Disclaimer: I do not own Card Captor Sakura… do da do da oh do da dayyyy…..
Summary: It is the story about a girl called Sakura who falls in love with a boy who saves her life (Syaoran). Unknown to her, Syaoran has a secret! By daylight he is the cold, handsome boy Syaoran, but by nightfall, immersed in the enchantment of moonlight he becomes the mysterious white wolf of the forest. Will Sakura learn of Syaoran's secret before all hope is lost?
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DM:
Talker and tk: Of course it's an S+S ficcie! Are you kidding me?! I wouldn't have it any other way! ^_^ Besides, what's a great relationship without some great complications? lol XD
LiL DuDeTtE: Dude! Whatd'ya mean I'm "so freaking mean"?? I didn't know the ff. bot didn't send you my update! I swear it wasn't my fault!! *cries loudly* I was like, "*sniff* Lil Dudette doesn't love me any more, she didn't send me a review!" lol! Should I email you whenever I update??
S.I.M5: Are you an Andromeda nut? Lol (I used to dig Kevin Sorbo when he was on Hercules! Heheh)
Thanks for all your suggestions, they're all wicked cool- especially the one about God's crown jewels and Sakura's tears. I had something different in mind though…maybe I'll save your ideas for a different fic?
Sharai: Woah. Are you serious?! Happy Birthday!! lol
Hououza: Dang, I'm so jealous! ^_^ I live in Australia and they only just released the first CCS movie. Do you know where I can get that English version of the second one online? I really REALLY want it!!
dagger: Ruby red- eyed girl's identity unveiled…in this very chapter! *dun dun dun!*
Julia and Tania: How very astute and intuitive of you- as always, might I add! ^_^
Indeed, there is some significance to the dream that has darn all to do about falling off cliffs and the like! This will of course become clear very shortly.
I too love the Syaoran and Meiling pairing (obviously not quite like the way I love the Syaoran and Sakura…*happy sigh*) but it always seems that Meiling is the one chasing after Syaoran in stories. She often comes across as being so…ugh, "needy". I decided to turn this on its head. Enjoy :)
Everyone: As always, I extend my gratitude to all the readers and most importantly, my reviewers. To be given feedback on my progress through this story, both the positive components and faults, will ensure that everyone enjoys 'Wolf of the Snow' as much as I enjoy writing it!
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Chapter 9:
One hour before present…
Darkness seeped into the edges of his mind, threatening to spill into his consciousness as he gulped the air like a fish out of water.
And yet the vines wrapped tighter still, squeezing every oxygen molecule slowly from Syaoran's burning lungs. Now he knew why they were called 'stranglers'.
"KID!!" Kero yelled. The diminutive winged beast flew towards his human charge in an attempt to free him but one mighty thrust from another animated vine slapped him backwards into the air.
"Stay…back…K-Ker…" Syaoran wheezed. He clawed at the unyielding thick branch curled around his throat and struggled in vain to wrench himself loose. It seemed the more he resisted, the tighter it wound itself around him, crushing his wind pipe and his ribs and his wits.
Perched high in the branches of an ancient rainforest tree, almost camouflaged amongst the wide drip tip leaves, was a woman; elegant and beautiful …though hardly one of any ordinary appearance.
Long dark green tresses fell to her sides, framing a serene face whose pigmentation had an unmistakably pale green pallor. Her entire body was adorned…no, constructed with vines and leaves that fluttered and writhed with a life of their own.
Banished by man and their machines as her brothers were slowly uprooted and their mighty trunks salvaged for firewood, she fled to the last remaining rainforest in the province, though ironically, one that was situated in the middle of a human city.
Nonetheless, the Guardian of the Jewel of the Land made her home in the Aurana City Botanical Sanctuary, her name was Wood.
Again, Kero tried flying up toward Syaoran who was now almost entirely cocooned in vines and nearing asphyxiation. Again, Wood, though her expression was subdued, flicked her wrist in one motion and sent another branch crashing down on the tiny guardian beast.
