Warnings: Shonen ai, possible shojo ai, het, crossover, self-insert (Myself, and my sib. We're the wolves. Why? Because I can't come up with names)
Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or Tara K. Harper's Wolfwalker books. They belong to people in big offices with lots of money. The wolves that are
mentioned _do_ belong to me. It's a bit of a self-insert!
Pairings: Pairings: 1+2, 3+4, 5+?; at least that's how it will be for now…until my mind gets screwed up again, does anyone have any other ideas?
"Blahdiblah" mean regular talk
'Blahdiblah' means thoughts
::Blahdiblah:: means Wolf/Wolfwalker communication
******************* means scene change
Author Babble: Arg! I realized that I completely forgot this part, and then I remembered why…Because I'm doing an interlude (this chapter) that explains the entire thing! So this chapter is from the POV of Hilde, and her wolf Shazbat…And as to where I got that name…Don't ask. So I think this one is gonna get out a lot faster than the previous chapter, because I now have a renewed interest in it! MWAHAHAHA!!! *gryn* Also, I'm screwing around with the character's ages, so I'm not sure how old they all are. I think that Hilde and Relena are younger than the others, at least by a year, but expect all of the characters to be in-between 16 and 20. A nice, large age range. And now…On with the fic!
Wolfwalker
Interlude
By Aiko Namika
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A set shadows moved through the forest, every movement of theirs silent…It was not a very quick process, for they were trying to keep quiet, not make the maximum amount of progress, although they were not slow by any means, either. Dark purplish-blue eyes scanned over the forest with an ease of long practice, not only observing it through her own senses, but through the senses of the Gray One ahead of her as well. A soft hiss from her partner captured her attention, and she glanced over at the other form out of the corner of her eye, nodding as the other girl indicated the area ahead of them with a jerk of her thumb, and an eyebrow raised in question. Hilde sent a quick mind-question to the wolf ahead of her, a tiny frown of concentration forming between her eyebrows.
::Well? Are they ahead?::
::The hunt is in the wind, Wolfwalker…I can scent the prey, they stink of fear/hatred/smug triumph…:: Of course the response was not exactly in those words, but more in a flood of scents, emotions, images, and feelings. Through the sending of her Bonded, the slender Wolfwalker picked out the images of the location of their prey, ahead still, but far closer. Making camp by the looks of it, confident that none had followed them, not counting on the presence of a Wolfwalker on their tail. She turned her attention back to the blond at her side, and quickly signed the information to the other, using the hand-signals that all scouts and Wolfwalkers knew. The other girl nodded silently, and then moved forwards. Though she was not as graceful as the Wolfwalker, Relena was equally as silent, what with her elder brother being the Scoutmaster of Ramaj Billoctar and all.
Hilde moved forward on silent feet, her expression softening slightly as the gray form of Shazbat made his way to her side. She put one hand absently on the ruff of the huge wolf, giving him an absent scratch. He snorted, and moved ahead.
While Hilde had been petting the Gray One, Relena had moved forward even further, crouching behind a stand of thick bushes, knowing that their quarry was on the other side. The bandits had made a raid on a caravan, and had taken a lot of much-needed food and supplies, along with a few other objects such as bolts of silk, and precious gems. That was one of the things that confused the scout and the Wolfwalker. Both of those things would be practically useless to the raiders, so what was the purpose of stealing them? The scout shook her head, her cornflower-blue eyes clearing, and then checked her warcap once more, making sure that all of her golden-blond hair was underneath. Hilde was lucky, for her hair was already short and out of the way. Relena probably would have cut her hair short a while ago, but her brother said it reminded him of their mother, and so she left it as it was. It was still a problem to deal with at times.
"There's around ten of them there." The whisper was so quiet as to be almost inaudible to the blonde's hearing, but her sharp ears picked it up. She nodded absently to Hilde, signaling her readiness. Hilde then slunk backwards into the shadows, as silent as her Bonded, her dark eyes keeping a watch on both the area where the raiders were, and her partner's location.
When they finally reached a safe area, Hilde settled herself on a rather mossy patch, knowing that it would not hold her scent as long. Relena did likewise, and then glanced at the dark-haired girl.
"So what are we gonna do? Go and report this, or-" Relena was cut off by Hilde's head shake.
