Disclaimer: The only thing that belongs to me in this story is Amaya. 'Nuf
said? nod 'Nuff said.
Completing the Cross
Chapter One, "Operation: Setting Free"
Important: If I don't explain the title now, everyone will be confused by what relation it has to the story. You must picture it to understand. I'm not talking a religious cross. Just think about it as more of a four way stop. Put Amaya in the center of the four way stop, where all the streets meet, and than put each of the four wolves on a street. There! A cross.
Plot: Add one more wolf to the mix, linking her intimately with one of the four. What have you done? You've completed the cross! Just a story of a female who ends joins up with our four wolves. Yeah. That's as far as I've gone so far. Meaning I'm going to need some major suggestion and help in order to continue this story.
Rating: It's only PG-13 as a precaution. I have no idea where I'm going with this story, who's with who, what they're doing, etc. I'm just testing the waters right now and going with the flow. I hope you understand that. Any ideas are welcomed.
Through the mind's eye,
Freedom is near,
In hatred and scorn,
The world will not sear.
Maz
"No. Don't. Let go!" Tsume's heart was beating as fast as the gash in his forearm burned. He couldn't move. Paralyzed by fear to do nothing more than mutter a few words and watch the scene displayed before him helplessly. Tears uncharacteristically poured from his golden eyes. The restraints that bound him bit coldly into his arms and legs but the pain was ignored. He focused on only her and those that tormented the only love in his life that remained.
"We have no use for wild things like you. She's still a small girl. Spirits are so easily broken when training begins at such a young age." The man laughed tauntingly at Tsume, who closed his eyes in attempt to wake up from this horrid nightmare.
Her innocent eyes pleaded with Tsume to help. She did not like being held so cruelly by these men. Why were they doing this to her and Tsume? Why would anyone want to hurt her? Tsume had always told her she was a good girl. Wouldn't hurt a fly. What had she done wrong? She, too, closed her eyes to fight back her fears. But it was no use. She was too small and pain was not easily dealt with. The man that roughly grabbed her arm shoved her against a wall, pinning her there while he wrapped something about her wrists.
"All right. Enough. Let's get going." The one that bound the young girl ordered to the one that laughed at Tsume. He nodded and turned to the white haired appearance before him.
"Time to go! Here, I'll do you a little favor. I'll let you live, just to make you suffer. You'll have to wander about with the fact that you couldn't save her." He smiled coldly and slapped Tsume's cheek almost playfully. He was forced to watch the girl he loved with all his soul taken away from him and into the reality of the fact that not everyone is good like her.
"Amaya!"
The gray wolf awoke with a startling growl that had the other three wolves up in an instant. They stared questioningly at him. He stared back evenly, though his chest was rising rather rapidly. "What?"
Toboe got up from where he lay and started to walk toward Tsume, but was interrupted by the embarrassed wolf. "Go back to sleep. It was nothing." He didn't want to make Tsume any angrier, but couldn't shake the feeling of worry. Hige and Kiba didn't seem to have that problem. They were already lying down with closed eyes when he looked back.
'Well, if they aren't worried, maybe it was nothing.' Toboe returned to where he'd lie before, absently licking a paw before falling back into dreams of the past and future.
Tsume, on the other hand, was wide-awake. His lips were curled back in a silent snarl and teeth bit together painfully. Why had she come up again? It'd been roughly over a year since she'd been taken, so why had that nightmare suddenly popped up to torment him? As I he wanted another reminder of his faults and inability to save her. He was weak, and he knew it. Why did his mind continue to taunt him like this?
The fact was Amaya was gone. His chances of ever getting her back were over before they started. Oh well. Life goes on.
"Come on Toboe! Get up." Tsume hoisted the young pup to his feet. He looked terrible. Hair askew, shoulders hunched, and eyes half open. He looked like he hadn't slept for days despite the fact he'd just woken up.
"You feeling okay?" Hige looked at him peculiarly. Toboe immediately straightened up. He didn't want them to think he was tired. "No! I mean yes! Yes, I'm fine. I just had a strange dream, is all."
"Oh, really? What about?"
Toboe blanked on this one. His mind was already shot, as he felt totally off the fritz for some strange reason. So he came up with the first thing that came to mind that would stir up Hige's interest rather than doubt. "Umm, a wolf. A female wolf." He immediately wished he'd chosen food instead.
"Oh, really?" Hige laughed accusingly and Toboe blushed.
