The Cherry Blossom and The Big (Slightly) Bad-tempered Wolf

(otherwise known as 'Sakura and the Big (Slightly) Bad-tempered Wolf')

Chapter Three

Hehehe, I had fun with this chapter (which will inevitably mean a bit of OOC…but you should come to expect that in my stories…bit 'tis all in good fun ^-^). Thanxs sssooooooooo much to the wonderful peep's who reviewed…Go on, you know who you are, give yourselves a pat on the back!

Oooh before I forget…I haven't told you what Princess Leonora looks like (completely forgot to put in a description)…let's see, just to get a bit of a visual, she has very long wavy dark red hair and purplish coloured eyes…(^-^) and looks athletic. That should do for now…

Hmmm, I feel like doing something I haven't done before, but have always wanted to try…

::goes to script format::

Small silver/blue dragon appears with a gold star on her forehead

S. Dragon: ::Waves:: that's me! (duh) ::cracks knuckles:: let's see here…

POOF! ::Syaoran appears:: What the…

S.Dragon: ::Grins maliciously:: heeeellllooooo Syyyyyyaaaaaooorrrraaann…

Syaoran:: ::glares:: who the hell are you…

S.Dragon: Duh, read the author thingy at the top of the page ::rolls eyes::

Syaoran: ::glares::

S. Dragon: ::glares back::

…continue to glare at each other for several minutes

Sakura: Why are you two glaring at each other?

Syaoran: Sakura! ::blush:: What are you doing here? ::glances at S.Dragon::

S. Dragon: ::shrugs:: I didn't write her in…

Syaoran: ::smirks:: good author you are, you can't even control your own stories…

S. Dragon: ::glares:: oh yeah

Syaoran: ::Glares back:: yeah

S. Dragon: ::smirks, clicks …err…claws Syaoran is suddenly dressed up like the purple telletubby:: eh he he he how do ya like them apples

Syaoran/purple telletubby: ::glares, knocks S. Dragon out of the air with handbag (?)::

Sakura: hey, it even comes with accessories…why does the purple one have a handbag anyway?

S. Dragon: ::shrugs:: One of those mysteries of the universe I suppose…anyway…should we get on with the story now?

Syaoran: ::pulling off telletubby costume:: wait a minute…aren't you the one who wrote Gender Bender? (shameless plug)

S. Dragon: uhh yes… I did write Gender Bender(another shameless plug)…what's it to you?

Syaoran: YOU TURNED ME INTO A GIRL!

Sakura: ::frowns: what's wrong with that?

S. Dragon: yeah…nothing wrong with that…

Syaoran: YES THERE IS! ::Sakura glares, smoke starts coming out of S. Dragon's nostrils: uh for me I mean…

S. Dragon: ::glaring:: anyway…on with the story

Syaoran:: ::sees chapter, panics:: OH NO YOU DON'T! YOU ARE NOT UPLOADING THAT

S. Dragon: why not…? I can do worse…seriously…I really can…I mean I turned you into a girl, then made you get cracked on by some guy, then made Eriol make you do the 'Gender Dance', and then in my other story I made you sleazy and start cracking onto Sakura with all these cheesy pick up lines, and then…

Syaoran: ::blushing:: OKKKKAAAAAY!! WE GET THE PICTURE

S. Dragon: ::ignores Syaoran and starts counting off of claws:: and then I made you all possessed by that evil Maiomi lady and made you forget who you were and then you called Sakura the Unholy Queen Wench of the Harpies…

Sakura: ::frowns:: hey yeah…I remember that ::glares at Syaoran:: that wasn't very nice you know…

Syaoran: I WAS POSSESSED!

S. Dragon: ::Still counting off, now on toes:: and then in that other one I made you go all psycho and think that the cute little fluffy puppy dog was Satan's dog…

Syaoran: OKAY OKAY, WE GET THE PICTURE!