"Nah. We're pretty good fighters. We can take care of this on our own. Or do you think you're not good enough?" The dark-haired girl's eyes held a challenging look as she watched her partner, daring her to back out. Relena lifted her chin slightly, and glared at the Wolfwalker, accepting the challenge.
"Yeah, I'm good enough…I was just wondering if you were!" The blond scout just barely kept her voice from sounding petulant, and knew that Hilde was smirking at her behind her back. She took a few deep breaths, calming herself down, trying to regain her calm. Finally she unsheathed her blade from its place on her hip, and pulled a whetstone out of her pocket, running it along the edge of the blade, keeping the strokes even and rhythmic, matching her breathing to the pattern. Hilde glanced over at the scout, and then at the sky.
"It'd probably be best for us to attack at dusk…The light's the worst then, and we know where they are, but they don't know where we are!" She tossed the blond another superior smirk, her head tilted at a jaunty angle. Relena growled in annoyance, her eyes flashing with anger. She resisted the temptation to give into her urge to strangle the Wolfwalker.
"Hilde…" Relena's voice was a growl.
"Yes?" The dark haired girl had a sweet lilt in her own voice.
"Would you stop acting so superior?! It's driving me nuts!" Relena glared at the other girl, who smirked again, but conceded the point.
*******************
Duck came quickly, and the two moved upon the camp once again, the Gray One again acting as scout. The two watched the placement of the raiders, watched them move around. They hadn't even established a perimeter watch, which would be one of their major downfalls, as it enabled the two to get in very close to the camp. They took a quick glance around, confirmed the positions of their most vital targets…
…And then they leapt out of the bushes, shouting harsh battle cries, their blades unsheathed and already heading for the throats of the raiders nearest them…
…Only to discover that their targets were not there, and instead they had somehow been surrounded while they had waited in the last moments to attack. A circle of glittering steel blades faced the two girls, who now stood with their backs against each other's, looking at the soldiers with shock in their eyes as what had looked like badly-fitting armor and rusting weapons was quickly proved false, the armor fitting the fighters perfectly, the blades of the best steel, the entirety of it having been hidden by cunning paint jobs, and other such artifice. Cornflower blue and bluish-purple eyes look at the men in pure shock for a short second…And then the fighters attacked.
Just before the fighters reached them, Hilde let out a piercing mental shriek over the Packsong, a wordless cry for help. Shazbat tried to leap to join his Wolfwalker, but the dark-haired girl ordered him away, to go for help, to not get captured. The wolf let out a howl of desperate need to be with his packsister, but left, his long strides carrying him far enough away that the bandits, now proved to be true soldiers, could not catch him.
After the fight was over, both of the girls lay on the ground, neither dead, but both unconscious and bleeding very badly. They were not the only forms on the ground, however. An impressive amount of the enemy men lay either dead or dying in a sprawled heap on the ground. The remaining soldiers stood at attention as their commanding officer looked the girls over, his bearing arrogant. The ginger-haired man turned to the soldiers, and jerked his head at Hilde's prone form.
"Get the Wolfwalker and tie her up. Leave the other. She'll die soon enough from her wounds." The soldiers carried out his orders with quick efficiency, their movements calm and practiced. As Treize Kushrenada, the Captain of the Guard of Ramaj Billoctar, strode away, a sly smile lit up his face.
"I'm sure that Lord Wufei and Lady Dorothy will appreciate such a fine gift…"
*******************
After the last of the soldiers had left, Relena carefully opened one pain-glazed blue eye, assessing the area to make sure that it was well and truly safe. She slowly levered herself up, whimpering slightly at the pain from her badly cut side. She reached down to her tunic, pulling the fabric over her head, leaving only her undershirt, and bound the material in place against her side, using it to staunch the blood flow. She hissed weakly at the pain, but did not let it stop her, struggling to her feet once again, moving carefully to ease the ache in her side.
The blond scout looked around the clearing in dismay, her blue eyes dark with remorse. If only she hadn't let Hilde talk her into the Wolfwalker's hare-brained scheme, neither of them would have been hurt, and Hilde wouldn't be in the hands of what appeared to be the enemy. And those poor soldiers might have been able to live a little while longer…That was one of the things she regretted the most, the loss of life. Even though she was a trained fighter, Relena really did not "live for the battle" as her elder brother did, his grace with the sword, or any other weapon for that matter, coming naturally to him. She sighed again, and got about bandaging her other wounds. Then she looked around the clearing, found a knife, and delivered mercy to the few remaining soldiers who were slowly bleeding to death, at least able to keep them from suffering too much.