Kero tumbled to the ground, winded and dizzy.
"Dammit! I hate being weak!" he spat. He shook his head to regain his senses and glared up at Wood.
The wide orange flower, like something of the hibiscus family, glimmered beside her ear…
…alight with the glow of magic.
The darkness in Syaoran's mind deepened but he willed himself to stay awake. He had to succeed… His every happiness depended on it!
Syaoran wriggled around in his rigid vine bonds until his fingers brushed against the inside of his boot. Now if he could just reach down a little further…just a little bit…
Not without effort, Syaoran's fingers closed around the hilt of his blade and he craned his neck as he adjusted its position. It was a pity that the blade itself was made of pewter and was a dull even grey, but with a little luck the smooth silver of the hilt could catch just enough of the sunlight to start a small fire…
Syaoran had his late mother to thank for this little trick. Yelan Li was a wise and beautiful woman, and it was she who had taught him the most about life and survival in the most desperate of situations.
Several minutes passed as the vines continued to close around Syaoran's body. A couple of times, purely out of lack of concentration as his mind screamed for oxygen, Syaoran had almost dropped the knife and had to readjust its position. Perhaps there was too little sunlight, or perhaps the hilt just wasn't reflecting that well…
Quite unexpectedly, a tiny quiver of grey smoke began to rise from the blackened, concentrated spot of light on the creeper binding Syaoran's ankles.
A golden spark, a flicker of white and the first tongues of flame ignited upon Wood's branches.
The effect was immediate. As though pained, Wood unfurled her vines from around Syaoran's body and he fell sharply toward the ground. He grabbed onto a stray strangler on the way down and dangled this way for a few seconds.
Fire spread across Wood's body, the hot yellow flames licking and engulfing at her leaves as they slowly cindered. She flayed her arms somewhat desperately and then shielded her pretty face. Syaoran took advantage of this distraction and leaped onto Wood's back, tackling her from behind.
Before the Guardian knew what hit her, Syaoran's hand closed around the glowing orange hibiscus behind her ear and she herself found that her body was shrinking, curling, sinking toward the ground.
Roots, leaves, torso and finally head of the elegant Guardian disappeared slowly into the soft brown earth from whence she came until all that remained was a tiny stalk with a single shiny, dark green leaf; a new sapling.
Kero fluttered over to where Syaoran stood clutching the flower and looked down at the sapling.
"She'll be alright," Kero assured, "Once the powers of all of the Guardians are restored she'll grow to her true form again."
Syaoran nodded and peered at the glowing delicate flower in the palm of his hand. Just like the other mysterious objects before it, the glimmering bulb materialized into a round smooth jade green stone; the Jewel of the Land.
The fifth of the seven Jewels had been claimed. Syaoran sighed with relief and pocketed the stone.
He suddenly smiled as a thought occurred to him. It was only a matter of time before he could finally be with Sakura, his beautiful, precious Sakura! What would they do? Perhaps they would marry, and then they could buy a property somewhere in the country… like a fruit orchard, he'd always wanted a fruit orchard…of course, it would have to be near Jas'mynn, Sakura would want to be close to her family…and then again, he would have to ask her father's permission to marry her…and the brother didn't especially like him…eh, who cares!? He was going to be with Sakura!!...
Just then, a most unanticipated sound interrupted his thoughts, breaking the tranquil quiet of the sanctuary…
…The sound of someone clapping.
Syaoran and Kero spun around in alarm, wondering just how much their uninvited guest had witnessed.
A slender figure emerged from the shadow of a wide tree; an attractive young girl who looked to be about Syaoran's age. She wore a dark red Chinese dress and her silky black hair was tied into long odangos that fell softly to her hips.
Syaoran's eyes widened and her pretty lips curled into a coy smile. Her ruby red eyes flashed wickedly.
"What's the matter, Syaoran? You look like you've seen a ghost." She purred.