S. Dragon: Oh, okay then…on with the story!

Sakura: after you do the disclaimer…

S. Dragon: Oh yeah…::pulls out scroll:: I don't own CCs, or CC, they belong to the legendary people at Clamp, and I don't get squat, I just write for the entertainment for the readers and to do lots of evil things to the CCS characters ::reads fine print:: hey…it says here that I must be fired out of a canon into the burning ball of gas called the sun, while hungry agitated piranhas chew on my flesh whenever aforementioned characters are tortured in any way, shape or form…heeeyyyy…SYAORAN, GET AWAY FROM MY KEYBOARD ::starts chasing Syaoran around room, trying to hit him over the head with crappy printer that never does colours right::

Sakura: ::sweatdropping:: oookay…I'll do the honors then shall I? ::clicks upload button::

~~~~~~

I sprinted forward and skidded next to her. She looked like she had hurt her ankle. "Aargg…I think I twisted my ankle…"

I pulled her up and allowed her to lean on me for support. Tomoyo came around her other side so that we could both help her walk. Eriol was standing in front of us panting from having to run for so long. He backed up a bit as the wolf pack, which had surrounded us, closed in; their teeth bared, dripping with saliva. He threw another fireball at one of the wolves, but they just kept dodging them.

We were so screwed…

~~~~~~~~

Syaoran's POV:

I had been trotting along the road for about an hour or so when I heard an eerie howl pierce the silence. A few seconds later, there was another howl, then another. It sent a chill down my spine. I tried to ignore the compulsive urge to howl back when I heard a scream. I paused, my head shooting up and my ears swiveling left and right as I listened intently to the night.

…

"AAAARRRGGGHHH!! FASTER TOMOYO THEY'RE GETTING CLOSER!" echoed from somewhere to my left, followed by "I'M GOING AS FAST AS I CAN…ARRRGGGHHH IT JUST SLOBBERED ON MY CLOTHES!" I sprinted off in their direction, the trees and bushes a green blur. I could smell a pack of wolves in the air, there was about five of them, as well as something else…something sweet…and vaguely recognizable.

"TOMOYO! LEO!"

I almost stumbled in shock.

*…that sounded like…Sakura?! *

~~~~~~~~

Sakura's POV:

The pack was pushing us together as they circled us. They dodged any magic we threw at them and I didn't have my wand or my cards with me. I had left them at home. The leader of the wolf pack, the biggest one, crouched, ready to pounce.

I held my breath. Eriol stood in front of us to protect us as I saw the wolf bare its teeth and leap.

I squeezed my eyes shut and waited for the inevitability, when I heard a snarl, then the sound of something big hit the ground hard. My eyes sprang open and we all watched in complete shock as a huge (even bigger than the black leader wolf) scruffy brown wolf appeared from the trees and slammed into the black one. The black one went flying, but got back on its feet, the scruffy brown one, growling menacingly, came and stood guard in front of us, baring it's massive teeth to the black wolf pack. The smaller wolves backed down, but the big one obviously wasn't going to give up without a fight.

It surged forward, but the scruffy brown one was ready and grabbed it by the neck as it neared, and tossed it to the side as if it weighed nothing. The black one slammed into one of the retreating smaller ones, and scrambled to its' feet. The big scruffy one resumed its position in front of us, once again ready to strike if need be, and growling threateningly to the pack leader. The leader took a step forward but stopped when another fireball, this time not from Eriol, crashed into the ground right in front of it. Our heads shot up as a deep voice called out from the trees. "BACK OFF WOLF BOY, THAT'S MY FRIENDS YOU'RE MESSING WITH THERE!!" Kero, in his true form, landed on the ground right in front of the black wolf and growled at it. The scruffy brown one in front of us looked a little shocked for a second, then sort of grinned…it looked a little unusual and not entirely reassuring…then trotted forward and stood next to Kero. The black wolf glanced from the giant glaring winged lion, to the big glaring scruffy wolf. It crouched in submission, then turned to run off into the forest, it's tail between its' legs.

Kero sat on his haunches. "HA that'll teach him…" He turned and looked suspiciously at the scruffy brown wolf that was sitting beside him. The brown one merely raised an eyebrow…well a wolf's equivalent of an eyebrow, and stared back. There was a flurry of feathers and a bright flash of light and Kero, back in his false form, spoke in a dry tone. "Going for a new look kid?"

I blinked…*…what was he on about…?*

The wolf smirked. "Nice to see you to stuffed animal."

My eyes widened considerably. "S-S-Syaoran??"

He turned, tilted his head to the side as if confused, then his eyes widened. "Sakura!"