That done, the blond turned and slowly made her way back to the camp that she and Hilde had set up previously, hoping that the dnu that they had ridden on were still there. When she got back to the camp, she discovered that the entire area had been ransacked, probably by the soldiers, and that everything was gone, even the dnu. She slumped against a tree, letting out a moan of distress and annoyance, her brows creased in frustration…
…And nearly jumped out of her skin as a cold, wet nose nudged her back. She spun around, her hand reaching for her blade, and then stopped, and stared.
Shazbat stood behind her, the reigns of both dnu held in his mouth, the two beasts looking calm and accepting, as if a creature that would gladly hunt them was not standing right in front of them. In fact, the two looked half asleep. Shazbat nudged her again, bringing her attention back to the wolf. She looked helplessly at the Gray One, and then steeled her nerves, and met his golden gaze.
::Help, need, want, loneliness, help, Wolfwalker!:: The mental sending washed over her, and she staggered for a second before regaining her balance, still maintaining eye-to-eye contact with the canine.
"What…What do you want me to do, Gray One?"
::Help Wolfwalker.:: The phrase this time was short and clear, the accompanying images enforcing the subject. The Gray One expected her to take the dnu, and ride to either retrieve the Wolfwalker herself, which Relena knew to be suicide, or to go get help, so that she could then ride and retrieve the Wolfwalker. She put her hand out hesitantly, and the wolf dropped the reins into her hands. She tore her gaze away from the wolf's own golden one, and looked at the dnu for a few seconds, before grabbing a lead-rein and attaching it to the halter of one of the two, mounting up on the second, even though the movement caused another wave of pain to go through her, and tied the lead-rein of the second to the saddle of the first.
"Alright, Gray One…Let's go get Hilde some help." And with that the scout turned the face of her dnu back towards home, and set it into an easy lope, Shazbat staying nearby, heading back to Ariye.
********TBC********
Okay! This one went a lot faster than the others did! I think I'm actually getting this one out within two weeks of the last one! I have no clue if this trend will continue, but if I see that a lot of people are actually reading this, (that means reviews) I will do my best to make it so! Sorry about the lack of a poem at the top…I don't have my Wolfwalker book with me…*guilty look* Sorry. Mwaha! Surprise pairing 5+Dorothy! …why? Because I wanted something different to happen. So 'Fei and Dot are evil, Relena's good, and I have no clue where I'm going with the rest of this. By the way, I like reviews. I really like reviews from people that give me feedback on my story, because then I can figure out if I need to work on any part of it! So review to your heart's content, and try to ask questions, make comments, and all that other stuff. And for incentive…If I need a random character for a part, and I don't feel like making one up, I will go and look at my reviews, see who's given me the most information, and use them. Oh, and I offer lollipops and other candy from Yippie-Yi-Yo Candy Store to people who review more than once. ^-^ So click the button that says "review this story" and tell me what you think!
Diane: Here's you're story about what happened to Hilde and Shazbat! …As well as Relena…
Liliku: Next chapter! I can't believe it! Out within a month of the last one! And as for longer…*sighs* I'll try!
Phoenix: *snickers* Actually, I got that from the book, when Araunar accidentally saw Dion in the nude…In much the same situation, too. Glad you like it!
Rocky: Then by all means, get him the books! They're by Tara K. Harper, who does some other good books too…Mainly featuring them with humans linked with animals, for that matter…And why not try the series yourself? And I'm glad you think this is pretty good! *huggles*
Stacey-Marie: Yay! I'm glad you remembered this story…And for your candy this time, you get…*roots around the candy stash* Umm…Huckleberry bon-bons! They're good, too. And I also sympathize with the story start…But what you can do is this: Write them all down, and then just keep adding a leeeeetle more to a story at random times. If you sit down in front of the computer, maybe just open up the file and add a few more sentences, or a paragraph or two. That's how I finally finished Chapter 4, although this one went faster because I knew what I wanted to happen. Either that, or else write down a very basic story line and then flesh it out, a.k.a. "They attack the raiders, there's a big fight, Hilde's kidnapped, but somehow Relena and Shazbat make it out alive to get help." That's practically word-for-word what I did for that part of this story…And that advice goes for other writers, too!
Thank you for all of the wonderful reviews, everyone! *huggles*
--Aiko Namika