"She, umm, reminded me of my mother. Not that I can remember what she looked like, exactly, but the wolf looked a lot like me! It's just a guess." Hige thankfully appeared to accept this explanation and turned away to talk to Kiba about plans.
Toboe stole a glance at Tsume, who sat with his back against the stonewall in deep thought. He wondered if it had anything to do with his apparent dream from the last night. The gray wolf at which he stared looked up at Toboe, who froze guiltily.
"We're leaving now." Kiba said with a certain finality that the others didn't question, even Tsume. "I'm hungry." Hige stopped the other three with these simple words that the others thought as well. They'd just waited for Hige to be the one to say something. Tsume gave him a 'well, go get us something' look which he defied. "Hey! I know I'm the only one that's feeling it. Ya'll are just too chicken to say something about it." This was true, but Tsume rolled his eyes as if he were over exaggerating the situation.
"We can meet back up here in an hour or so. I think it will be easier for us to get food separately than with all four of us browsing the market at the same place," Kiba suggested, or rather said. But no one objected once again and the four boys set out in different directions.
Toboe knew it was getting close to being time to head back, but he'd so far only been able to nab half a small loaf of bread. Not something that necessarily filled up a starving pup. So he gave up on finding fresh food and jumped into an open garbage bin, nosing about in attempt to decipher at least one small nearly pleasant smell from the horrendous stench that hit his delicate nose. He was about to give up hope, leaping out of the bin, and head back anyway but was frozen to the spot when a girl suddenly walked out the door next to him.
Toboe would have run away. Should have run away. But this girl was not frightened by his appearance and was holding out a rather tasty looking slab of meat. But how did she know? Oh well. She was offering him food freely and he took it without thinking. Toboe was so consumed by the good taste in his mouth that he was surprised when a hand suddenly came down on his head.
He relaxed when the hand on his head merely began to pet his head and stroke his ears. Toboe sat down with his tail wagging fiercely and tongue lolling happily. He hadn't had anyone scratch his ears in so long. It felt awfully good.
But the others were waiting and he didn't want to be accused of not finding food, even though this was pretty much true. He'd been offered the meal. Once again relying on humans for a source of life. Tsume would not be too happy with this if he knew, and he hoped they would not decipher the difference between physical contact and just the mere fact of being surrounded by humans, through scent.. Oh well. Food was food and he was hungry!
Toboe licked the girls had thankfully and ran off in the direction of their departure spot.
Of course, all three of the other wolves were already there, waiting for him to show. Must he always be so slow? It was the curse of a young pup he figured. But than again, Tsume never would have been this slow. . . or the other two for that matter. He had so much to learn!
Everyone began moving down the street, following Kiba. Toboe had apparently missed the conversation about what was going to happen today and they had no problem with avoiding the idea of filling him in. So he'd have to ask himself. "What are we doing?" Tsume talked as if he'd been preparing the speech for when Toboe would happen to ask.
"Hige said he could smell Quent and his dog heading this way. I said we needed to leave but they insisted on waiting." Toboe went to say something but decided against, settling on staring at the ground with a rather defeated look. 'It's just the way he is.' He tried to convince himself, but couldn't shake the feeling that Tsume might be mad at him.
Hige saw this and smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry, it's just Tsume being Tsume."
"And what's that supposed to mean?" He growled with failed animosity.
"You figure it out." Tsume glared but remained silent otherwise. Kiba's smile went unnoticed.
Toboe yawned unnecessarily. He was just bored. They'd been walking a leisurely pace the entire morning, not even a single brisk job. But it was reasonable because they were nearly at the opposite end of the city that they wanted to be on and no one wanted to draw attention today. And with people after Tsume, it was best that they hide in the protection of the crowd for now.
He scratched an itch on his arm while his dark eyes wandered the streets. People watching. Something he rarely did but had suddenly found the time to do. He was amazed by what he saw. Everyday activities that slipped by unnoticed. People were laughing, smiling, crying, being robbed, selling, singing, kissing, running, playing, talking, screaming, yawning, and joking . . . and it was all happening around them at once. People were so busy! And here they were, walking without a care down the middle of it all.
He decided not to think too much on it, scared he'd overwhelm his tired brain, but knowing this was a silly thought all the while.