~~~~~~~~~

Syaoran's POV:

I hadn't really been paying attention to the group of people as I had fought off the other wolves, but I had known it was Sakura and Tomoyo when I heard the yell. But that still didn't prepare me for the shock when I actually saw her. She had certainly grown since the last time I had seen her. Her hair, although quite messy at the moment, was a little darker than I remember and it was currently coming loose from it's ties, but looked as though it would reach her mid-back.

And her eyes.

I'm not one to go all poetic, but they had darkened from the emerald green of my memories, to a rich darker jade that rivaled even the deepest green of the trees that surrounded us…I would quite willingly get lost in them.

*…wow… *

She stepped forward and hesitated, looking a little confused. "Syaoran…is that really you?" She paused and came forward to get a closer look. "You look…::short pause::…hairy…"

I blanched.

That wasn't exactly the sort of thing I had expected to hear from her after such a long absence, but well…given the circumstances…

Eriol's slightly amused voice interrupted the silence. "Oh he just finally hit puberty, that's all"

I glanced at him and gave him the coldest glare I could muster, which I hoped would have been really effective given the sharp pointy teeth I was baring. He simply smiled that smile of his and stayed quiet.

Sakura turned back to me and smiled, closing the distance and wrapping me in a big bear hug. I heard her sniffle. "What's wrong?"

"I just missed you that's all…and now your here and you just saved us all." She pulled back and looked at me. "What happened to you?"

I sat down and sighed. "Well from what I could gather, and what the chipmunk told me, I was sucked through a portal which had the unfortunate side effect of turning me into a wolf"

Sakura looked perplexed. "Chipmunk?"

"He used to be human but had a…uhh…unfortunate accident involving a neurotic girlfriend."

She blinked. "…Oh…okay then"

I looked around her to the other people standing around. Tomoyo, (now taller and obviously older looking) was smiling that annoying little smile she had whenever she saw something 'kawaii'.

It was a little unsettling.

I tore my attention away from Tomoyo and the mysterious girl leaning on her and gazed back at Sakura. "So what are you doing here?"

She grimaced slightly and bit her lip. "It's…kinda a long story…"

"Well then" I settled on the ground, getting comfortable, "Enlighten me."

She told me about how she found the girl Leonora, or 'Leo', in her basement, and all the stuff about her, (after introducing her) then about how, the next day, the spell to take her home had backfired when Leo sneezed. Then she went on to explain about the portals, and how it was actually the side effects of the very same portal thing that sent them here, which had sucked me up, spat me out and had done strange things to my physical appearance. It was well into the night that she had finally finished talking and her voice was considerably hoarse by the end of it. Eriol, {who was taller, and had grown his hair out a bit (it was tied up, which made him look a lot like Clow Reed)} had since built a fire, which had reduced during the explanation to a pile of glowing embers. Sakura rubbed her arms and glanced around looking a little distressed. "You don't think those wolves will come back while we are asleep do you?"

Eriol glanced at Sakura, "They shouldn't…but there is only one way that we can assure they won't be back this way for a while" His gaze shifted and became fixed on me.

"What?…Why are you looking at me like that…"

"Well, you know why dogs go around urinating on every tree in sight don't you Syaoran?"

His tone suggested he already knew the answer and was only asking it to embarrass someone…i.e. me.

I frowned and hesitantly answered. "Yeah…it's to mark their territory so that when other d-you have got to be kidding me…"

He smiled and calmly continued. "I kid you not my cute furry descendent. I am merely suggesting a means to ensure our wellbeing during the night."

"I am not" I shot him a glare that by rights should have melted his glasses and continued in a snarl, "peeing on a tree."

"Don't think of it as 'peeing on a tree' think of it as a message through scent markers to say 'Stay away from my territory and paws off my mate'."

I growled and bared my teeth as a confused sounding Sakura said. "Mate?…What does he mean by mate?"

If my face wasn't so covered by fur, it would have been alternating between white rage, and bright red embarrassment.