"One would think so, Meiling… but you and I both know that would be impossible for you." Syaoran growled. His eyes narrowed.
"…Or you, for that matter." Meiling added. She licked her lips and grinned as Syaoran's scowl deepened. "Oh come now, Syaoran, what's with the glaring? Is that any way to greet an old girlfriend?"
"You manipulative little…" Syaoran took a threatening step toward her but stopped sharply as Meiling's eyes transformed. It was only a brief flicker, so brief that Kero never would have caught it; a flash of gold moving across the ruby red of her eyes.
For a second, they almost looked…reptilian.
For once, Meiling actually looked sincere, even…sorrowful. She reached out and gently placed a hand on Syaoran's face. He flinched and with a look of hurt, she withdrew it.
"I…I know the sacrifice you made for me…what you make for me, with the Seven Jewels…and I know that it hurt you, crushed you…when I told you we could never be together..."
Syaoran's expression softened and he frowned gently. He looked away from Meiling's now tender gaze and whispered, "The sacrifice is not for you…not anymore."
Meiling looked down at the ground and nodded sadly. "I let you down, Syaoran…but I always cared for you… don't you care about me?"
Syaoran turned his head and gazed at Meiling with an unreadable expression. After a moment he nodded numbly. It was true, he would probably always care about Meiling…even if his heart was with another now…
Meiling returned Syaoran's gaze with a weak smile and placed her arms around his neck. Again, she felt his body tense but smiled even more broadly when she felt him relax and his arms encircled her in embrace.
"I've really missed you…Xiao Lang," she breathed his name of the days of old, as though it reminded her of some nostalgic memory, of the past that they once shared.
Syaoran smiled at this. It really had been a long time…
"I've missed you too." He replied.
At that moment, something quite unexpected happened, so sudden that it barely had time to register in Syaoran's mind. Meiling drew her head from Syaoran's shoulder and pressed her lips against his in a deep, tender kiss. Without really realizing what he was doing, Syaoran's eyes had fluttered closed and he began to kiss her back, almost in automation as though a long dormant memory of the past had awoken in his mind.
Something else in Syaoran's mind had also awoken; a tiny voice…
This is wrong…this is so, so wrong…
It was wrong. And his soul knew it…
Syaoran pulled abruptly from Meiling's arms and turned his face away.
At precisely the same moment, he saw her.
It was as though Syaoran's thoughts had materialized before him, though he knew she was not an illusion.
Sakura stood at the edge of the clearing, her small hands clutching the front of her dress, her pretty turquoise eyes wide and bewildered, and her bottom lip trembling slightly.
A hand came slowly to Syaoran's lips. "Oh my god…" he breathed, "Sakura…"
As suddenly as she had appeared, Sakura turned on heel and fled into the bushes.
"SAKURA!!" Syaoran shouted. Both hands flew to his head in frustration and panic. No. This couldn't be happening…he loved Sakura, he had just found her! And now…there was nothing left to be done…he had to go after her!
Syaoran ran out of the clearing and pushed through the curtain of shrubbery through which Sakura had disappeared. He could hear both Meiling and Kero calling after him.
…
Syaoran followed Sakura's tracks on the soft earth as he ran and when the tracks disappeared he used his wolfish senses to guide him. Sakura had a distinctive scent; one only apparent to the most sensitive of animal noses. She smelt like cherry blossoms after the rain…
At last he found her, curled up as though asleep on the forest floor beneath a tree, her face tear- stained and smeared with dirt. His heart cried out at the sight of her.
"Sakura…"his voice was broken with emotion.
When she did not move an inch, Syaoran moved slowly toward her. How he longed to just pick her up in his arms and kiss away her tears…
He reached out and gently touched her arm.
As though electrified, she leaped upright and stared at him with wide, horrified eyes.
"Don't…touch …me." she whispered through gritted teeth.
"Sakura…" Syaoran reached out to cup her face in his hand but she slapped it sharply away.
"DON'T TOUCH ME!!" She screamed shrilly, glaring up at him as new tears spilled from her swollen eyes. "You have no right!!"