"Oh! Sorry." In his odd state of mind Toboe hadn't noticed that everyone had stopped and bumped into Hige who looked back at him with a smile. Kiba was politely declining the offer of an old woman that tried to sell him a bracelet. She said it was a good luck band, and insisted it'd help him. But he tried to explain that he had no money. In the end she gave it to him for free for "being such a nice, young man".
They began walking again. Toboe waved good-bye as they passed the old woman, his eyes lingering on her wise form even after they'd passed. How he missed her . . .
Kiba ended up passing the bracelet back to Hige, who in turn threw it to Tsume. He, of course, didn't want it and made Toboe take it. Well, not exactly made him take it. Toboe happily asked Tsume to tie it to his left arm. Though exasperated at the thought, he did so with nearly no complaint.
A random woman bumped into Kiba, who stumbled in confusion. He was sure he would have gone right past her if she hadn't stepped sideways. She'd smiled at him only seconds before, meaning she'd seen him as well. So why had she hit him like that? He stopped to look at her. She had her hands clasped together and was smiling with fake apology.
"I'm so sorry. Klutzy me. Are you okay?"
"Yeah. Fine. Umm, are you?" He was uncertain about her intentions but didn't want to be terribly rude to an innocent girl.
She was apparently amused by his question and giggled unreasonably. "Yes, of course." Her friend smiled from besides her, squeezing her arm supportively. "Well, it was nice meeting you despite the circumstances." She bowed slightly and turned away, laughing with her friend and looking back every few seconds.
"That was . . . confusing." Kiba shook his head and continued their walk through the city.
Than it began to rain. Toboe flattened his ears when he felt the first cold drop hit his forehead. The others could smell it but had yet to feel it. "Hey, it's raining." The drops began to fall in a heavier force.
"Wonderful observation," Tsume drawled. Toboe sighed and folded his arms poutingly.
Kiba did not stop walking even as the rain began to pelt them annoyingly and the other people moved inside for shelter. No one complained. But Toboe knew that none of them wanted to keep walking in this. Their feet were becoming muddy, and that felt good. But other than that the rain was hitting him in the face and whenever a strong gust of wind would blow toward them he'd have to stop and close his eyes against the biting of the water pellets.
But he did enjoy the feel of it dripping onto his tongue. He'd been so hot, plagued by humidity. But the fresh rain offered a cooling effect despite the negatives.
The streets were empty save a few people running here and there. A few even gave them strange looks for walking around as if oblivious to the rain. Toboe would smile and wave, with nothing else to do. They would glare as if he were crazy and hurry on their way. So rude.
"I smell something," Hige informed them, breaking the long period of silence. Kiba stopped to look back at him questioningly. He was still sniffing at the air before finally coming to an analysis. Fear flickered in his eyes and this did not go unnoticed by the others.
"What is it?" Kiba demanded.
"I can't honestly say exactly, but possibly another wolf or . . ."
"A dog." Tsume finished for him. "The rain must have masked the scent. Quent and his dog could be close by. Damn it."
Toboe flattened his ears a second time and sniffed cautiously to see if he could recognize what they were talking about. Unfortunately his senses weren't as great as Hige's and the scent was lost to him. But still, they could be in danger. For all they knew Quent was hiding around the next few street corners with his gunned aim to kill. He shivered at the thought.
Tsume saw this and took it for something else. "Don't tell me you're cold, kid." He looked on disapprovingly but got a negative response.
"No. No, that's not bothering me."
"What is it?"
"Nothing," he claimed, but wouldn't raise his eyes from the ground.
Toboe watched him closely for the next few minutes while Kiba talked to Hige about the possibility of where it was coming from and how fast, etc.
It was when Hige started to get nervous that Toboe spotted it. A dark furred dog. Glaring at them from around a corner. He had to look a second time but, as he'd expected, the figure was gone. The expression on his face was yet again not lost to Tsume.
"What'd you see?" The way he spoke made it obvious he was holding back a yell. Toboe answered as quickly and correctly as possible.
"I think it was Blue. But I'm not sure. If it was, it's very uncharacteristic of her. The dog poked its head around the corner over there and when I looked again it was gone." Toboe tried to hide the nervousness in his voice and accomplished it well despite the fact that Tsume had already picked up on the way Toboe spoke.
"Don't worry about it," he tried to assure the pup before turning to Hige and Kiba to explain what Toboe had seen.
The youngest wolf could not tear his eyes away from the spot that he'd seen, or thought he'd seen, the dog. He was frozen to the spot with fear. What if it came for them? Just as he processed this, Hige gave a yelp and Tsume cursed loudly.