"You want me to bite you don't you?…Do you want to get bitten, because I won't hesitate if you do"

Eriol raised an eyebrow and said in an all-too-calm voice. "Do you want to be neutered?"

"::death glare, snarl:: Right, that's it"

I sprang to my feet before he had a chance to defend himself, and a second later I had him pinned to the ground, snarling in his face.

But he was smiling.

He was quite literally staring death in the face, and he was smiling.

My nostrils flared and I was preparing to messily wipe that smile off his face when he pitched me off. I hit the ground with a thud, but got back on my feet and pounced…

~~~~~~~~~~

Sakura's POV:

I blinked and sweatdropped as boy and wolf went tumbling head over heels, resulting in Syaoran being the momentary victor as he pinned Eriol to the ground and growled in his face. That was short lived though, as Syaoran was pitched to the side by a sneaky little move by Eriol. There was a brief scuffle between the two of them, I heard a few snarls, a bit of cursing from someone, then all went quiet. I bit my lip and waited for the dust to settle. Eriol stumbled out of the shadows, a little scratched and dusty but alive, and brushed himself off. I blinked again. "What did you do to Syaoran?"

Eriol glanced at me as he wiped his glasses on his shirt and placed them back on his face and looked pointedly behind him. Syaoran was lying on the ground and appeared to be struggling with something on his nose.

It was a belt.

Or more specifically, Eriol's belt.

Somehow, during the brief scuffle, Eriol had managed to remove his belt and fashion it into a makeshift muzzle.

Syaoran was muttering something that I couldn't quite make out and continued to paw at the muzzle that seemed to be stuck fast. I heard Tomoyo and Leo giggle behind me; Syaoran's eye swiveled up to glare at them, before he resumed his struggles, muttering something that sounded distinctly rude.

I frowned disapprovingly at Eriol.

He shrugged "He was going to bite me, I was merely using self defense"

I rubbed my temples as I felt a headache come on and went to help Syaoran with the belt/muzzle.

"Quit wiggling and I'll get it off…" Syaoran obediently stilled and looked up at me guiltily. I finally managed to get it and chucked it back to Eriol. Syaoran shook his head snorted, before narrowing his eyes at Eriol. "Excuse me while I tear Eriol a new breathing hole." I smiled and patted him on the head, effectively calming the raging wolf. "There there Syaoran, he was only defending himself, no harm done." Syaoran gave me the oddest expression at my unusual display of affection and looked at his paws, before mumbling in a small voice. "-k"

There was a snort of barely contained laughter behind me, but I chose to ignore it. "Right, now if you two are quite done, I think it'll be best if we all just get some sleep." I gave Eriol and Syaoran a look that said 'no arguments'. Eriol bowed, Syaoran was avoiding eye contact. I smiled, taking the responses as an agreement, and walked over to a tree. I brushed some of the leaves and dirt from the ground and leaned up against the trunk to get comfortable. Leo and Tomoyo eyed each other, then glanced at Eriol, who just shrugged, as they came and sat around me. Leo yawned and propped herself up against the trunk to my left. "Well, good night everyone"

There was a collective "Night" before all went quiet.

I drifted in and out of sleep for a while, then slid down to lay on the dirt, the trunk of the tree was starting to dig into my back. Finally getting comfortable, I curled up to get warm as I drifted off, lulled by the light breeze rustling the leaves.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Syaoran's POV:

I made a point of finding a comfortable place to sleep as far away from Eriol as was possible and settled on the ground. I was just drifting off when I heard someone shuffle, then silence, before starting up again. I looked up to the group huddled around the massive tree. Everyone seemed to be in a deep sleep, but Sakura looked like she couldn't get warm.

That was one of the advantages of being a wolf; the coat kept me as warm as toast. Everyone else, Sakura especially, wasn't exactly dressed for a night in the woods. I glanced at the fire. It was nothing more than a pile of stumps and ashes and I wouldn't be able to re-light it. I crept forward, not wanting to wake anyone and sat down next to Sakura. Leaves crunched quietly under my paws, and Kero, who was sitting on her other side, stirred a little in his slumber, muttered something about pudding, before rolling over and returning to a deep sleep. I smirked slightly and made myself comfortable on the ground and gazed at Sakura's sleeping form. Her calm but exceedingly beautiful face crinkled into a small frown as a small gust of wind blew through the trees. I smiled slightly, yawned, then rested my head on her stomach. She let out a little sigh but didn't wake.

I was lulled to sleep by the steady beating of her heart.