"Listen to me, Sakura, it's not what you think…" pleaded Syaoran, as tears threatened at the corner of his own eyes.
"You kissed…her." Sakura's voice was accusing, bitter…and hurt.
"It didn't mean anything! I- I love you!"
Sakura's bottom lip trembled again and her expression changed slightly, to one of surprise. Syaoran had never said that before…
She tried to harden her expression once more but the resentment was failing in her voice.
"N-No, you kissed that…that girl, w- who is…you love…h-"
"Her name is Meiling," Syaoran whispered, "It's true that I loved her once…a long time ago…but my heart doesn't belong to her anymore…"
Syaoran gazed down at Sakura with moist amber eyes, "…It belongs to you."
Sakura burst into tears once more as her heart filled with so many different emotions it felt like it was going to explode; resentment, confusion, hurt, love…
She did not fight when Syaoran's arms came protectively around her and she sobbed deeply into his chest front. He stroked her hair tenderly until the tears subsided. He kissed her gently on the forehead and whispered to her.
"Please Sakura, will you listen to me? I want to tell you everything."
Sakura gazed up into Syaoran's warm amber eyes, finding the comfort…and the truth beheld there. She nodded silently.
……….
One hundred years before present…
The lake shimmered like a wide pale sheet of glass as it reflected the azure, cloudless sky overhead. Quite suddenly, a stone skipped across its tranquil surface, creating creases on the flawless liquid fabric.
Once. Twice. Three times. Until the stone sunk with an audible 'ka- ploonk' in a mass of ripples.
On the shore of the lake, two seventeen year old boys whooped. They had spent the morning fishing by the lake located near their tiny village; basking in the glorious summer sun on a day off from farm work and family chores.
One of the young men had a short crop of shiny black hair beneath a straw cap and his almond brown eyes sparkled with mischief. His name was Lie Na Wong.
Beside him, a slightly thinner young man and Lie Na's best friend threw another stone across the lake. It skipped four times.
His name was Xiao Lang Li.
"So, you're gonna tell her?" Lie Na asked with an air of scepticism. He picked up a long blade of grass and began to slowly crush it, bovine-like with his teeth.
"Yup." Syaoran affirmed, "I'm gonna walk up to her and tell her I love her…and then I'm gonna ask her to marry me."
Lie Na snorted back a laugh. "Pfft. Uh, okay."
"What?!" Syaoran irritated, punched his best friend hard in the ribs. "I'm serious! I really love her and I want to spend the rest of my life with her!"
Lie Na looked up at Syaoran with an amused twinkle in his eye. His usually shy friend had succumbed to young love…and it was turning him into a mush pup. How he loved to rub it in!
"Okay, Xiao Lang, I believe you." Lie Na pat Syaoran on the back and gave him an encouraging nod. "I wish you the best of luck…have a happy life with your Meiling and have lots of little Xiao Langs!"
Lie Na didn't know what had hit him. He was suddenly slide tackled by his very annoyed lake side companion.
….
Syaoran ran toward the wisteria park, grinning from ear to ear. The park itself was only a small one, though cropped and tidy and maintained somewhat religiously by the shire's local council.
The sun was setting in the distant sky, awash with crimson and gold as Syaoran waited by the wide koi pond in the centre of the park. A warm breeze drifted through the curtains of peppercorn and wisteria, silhouetted in the approaching veil of nightfall.
This park was a special place for Syaoran, for it was here that he had met her one dazzling afternoon. He had been sitting by the water's edge, idly enjoying the feel of cool water between his toes…when he spot a girl he had never seen before doing a similar thing on the opposite bank of the pond. Their eyes had met and in an instant he had felt the almost hypnotic pull of her ruby red gaze. On an impulse quite uncharacteristic of himself, he had crossed the bank and shyly asked her name.