Toboe spun around to see them facing the same dog he'd seen earlier. No, it wasn't a dog. It was a wolf. And she was staring them down like a pro. Her head was level with the rest of her body, tail erect, and fangs flashed. It was apparent from her size that she was roughly the same age as Toboe. Still pretty young. But that did not make any difference to her. She was facing a pack of four male wolves, each bigger than herself.
Why would a lone female come out of nowhere challenge four males? A possible distraction to allow an ambush on the group. But for what reason? Was one needed?
Kiba and Hige began a steady and slow pace toward her, in the same position. But it was when Tsume began walking forward that her ferocity increased. Something just wasn't right about this.
"Wait!" Toboe rushed to the middle of the three wolves, which in turn all looked at him. All growling aside, including the female's who even looked on in curiosity, but kept her stance.
"Something's not normal about this. I know ya'll see it to." Kiba's golden eyes glared accusingly at the dark furred wolf, acknowledging the meaning behind Toboe's words.
"What is it that you want?"
"Nothing personal."
He recognized the underlying threat and addressed it immediately. "Get out of our way. We want nothing to do with you."
She tilted her head almost comically. Her whole demeanor had changed as she sat there with her tail curled about her feet. But the power and control did not leave her spirit. "Oh, I'm sure that's not entirely true."
"I'm getting tired of these damned guessing games!"
"Sorry, darling, but I cannot reveal such secrets yet. I need your help first."
"Help?" Toboe questioned. She nodded her head.
"Forgive me. I'm on a mission and had to make an appearance in honor of said event. But I mean no harm, honestly."
"Oh, and I'm sure we're supposed to bow down and believe that bullshit? Get off your pedestal, princess." Tsume growled.
She glared at him with the same cold, even stare at Tsume's. "Like I said, I need your help. I mean it."
"With what, may I ask?" Hige attempted to remain rather polite.
"Getting my freedom."
Author Comments: Okay. Here she is. The wolf. Now I need a little help with her human appearance. I was thinking of going with either a mysterious look (long white hair, sea green eyes, etc.) or a more normal girl look (blonde hair, amber eyes). I honestly believe the mysterious one to look a lot better, but could I be over doing it? I don't know. Tell me what you think!
Completing the Cross
Chapter One, "Operation: Setting Free"
Important: If I don't explain the title now, everyone will be confused by what relation it has to the story. You must picture it to understand. I'm not talking a religious cross. Just think about it as more of a four way stop. Put Amaya in the center of the four way stop, where all the streets meet, and than put each of the four wolves on a street. There! A cross.
Plot: Add one more wolf to the mix, linking her intimately with one of the four. What have you done? You've completed the cross! Just a story of a female who ends joins up with our four wolves. Yeah. That's as far as I've gone so far. Meaning I'm going to need some major suggestion and help in order to continue this story.
Rating: It's only PG-13 as a precaution. I have no idea where I'm going with this story, who's with who, what they're doing, etc. I'm just testing the waters right now and going with the flow. I hope you understand that. Any ideas are welcomed.
Through the mind's eye,
Freedom is near,
In hatred and scorn,
The world will not sear.
Maz
"No. Don't. Let go!" Tsume's heart was beating as fast as the gash in his forearm burned. He couldn't move. Paralyzed by fear to do nothing more than mutter a few words and watch the scene displayed before him helplessly. Tears uncharacteristically poured from his golden eyes. The restraints that bound him bit coldly into his arms and legs but the pain was ignored. He focused on only her and those that tormented the only love in his life that remained.
"We have no use for wild things like you. She's still a small girl. Spirits are so easily broken when training begins at such a young age." The man laughed tauntingly at Tsume, who closed his eyes in attempt to wake up from this horrid nightmare.
Her innocent eyes pleaded with Tsume to help. She did not like being held so cruelly by these men. Why were they doing this to her and Tsume? Why would anyone want to hurt her? Tsume had always told her she was a good girl. Wouldn't hurt a fly. What had she done wrong? She, too, closed her eyes to fight back her fears. But it was no use. She was too small and pain was not easily dealt with. The man that roughly grabbed her arm shoved her against a wall, pinning her there while he wrapped something about her wrists.
"All right. Enough. Let's get going." The one that bound the young girl ordered to the one that laughed at Tsume. He nodded and turned to the white haired appearance before him.
