

The pack sees her and instantly runs after her in their human forms in a panic. "Cheza!" Kiba shouted, sprinting as fast as he could. Cheza was running through the bugs with her eyes closed. Bugs were clinging onto her like she was their life source. "Cheza, don't! What're you doing?!" Toboe shouted in panic. "That way. Through there," Cheza says, heading towards a steep ledge. She then rolls down the ledge.

"Cheza!" Kiba cried, hopping down the rock face to get to her. The pack follows him closely and reaches the bottom of the ledge. The maiden was lying lifelessly on the ground with a bug starting to crawl towards her.

"Cheza!" Kiba started, taking a step forward. Tsume suddenly puts his arm out in front of the white wolf. "Wait a minute," Tsume said, seeing something that Kiba hadn't. Kiba looked at what Tsume was seeing and noticed that the bug was now crawling away from her.

They all looked up to see that there were plants eating the bugs, Venus Fly Traps. "Cheza? You okay?" Kiba asked, placing a hand on her cheek. Cheza smiled at him and shut her eyes gently. "Don't worry, this one is fine," she assured.

Kiba could rest easy for now with that knowledge. "This one heard them. They said they were hungry," Cheza tells them. Luna stretches her limbs and grins, "Wow, plants that eat bugs? Never thought I'd see them in my life,"

"Guess it's a good thing we were saved by Cheza's friends," Hige says with a chuckle, hands behind his head. "Hey guys!" Toboe gleefully says. The pack looks over at him and saw he was looking towards a doorway with light peeking through.

"I see light! It's the way out!" he said, pointing towards the exit. Everyone couldn't feel more relieved to be able to find the exit. The five of them run outside in hot pursuit.

Luna instantly breathes in the cool fresh air. It smelled so amazing. Toboe runs to a lake that was in front of the cave in excitement. "There's water! And check it out! There's moonlight too!" Toboe laughed, standing underneath the full moon.

Luna couldn't feel more excited to see water and started to run to it. She jumps into it with a big splash. "What're you guys waiting on? The water feels amazing!" she said, feeling happier than she had felt in a long time.

Tsume, Toboe, and Hige quickly jump in with a fit of laughter. The blood that was on their bodies and clothes washed away. The four wolves started splashing each other in a playful manner. "Hey, get a drink!" Hige shouted, dunking Toboe's head under the water.

"I've had plenty though!" Toboe exclaimed, fighting against Hige's antics. "Alright, that's enough guys!" Luna said. Just as things were starting to become even wilder, something caused them to stop in their tracks.

They had seen Cheza step into the water about waist deep, soaking in the moonlight. Like magic, the veins that appeared on her face and neck vanished. Everything seemed to be at peace again and they all smiled.

After drinking some water, the pack settled down for the night. They laid down in their wolf forms around Cheza. Like last time, Luna laid down next to Tsume. Her wolf head was laying on his forelegs while his wolf head was on her neck.

Neither Tsume or Luna felt shocked that they were sleeping together. They didn't move away from one another. Hopefully by tomorrow, they can finally get back to their original path. But for now, they just needed some sleep.