~~~~~~~~~

Sakura's POV:

Filtered sunlight streamed into my eyes and dragged me from my peaceful slumber. I could feel a cold breeze on my face, but for some reason I felt warm. I rubbed a hand down my face and blinked open my eyes, as my drowsy brain finally registered the fact that there was something heavy on my stomach.

…

"AAARGH! SYAORAN?!?" His head shot up from its' place on my stomach, and he scrambled backwards, blinking rapidly. "I-I-aa…" He glanced frantically from me to the other people around who had been woken up by my outburst and were giving him funny looks. "I-I-I'lljustgofindsomethingforbreakfast!" He turned and bolted, a wolf shaped cloud of dust the only indication that he had actually been sitting there. I shook my head confused then turned to my friends. Tomoyo and Leo were looking at me with identical wry expressions on their faces. Eriol was cleaning his glasses on his shirt, but joined them a second later.

"What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Oh nothing, I was just wishing I had my video camera with me that's all"

Eriol smiled and continued. "Wasn't that awfully sweet of Syaoran to keep you warm all night"

I blinked, my brain still in a state somewhere between sleep and consciousness. "Uh…warm?"

All three nodded, identical knowing smirks plastered on their faces.

I frowned. "Stop looking at me like that, it's creeping me out." Kero woke up finally and hovered next to my shoulder. "What's with them?"

I glared in their general direction. "They're jumping to conclusions again."

"Oh is that all" He snorted then patted his stomach. "So, what's there to eat around here?"

Leo, the smirk momentarily gone from her face, frowned and looked at her surroundings thoughtfully. She paused and pointed to something in the direction that Syaoran had bolted. "I remember seeing a river over that way when we were being chased. We might be able to catch some fish."

Kero smiled and started off in the direction. "Sounds good to me!"

We followed as Kero disappeared through the trees and a second later the sound of running water could be heard above the calls of the birds chirping in the treetops. The river wasn't wide, and only looked about a metre or so deep in the middle, but several flashes of silver indicated that it was teaming with fish. Kero was standing hock deep in the river (in his true form) watching the water, completely still. I saw him tense up and suddenly dunk his head in. He pulled his head out, a happy smile on his face, with a fish flapping in between his jaws. I smiled as he trotted out and dumped it on the riverbank, where two other fish lay.

"Wow, you're good at that Kero." He smirked, sounding smug "Yeah, finally something I'm better than the kid at…" He smiled and continued, "that I can actually prove." At my confused expression, he jerked his head to the side. I glanced in the direction he was indicating, then did a double take.

Syaoran, looking extremely grumpy, and completely soaked, was bounding through the water yelling "COME BACK HERE YOU STUPID FISH" I stifled a giggle as Kero rolled his eyes and called out. "YOU'RE NEVER GOING TO CATCH THEM LIKE THAT, YOU'RE SCARING THEM ALL AWAY!" Kero waded into the water and glared disapprovingly at the very irritated dripping-wet wolf. "Didn't they teach you a little thing called patience during your training?"

Syaoran snorted. "Huh, I'd like to see you do better"

"I already have idiot, I think the three I caught as opposed to none, will go a long way to show that I'm better at this than you are."

Syaoran snarled and fixed Kero with a glare. "Is that a challenge?"

Kero glared back. "So be it."

And so the fight was on.

Kero flew off and landed a bit downstream from Syaoran. We all watched somewhat dumbstruck as Kero, after chucking yet another fish to the riverbank, reached down and plucked a log out of the water and chucked it at Syaoran. The log hit the water with a tremendous splash, soaking the already soaked wolf, and effectively scaring away any fish that had been in that area. Syaoran glared, then a second later managed to snag his first fish. But instead of throwing it on the shore he turned and threw it at Kero's head.