"Time to go! Here, I'll do you a little favor. I'll let you live, just to make you suffer. You'll have to wander about with the fact that you couldn't save her." He smiled coldly and slapped Tsume's cheek almost playfully. He was forced to watch the girl he loved with all his soul taken away from him and into the reality of the fact that not everyone is good like her.
"Amaya!"
The gray wolf awoke with a startling growl that had the other three wolves up in an instant. They stared questioningly at him. He stared back evenly, though his chest was rising rather rapidly. "What?"
Toboe got up from where he lay and started to walk toward Tsume, but was interrupted by the embarrassed wolf. "Go back to sleep. It was nothing." He didn't want to make Tsume any angrier, but couldn't shake the feeling of worry. Hige and Kiba didn't seem to have that problem. They were already lying down with closed eyes when he looked back.
'Well, if they aren't worried, maybe it was nothing.' Toboe returned to where he'd lie before, absently licking a paw before falling back into dreams of the past and future.
Tsume, on the other hand, was wide-awake. His lips were curled back in a silent snarl and teeth bit together painfully. Why had she come up again? It'd been roughly over a year since she'd been taken, so why had that nightmare suddenly popped up to torment him? As I he wanted another reminder of his faults and inability to save her. He was weak, and he knew it. Why did his mind continue to taunt him like this?
The fact was Amaya was gone. His chances of ever getting her back were over before they started. Oh well. Life goes on.
"Come on Toboe! Get up." Tsume hoisted the young pup to his feet. He looked terrible. Hair askew, shoulders hunched, and eyes half open. He looked like he hadn't slept for days despite the fact he'd just woken up.
"You feeling okay?" Hige looked at him peculiarly. Toboe immediately straightened up. He didn't want them to think he was tired. "No! I mean yes! Yes, I'm fine. I just had a strange dream, is all."
"Oh, really? What about?"
Toboe blanked on this one. His mind was already shot, as he felt totally off the fritz for some strange reason. So he came up with the first thing that came to mind that would stir up Hige's interest rather than doubt. "Umm, a wolf. A female wolf." He immediately wished he'd chosen food instead.
"Oh, really?" Hige laughed accusingly and Toboe blushed.
"She, umm, reminded me of my mother. Not that I can remember what she looked like, exactly, but the wolf looked a lot like me! It's just a guess." Hige thankfully appeared to accept this explanation and turned away to talk to Kiba about plans.
Toboe stole a glance at Tsume, who sat with his back against the stonewall in deep thought. He wondered if it had anything to do with his apparent dream from the last night. The gray wolf at which he stared looked up at Toboe, who froze guiltily.
"We're leaving now." Kiba said with a certain finality that the others didn't question, even Tsume. "I'm hungry." Hige stopped the other three with these simple words that the others thought as well. They'd just waited for Hige to be the one to say something. Tsume gave him a 'well, go get us something' look which he defied. "Hey! I know I'm the only one that's feeling it. Ya'll are just too chicken to say something about it." This was true, but Tsume rolled his eyes as if he were over exaggerating the situation.
"We can meet back up here in an hour or so. I think it will be easier for us to get food separately than with all four of us browsing the market at the same place," Kiba suggested, or rather said. But no one objected once again and the four boys set out in different directions.
Toboe knew it was getting close to being time to head back, but he'd so far only been able to nab half a small loaf of bread. Not something that necessarily filled up a starving pup. So he gave up on finding fresh food and jumped into an open garbage bin, nosing about in attempt to decipher at least one small nearly pleasant smell from the horrendous stench that hit his delicate nose. He was about to give up hope, leaping out of the bin, and head back anyway but was frozen to the spot when a girl suddenly walked out the door next to him.
Toboe would have run away. Should have run away. But this girl was not frightened by his appearance and was holding out a rather tasty looking slab of meat. But how did she know? Oh well. She was offering him food freely and he took it without thinking. Toboe was so consumed by the good taste in his mouth that he was surprised when a hand suddenly came down on his head.
He relaxed when the hand on his head merely began to pet his head and stroke his ears. Toboe sat down with his tail wagging fiercely and tongue lolling happily. He hadn't had anyone scratch his ears in so long. It felt awfully good.
But the others were waiting and he didn't want to be accused of not finding food, even though this was pretty much true. He'd been offered the meal. Once again relying on humans for a source of life. Tsume would not be too happy with this if he knew, and he hoped they would not decipher the difference between physical contact and just the mere fact of being surrounded by humans, through scent.. Oh well. Food was food and he was hungry!