Almost everyday for several weeks, Syaoran would wait by the koi pond in the wisteria park for the enchanting moment when she greeted him with her mischievous, elusive smile and their lips would meet. He never understood why she would never wait for him anywhere other than beside the pond and why she would only appear when the park was completely deserted. He would have liked to take her to the movies or to a café or even to some other park but it was as though she didn't want to be seen by other people. He was content however, to keep her a secret (except from his best friend) as long as he could be with her. And tonight, when she agreed to marry him, he would keep her forever.
The sound of approaching footsteps interrupted Syaoran's thoughts and he spun around happily to face his beloved.
"Xiao Lang." she purred in her usual velvety tones. Syaoran marvelled at the potency of such a voice; it made him melt at the knees.
"Meiling! Thankyou for coming…" Syaoran stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her in loving embrace, "I couldn't wait for tomorrow, there's something I've been meaning to tell you."
"What is it, precious one?" she asked softly, placing both feminine hands on the front of his chest.
"I…I love you," Syaoran blurted, "I've loved you ever since I saw you and…I want you to marry me!"
Meiling stared at Syaoran with a bewildered expression before her hands dropped away from him.
"Xiao Lang, that's very sweet but I think that you're too young for such things…"
It was Syaoran's turn to stare. Too young? What did she mean by that? He felt he should be offended…
"I'm seventeen, this Fall I'll be eighteen…do you think I haven't got the finances to support you? Because you don't have to worry about that, I've been saving for a long time now and I'll be able to buy a place of our own and once Wei promotes me we'll…"
Meiling, as though irritated, placed a hand firmly over his mouth to silence him.
"Xiao Lang…there's something I need to tell you, no…show you."
It was like a waking dream, too surreal to be real, though he knew that what took place before his very eyes was the honest truth.
Syaoran watched in awe as Meiling's entire body began to glow an incandescent pale yellow and the soft white of her skin became brittle and textured as though it would deteriorate. Shimmering gold scales like that of a lizard's skin covered her slender frame from head to toe so that she was barely recognisable. Even her eyes had changed; they were now an eerie bright gold with slit- like reptilian irises.
"M-Meiling…" Syaoran's croaked with disbelief. "Y-You're a…a…"
"A demon." She completed softly; a forked red tongue flicking out slightly as she spoke.
"I-It…" Syaoran attempted to clear his throat. His trachea appeared to have constricted in the shock of the moment. "It…can't…b-be."
Meiling sighed deeply and shook her head, as though a long anticipated moment had finally come to fruition. She reached out a scaly golden hand and laid it against Syaoran's quivering lip.
"Don't you see, Xiao Lang? We could never be together…I'm an immortal…"
As if snapped to attention, Syaoran grabbed Meiling's hand and gazed purposefully into her demonic eyes.
"I don't care. I love you." He whispered.
Meiling's expression was pained…perhaps even guilty. "Xiao Lang…you are a mortal, one of these days you will grow old and die and I will still be here, just the way I am…we can't be together!"
Before Syaoran could argue, Meiling slinked back into shadows from whence she had mysteriously appeared and vanished from sight.
Syaoran growled in frustration and stared out at the silent koi pond. The pale full moon was reflected on the water's dark surface; a great white orb on a smooth sheet of obsidian.
'I'm going to prove you wrong, Meiling' He silently vowed, 'And when I do…we'll be together…"
Syaoran strode defiantly away from the koi pond.
…
Sakura tried to comprehend everything that Syaoran had told her but quite a lot of this story didn't make any sense. She was not an entirely sceptical person but this account of demons and immortality, not to mention its place in a time almost a century ago!...She couldn't help but feel a great sense of doubt in Syaoran's words. What was there to trust anyway? He had betrayed her trust the moment she had walked into that forest clearing and found him in the arms of another girl…
"I was able to prove her wrong of course, for now I too am immortal," Syaoran was saying, "But I never saw her again…not until today. And by then I had found you, and I realised she wasn't the one…the one I was supposed to be with for the rest of my life…"
"Stop it." Sakura spat.