I shook my head as Eriol came to stand next to me, one arm crossed and his other hand leaning on his chin. "Aah look, they're finally playing nice together."

There was a wet splat as two fish simultaneously came flying and smacked Eriol in the face. I smothered a giggle as I saw both wolf and winged lion return to their little competition.

Leo paused from building the fire and glanced up at me. "Are they always like that?"

"No, they're usually worse. It's actually good to see them working together on something."

Leo glanced up at me, a perplexed expression on her face, then looked back at Kero and Syaoran. Syaoran had succeeded in getting a fish and would have dropped it on the riverbank if it had not been for Kero who currently had him in a headlock.

We all sweatdropped as Syaoran struggled up the bank, the giant winged lion quite literally hanging off his neck and dropped his catch on the ever growing pile, before turning around and dragging both himself and Kero back into the river.

Leo scratched the back of her head and got back to work on the fire. "I'll have to take your word for it…"

~~~~~~~~

Eriol's POV:

Things had more or less calmed down for the moment and everyone had finished a surprisingly tasty meal of fish cooked over the file.

…Now by everybody, of course, I'm talking about those with a normal appetite. It's common knowledge that Kero inhales food, and plenty of it. Yukito does the same, but he isn't here and I'm not talking about him. No, it seems that Syaoran, perhaps due to a side effect of being turned into a giant wolf, now appeared to have an appetite to match Kero's.

A pile of fish that could've fed a small family for a week was reduced to one lone morsel in a blink of an eye.

But neither was finished there.

Kero (staying in his true form after hearing that there were creatures stranger than him living in the land and that no one would find him unusual) looked down at the single fish.

Then Syaoran looked down at it.

They both looked up and stared at each other.

They both crouched and bared their teeth.

Sakura had been showing Leo her cards, (I had only just taught her how to transport things to herself) and looked up when two low menacing growls broke the semi-silence.

The fur on Syaoran's back was standing on end and he was snout to snout with an equally menacing looking Kero. It was like watching one of those nature documentaries where a lower rank animal was trying to snatch some food when the dominant one hadn't finished.

I sat back and crossed my arms, interested in seeing how this was going to turn out.

Both looked like they were going to fight to the death…and Tomoyo, of course, whipped out her camera to catch the action. (I had transported it to her) The low growling got louder, and Sakura appeared to have had enough of their bickering.

I must say, it takes a very brave (or very stupid) person to interrupt an argument between a giant wolf and a giant winged lion when they were glaring at each other like that.

Sakura stood up, a small frown on her face and walked quite calmly over to Syaoran and Kero, who didn't seem to notice her.

Tomoyo hissed in a voice barely above a whisper "What is she doing?"

I shrugged and watched as Sakura stopped about a metre away from the snarling pair and glanced from Kero…then to Syaoran.

She drew in a deep breath.

"SYAORAN, BAD WOLF"

Maybe it was just the tone in Sakura's voice, maybe it was some instinctual thing, or maybe it's just because he is rather weak whenever he's around Sakura that made him break his glare with Kero, and cower, trying to make himself look small.…Which in itself is quite remarkable given the fact that when standing next to you on all fours, his head reaches your elbow…

Kero snickered. Sakura turned and somehow managed to grab him by the scruff of his neck and pull him up to her eye level. (This also being quite remarkable when you consider the fact that Kero in his true form can carry Sakura around on his back.)

He actually changed back into his false form from shock and blinked, beyond words.

"Now look, I haven't seen Syaoran in a very long time and I don't want you to maim him okay?"

Syaoran started to slink off, trying to avoid the wrath of the angry cherry blossom.

He didn't get far.

"SYAORAN, SIT" His backside immediately hit the ground before his brain had even registered what she had said.

Syaoran avoided Sakura's look once again. She watched him for a second and turned back to a petrified looking Kero. "So if it is not too much trouble…would you two stop bickering, otherwise I'll never make you pudding again."

Kero say anything, although I wasn't really sure he could given that she was practically holding him up by his vocal chords, instead he nodded his head enthusiastically.

"Good" She let him go, then turned to Syaoran.

He cowered again and whimpered.

She tilted her head to the side, as if considering what sort of punishment to deliver, then leaned in. "Stop bickering…"

Quite lenient, but Syaoran still let out another pathetic whimper and slunk off, coming to sit next to me.

Sakura turned on her heal and stomped off to sit on a fallen tree up stream that hung over the river.

I leaned over and whispered to Tomoyo. "Has she been getting lessons from Touya?"

Tomoyo shrugged. "He took her to a few self-defense classes…though it shouldn't have changed her this much…" She grinned and patted her camera. "Makes a great video though!"

I glanced at Leo, she said in a confused voice. "What just happened?"

"I think Kero and Syaoran just found out that there's a line that shouldn't be crossed with Sakura, and they just Riverdanced over it…"

"Ooohh…"

I heard another whimper to my right. I ignored it and continued. "I think it may also be due to the happenings of the past few days. It might just have started to catch up on her. She probably just needed to let off a little steam and unfortunately Syaoran and Kero where in the way."

There was a whine then a very miserable sounding wolf replied. "I'm such an idiot…she probably thinks I'm an immature jackass now…"

"No arguments there…"

He gave me a dirty look.

Leo eyed Syaoran then said. "You have to make it up to her."

"…How?"

Kero floated past and replied "Being nice to me might help"

Syaoran was at least smart enough not to rise to the bait. He sighed and gazed at Sakura, then frowned as Kero floated up to her carrying a flower. He said something, she smiled in return and gave him a hug.

Leo smiled. "See, now Kero has the right idea…"

Syaoran grumbled then rested his head on his paws again. After a second he looked up and eyed Tomoyo and me. "Why don't you go talk to her."

"She's not angry with us."

He made a sort of huffing noise, surged to his feet and disappeared into the bushes around us.

Tomoyo just shrugged and went back to showing Leo some of her card capturing videos on the little camcorder screen.

I smiled and leaned back up against the tree.