Toboe licked the girls had thankfully and ran off in the direction of their departure spot.
Of course, all three of the other wolves were already there, waiting for him to show. Must he always be so slow? It was the curse of a young pup he figured. But than again, Tsume never would have been this slow. . . or the other two for that matter. He had so much to learn!
Everyone began moving down the street, following Kiba. Toboe had apparently missed the conversation about what was going to happen today and they had no problem with avoiding the idea of filling him in. So he'd have to ask himself. "What are we doing?" Tsume talked as if he'd been preparing the speech for when Toboe would happen to ask.
"Hige said he could smell Quent and his dog heading this way. I said we needed to leave but they insisted on waiting." Toboe went to say something but decided against, settling on staring at the ground with a rather defeated look. 'It's just the way he is.' He tried to convince himself, but couldn't shake the feeling that Tsume might be mad at him.
Hige saw this and smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry, it's just Tsume being Tsume."
"And what's that supposed to mean?" He growled with failed animosity.
"You figure it out." Tsume glared but remained silent otherwise. Kiba's smile went unnoticed.
Toboe yawned unnecessarily. He was just bored. They'd been walking a leisurely pace the entire morning, not even a single brisk job. But it was reasonable because they were nearly at the opposite end of the city that they wanted to be on and no one wanted to draw attention today. And with people after Tsume, it was best that they hide in the protection of the crowd for now.
He scratched an itch on his arm while his dark eyes wandered the streets. People watching. Something he rarely did but had suddenly found the time to do. He was amazed by what he saw. Everyday activities that slipped by unnoticed. People were laughing, smiling, crying, being robbed, selling, singing, kissing, running, playing, talking, screaming, yawning, and joking . . . and it was all happening around them at once. People were so busy! And here they were, walking without a care down the middle of it all.
He decided not to think too much on it, scared he'd overwhelm his tired brain, but knowing this was a silly thought all the while.
"Oh! Sorry." In his odd state of mind Toboe hadn't noticed that everyone had stopped and bumped into Hige who looked back at him with a smile. Kiba was politely declining the offer of an old woman that tried to sell him a bracelet. She said it was a good luck band, and insisted it'd help him. But he tried to explain that he had no money. In the end she gave it to him for free for "being such a nice, young man".
They began walking again. Toboe waved good-bye as they passed the old woman, his eyes lingering on her wise form even after they'd passed. How he missed her . . .
Kiba ended up passing the bracelet back to Hige, who in turn threw it to Tsume. He, of course, didn't want it and made Toboe take it. Well, not exactly made him take it. Toboe happily asked Tsume to tie it to his left arm. Though exasperated at the thought, he did so with nearly no complaint.
A random woman bumped into Kiba, who stumbled in confusion. He was sure he would have gone right past her if she hadn't stepped sideways. She'd smiled at him only seconds before, meaning she'd seen him as well. So why had she hit him like that? He stopped to look at her. She had her hands clasped together and was smiling with fake apology.
"I'm so sorry. Klutzy me. Are you okay?"
"Yeah. Fine. Umm, are you?" He was uncertain about her intentions but didn't want to be terribly rude to an innocent girl.
She was apparently amused by his question and giggled unreasonably. "Yes, of course." Her friend smiled from besides her, squeezing her arm supportively. "Well, it was nice meeting you despite the circumstances." She bowed slightly and turned away, laughing with her friend and looking back every few seconds.
"That was . . . confusing." Kiba shook his head and continued their walk through the city.
Than it began to rain. Toboe flattened his ears when he felt the first cold drop hit his forehead. The others could smell it but had yet to feel it. "Hey, it's raining." The drops began to fall in a heavier force.
"Wonderful observation," Tsume drawled. Toboe sighed and folded his arms poutingly.
Kiba did not stop walking even as the rain began to pelt them annoyingly and the other people moved inside for shelter. No one complained. But Toboe knew that none of them wanted to keep walking in this. Their feet were becoming muddy, and that felt good. But other than that the rain was hitting him in the face and whenever a strong gust of wind would blow toward them he'd have to stop and close his eyes against the biting of the water pellets.
But he did enjoy the feel of it dripping onto his tongue. He'd been so hot, plagued by humidity. But the fresh rain offered a cooling effect despite the negatives.