Syaoran, who had for the past hour been comfortably telling his story, was cut abruptly by her sharp interruption. Her tone stung him and he gazed at her with wide, surprised eyes as she glared at him.
"Do you think I'm stupid?" she hissed. Tears threatened to spill from her eyes once more.
She had sat patiently listening to Syaoran for the past hour, waiting for the exact moment when that torturous spectacle she had witnessed in the clearing would be reasonably explained and her world righted itself. When Syaoran began to tell this ridiculous… fairy tale, began to patronise her, all she could feel was fury and an even greater deepening of hurt at his betrayal.
"W- what?...Sakura…?"
"Why do you tell me that you love me?!" Sakura shouted, her voice trembling, "Is it to laugh at me?! I've fallen head over heels in love with you and within a day, had my heart shredded to pieces! Am I just a joke to you?!"
Syaoran's breathing became ragged and he almost choked with emotion. She…she loved him!….but she didn't trust him. It was a strange feeling, to have your heart swell and break at the very same time.
"You don't believe me…" Syaoran murmured, hurt written across his features.
"After all that's happened…how can you really expect me to?"
Sakura's expression had softened again and she wiped a tear sliding down her cheek with the grubby sleeve of her shirt. "You should go back to Meiling…she's probably looking for you."
Just as Sakura rose to her feet and slowly turned to leave, Syaoran's hand caught her arm. Before she could protest, he slid both of his hands around her shoulders and drew her swiftly towards him. He kissed her deeply, pouring all of the pain and love in his heart into this one kiss; one final act of desperation to make her stay, make everything alright…
She pulled away, sobbing. "N-no, Syaoran…I…can't do this anymore…I can't…"
The moon light glowed softly upon her angelic, weeping form. Syaoran had to admit, even in the semi darkness with her swollen puffy eyes and her dirty, tear soaked face…she was beautiful…
Moonlight…
…the moon…
Syaoran's face brightened suddenly and he took Sakura's face gently within his hands.
"Sakura Kinomoto…I love you. And you deserve to know the truth…all of it."
Sakura watched in silent bewilderment as Syaoran took a step backwards, out of the shade of the wide rainforest tree beneath whose boughs they stood, and into the faint light of the moon.
Immersed in its pale white glory, Syaoran felt his spine tingle, that familiar electrifying spark that flowed from his core to the tips of his fingers and toes; the first spark of invisible wildfire that surged through his bloodstream and burned him from the inside out.
And then it came; that inevitable, blinding pain that tore across his senses as the first of his molecules transformed. Syaoran doubled over, panting for breath as the hot, searing pain licked his eyeballs.
A scream… an animalistic, unearthly howl erupted from the base of Syaoran's throat and he gripped the soft earth beneath his fingers.
Sakura wanted to run to him then, to throw her arms around him and comfort him from this strange, unprecedented attack of pain. She stopped short.
Syaoran's arms were turning unnaturally pale…almost white…and the length of his entire body seemed to be shrinking, growing smaller and whiter by the second. The most horrific part of it all was that his fingers had receded into almost stump- like proportions and that his nails were growing at an alarming rate, becoming longer and sharper…
Syaoran howled again and Sakura whimpered.
Now Syaoran's face was changing, his nose and jaw were lengthening, becoming dog- like. Snow white hairs had even begun to protrude from every pore of his skin and behind his legs a thick, furry tail had mysteriously sprouted.
Sakura had recognised the creature long before the transformation was complete…but the thought that Syaoran…all this time…
It terrified her.
The White Wolf emerged from beneath Syaoran's now oversized dark green travelling cloak and gazed serenely at Sakura with mellow, amber eyes.
Syaoran's eyes.
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DM: Did I not promise revelations?! ^_~ heheh.
Now that Sakura has finally discovered Syaoran's mysterious alter identity…how will she respond?? Can she accept a man who keeps transforming into a wolf at night or is their love doomed forever?!!
Find out in the next chapter of 'Wolf of the Snow'….