~~~~~~~~~

Syaoran's POV:

I was pacing…it just seemed like the right thing to do at the moment.

"stupidstupidstupidstupidstupidstupidstupidstupid…"

"Well, I'm not going to argue with that…"

I paused to glare at Kero (once again in his true form) then continued to pace. "What do you want Kero…Haven't you caused enough trouble already"

He snorted and leapt in front of me, blocking my path. "Hey, it was as much your fault as it was mine…" He shuffled his wings. "She isn't really that angry with us. She told me that she has a headache and us growling at each other was like fifty chainsaws cutting down trees right in her ear."

"And that's supposed to make me feel any better?"

"Maybe, maybe not…look, just go talk to her okay. I mean the two of you haven't seen each other in what 5 years?…and you haven't even really talked yet. And that makes her sad, and I don't like it when my Mistress is sad."

"She actually said that was what made her unhappy?"

He scowled slightly. "She's been saying that ever since you left. Look would you just go talk to her?" He got up and walked through the trees, muttering something about 'stupid kid' and 'can't see what's right in front of him'.

I frowned, then after a second followed him out and into the clearing next to the river.

Eriol was helping Tomoyo pack up her video camera and tapes into the bag he had transported from home, and Leo and Sakura were putting out the fire. Sakura was smiling again, and had put the flower Kero had given her in her hair. "Are you ready to go?"

"Huh? Oh uh, yeah…" We back tracked, and I followed my nose back to the road. Leo and Kero were up ahead talking happily about their favorite desserts, and Tomoyo and Eriol were talking in quiet whispers behind us; even with my heightened hearing I couldn't catch what they were saying. So it gave Sakura and I a perfect chance to catch up.

"um Sakura…"

She looked down at me. "Hmm?"

"Um…I'm really sorry…about before…"

She smiled and sweatdropped slightly. "No, you don't have to apologize…I should be sorry…I shouldn't have cracked like that…it's just that you weren't exactly helping my headache…"

I looked down at my paws as I trotted along then looked back up at her. "I'm still sorry anyway…"

She smiled. "Well then thank you anyway…so, what have you been up to for the last 5 years? Those letters you sent weren't very clear."