The streets were empty save a few people running here and there. A few even gave them strange looks for walking around as if oblivious to the rain. Toboe would smile and wave, with nothing else to do. They would glare as if he were crazy and hurry on their way. So rude.
"I smell something," Hige informed them, breaking the long period of silence. Kiba stopped to look back at him questioningly. He was still sniffing at the air before finally coming to an analysis. Fear flickered in his eyes and this did not go unnoticed by the others.
"What is it?" Kiba demanded.
"I can't honestly say exactly, but possibly another wolf or . . ."
"A dog." Tsume finished for him. "The rain must have masked the scent. Quent and his dog could be close by. Damn it."
Toboe flattened his ears a second time and sniffed cautiously to see if he could recognize what they were talking about. Unfortunately his senses weren't as great as Hige's and the scent was lost to him. But still, they could be in danger. For all they knew Quent was hiding around the next few street corners with his gunned aim to kill. He shivered at the thought.
Tsume saw this and took it for something else. "Don't tell me you're cold, kid." He looked on disapprovingly but got a negative response.
"No. No, that's not bothering me."
"What is it?"
"Nothing," he claimed, but wouldn't raise his eyes from the ground.
Toboe watched him closely for the next few minutes while Kiba talked to Hige about the possibility of where it was coming from and how fast, etc.
It was when Hige started to get nervous that Toboe spotted it. A dark furred dog. Glaring at them from around a corner. He had to look a second time but, as he'd expected, the figure was gone. The expression on his face was yet again not lost to Tsume.
"What'd you see?" The way he spoke made it obvious he was holding back a yell. Toboe answered as quickly and correctly as possible.
"I think it was Blue. But I'm not sure. If it was, it's very uncharacteristic of her. The dog poked its head around the corner over there and when I looked again it was gone." Toboe tried to hide the nervousness in his voice and accomplished it well despite the fact that Tsume had already picked up on the way Toboe spoke.
"Don't worry about it," he tried to assure the pup before turning to Hige and Kiba to explain what Toboe had seen.
The youngest wolf could not tear his eyes away from the spot that he'd seen, or thought he'd seen, the dog. He was frozen to the spot with fear. What if it came for them? Just as he processed this, Hige gave a yelp and Tsume cursed loudly.
Toboe spun around to see them facing the same dog he'd seen earlier. No, it wasn't a dog. It was a wolf. And she was staring them down like a pro. Her head was level with the rest of her body, tail erect, and fangs flashed. It was apparent from her size that she was roughly the same age as Toboe. Still pretty young. But that did not make any difference to her. She was facing a pack of four male wolves, each bigger than herself.
Why would a lone female come out of nowhere challenge four males? A possible distraction to allow an ambush on the group. But for what reason? Was one needed?
Kiba and Hige began a steady and slow pace toward her, in the same position. But it was when Tsume began walking forward that her ferocity increased. Something just wasn't right about this.
"Wait!" Toboe rushed to the middle of the three wolves, which in turn all looked at him. All growling aside, including the female's who even looked on in curiosity, but kept her stance.
"Something's not normal about this. I know ya'll see it to." Kiba's golden eyes glared accusingly at the dark furred wolf, acknowledging the meaning behind Toboe's words.
"What is it that you want?"
"Nothing personal."
He recognized the underlying threat and addressed it immediately. "Get out of our way. We want nothing to do with you."
She tilted her head almost comically. Her whole demeanor had changed as she sat there with her tail curled about her feet. But the power and control did not leave her spirit. "Oh, I'm sure that's not entirely true."
"I'm getting tired of these damned guessing games!"
"Sorry, darling, but I cannot reveal such secrets yet. I need your help first."
"Help?" Toboe questioned. She nodded her head.
"Forgive me. I'm on a mission and had to make an appearance in honor of said event. But I mean no harm, honestly."
"Oh, and I'm sure we're supposed to bow down and believe that bullshit? Get off your pedestal, princess." Tsume growled.
She glared at him with the same cold, even stare at Tsume's. "Like I said, I need your help. I mean it."
"With what, may I ask?" Hige attempted to remain rather polite.
"Getting my freedom."
Author Comments: Okay. Here she is. The wolf. Now I need a little help with her human appearance. I was thinking of going with either a mysterious look (long white hair, sea green eyes, etc.) or a more normal girl look (blonde hair, amber eyes). I honestly believe the mysterious one to look a lot better, but could I be over doing it? I don't know. Tell me what you think!