I scowled slightly. "Yeah, they weren't very informative, but the elders never really gave me time between my studies and my training to do much else. I had to smuggle the letters out through one of the kitchen hands."

"Really? I figured it was something to do with the clan, but I didn't think they had you on that short a leash…no pun intended…"

I smirked and continued. "Yeah…although in the last few months they have really eased off. One minute I'm up to my eyeballs in ancient Chinese manuscripts the next they suddenly spring some freedom on me. I was allowed to skip a few of my lessons and training to go and do something outside the manor, on more than a few occasions actually. They even agreed to let me send you a big long letter a few days ago, although I suppose I won't have to now…"

She nodded and replied. "Almost sounds as if they're up to something…"

"Yeah, that's what I was thinking…" I paused "Hey, does it seem suddenly too quiet to you?"

Sakura looked up, then spun around to look behind her. She sighed. "It seems we have lost some of our travelling companions. Or is that our travelling companions have strategically lost us…"

I put my nose to the ground and sniffed. Following the scent trail, I trotted into the trees surrounding the road and sat in front of a bush. "This is actually kinda sad you know. I mean I'm a wolf for Pete's sake, there's not much I can really do that you'd warrant as romantic."

The bush giggled, then Tomoyo, Kero, Leo and Eriol crawled out. Sakura appeared behind me a second later, her arms crossed. "Can we please just stop wasting time, I really need a long hot bath."

Kero snorted. "Yeah, so does Syaoran, he's starting to smell like a dog."

Once again, I didn't rise to the bait, instead I laughed sarcastically "Har har, now can we get moving? The faster we can get to the palace, the faster I can get changed back."

And once again, we started off, this time with Sakura and I at the back so we could watch the others for any funny business.

"So anyway, back to the conversation…what have you been doing?"

"Still cheerleading, Tomoyo designed our uniforms this year, they're really cute."

I asked jokingly in a fairly dry tone, "They don't have puffy sleeves do they?"

She giggled and replied. "Oh no, they're really nice…we had a vote on what we wanted so she couldn't go too overboard." She stooped low, plucked up a flower by the side of the road and started to pluck the petals off one by one. "Touya's been taking me to all these self defense lesson's lately…"

"He still as paranoid as ever?"

"More so ever since a guy sent me a bunch of roses on Valentines Day…" She smiled and blushed as I felt my heart sink. "So…the guy that sent you flowers…are you two…you know…"

"Dating?"

The word itself sent a dagger through my already aching heart, but I managed to nod.

She giggled and shook her head. "Oh course not…let's just say I'm…waiting for the right one to come and sweep me off my feet." She looked at me funny then smiled and looked back up the road again.

I could feel my cheeks burning, but was infinitely thankful, once again, for all the fur. We crossed over a sturdy bridge as the forest started to thin out a bit. Through the gaps, I could make out that we were coming into a sort of valley, which was completely covered between the thinning trees, with hundreds of brightly coloured flowers. They filled the air with an almost sickly sweet scent and I caught a whiff of something that reminded me of burnt toast.

I paused and sniffed the air again.

Sakura stopped and turned, as did the others, and asked. "What's wrong?"

"I'm not su-" The ground shuddered.

Various bird-life flew into the air squawking.

I sniffed the air…the burnt toast smell was stronger…

The ground shuddered again, stronger this time.

Sakura eyed her surroundings and pulled out her key. "Syaoran…what's going on…"

I spun around and sniffed the air "I don- HIT THE DECK!!!"

I slammed my body into Sakura, causing her to fall to the ground as the others ducked…just in time to miss the searing blast of flame that would have hit us if we had been standing.

Leo rolled away from a burning shrub, she screamed, her eyes wide as she pointed to something from the direction the flame had come. "DDDRRRRRRAAAAGGGGOOONNNN!!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

MWWAAA-HAAAA-HAAA-HAAAA ::wipes tear from eye:: I really couldn't help myself…I'm doing a fantasy fic and therefore it must include dragons…::grins and has Tomoyo-like starry eyes:: dragons are soooo cuuuuutttteeeee…::everyone sweatdrops and backs away slowly::

HOHOHOHOHOHO!!

Anywho, ciao till later!

StarDragon ^-^