A/N: Hey! Yes, I'm still alive. Sorry about the delay, but this chapter needed a lot of work (I redid it like twice), and I've had tons of homework to do. I putthe homeworkoff as long as I could, but when the grades start slipping, that's a sign that you have to start studying! Thanks to all my reviewers, and if you're still reading this and have had patience with me, you have my utmost gratitude. bows deeply to readers Okay, now here's the chapter you've been waiting for. Hope it doesn't disappoint!

Moon's Herald

Chapter 6: A Strange Pack

The sky had already turned red with the sunset and faded into the blackness of night before I really gave up hope. There wasn't even the consolation of the moon to buoy my spirits that night; the thick, dark clouds covered the whole sky and blotted out even the smallest star. When I saw the last of the light go out, my heart sank and I finally lowered my head. I had been howling for hours, ever since I fell into the pit, keeping myself going by feeding on my anger toward Getsuei and hoping against hope that either he would come back and tell me it had all been a sick joke, or that someone else would hear and come to save me. But once night fell, I knew how foolish it was to expect to find help in the middle of a forest, miles from any habitation, and in the middle of the night.

I lay my head on my paws and stared up at the tiny patch of sky above my prison, noisily sucking air into my desperate, aching lungs. My voice was gone now, anyway, and my body hurt too much to move. My chain collar, which had gotten caught on a root as I fell, no longer fit correctly; it squeezed and pinched and made it even harder to breathe than did the dirt floating in the air. If I didn't starve first, there was a good chance I'd suffocate, or at least bleed to death. Maybe I should just give in, I thought at length, as the utter hopelessness of my situation finally took hold. At least then I can rest, and all the pain will stop. The longer I mulled over this thought, the more it seemed like the only thing left to do.

Finally, with my mind made up, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath (as well as I could) and let go of everything that tied me to the world – all the anger and hatred I felt for Getsuei and his kind; the sadness I felt when I thought of the humans and my lost home; the fear of the unknown. I held each thought, memory, and feeling for a moment, contemplating it as if it were a palpable thing, turning it this way and that and admiring or reviling it, and then I simply gave it up and let it float away into nothing. I would empty myself of all this baggage and then I would go to sleep, a sleep so deep that no dream or nightmare would penetrate and nothing would wake me. That wouldn't be so bad, not to feel anymore.

My mind drifted to old memories as I felt myself sinking into the comforting, forgiving darkness; happy memories of the farm and my younger days, when Michiru and I played under the blossoming trees. If I could keep just one thing, I thought groggily, it would be this memory, this feeling of happiness and the love of my best friend. But in the end even this thought flew away and was gone, taking the memory with it. I was tired, tired of everything. I no longer even felt like hating wolves, or loving humans, or even caring about myself; it all took too much energy and caused too much pain.

It's kind of scary now to remember the depths to which I sank that night, how once I started spiraling downward I didn't seem able to stop, didn't want to stop. It's just that my life had never been so painful or so complicated before; I didn't know how to feel what I was feeling or how to fight my way back from the brink of despair. All I wanted then was to stop my suffering, and any way would do. So instead of fighting, I decided to jump right in with my eyes closed. Luckily for me, however, I wasn't to succeed in my goal. I came very close, but just as I was about to lose consciousness, I heard a faint sound from above – a voice calling.

At first I thought it was just another memory drifting by, or maybe one of those winged creatures the humans said carry the dead away to the next world, but as the call came again and again, ever closer, I realized that it came from a living creature. Each call woke me up a little bit more, pulled me a little farther away from the brink, until my ears twitched and my eyes opened and I raised my head ever-so-slightly to look at the sky, disturbing the thin layer of dirt that had settled in my fur as I lay motionless for hours. Dawn was starting; the black sky was just a shade paler, but I could still tell. Wow, I've been dying for a long time, I thought absently, feeling as if in a dream. My thoughts were light and scattered and made no sense, and I stared wonderingly at the sky as if I'd never seen it before. Then the voice called once more and my ears slowly swiveled toward it. I was curious in spite of myself; who would be out here at this time of day?

"Over here, you guys!" shouted the voice, which sounded like a young boy's. "The howls came from this way. Hurry!"

"Are you sure you didn't just imagine it, runt?" asked an older-sounding male voice. "Maybe the wind's just playing tricks on you."

"No way, Hige, I heard it!" insisted the younger boy.

"Hmph, yeah, you heard it hours ago," said someone else with a very deep, gruff voice. "We've let you follow those stupid howls all night and we haven't found anything. If anyone was out here, we'd have found them already. And besides, there haven't been any howls since sunset, so whoever it was has probably died by now, or else gotten out of their own mess."

"I know, Tsume, but -"

"So it's time we moved on," interrupted the gruff person, Tsume. "We've wasted a whole night on this, Toboe, and Paradise isn't getting any closer." There was a moment's pause before he added, "And what are you looking at, chubby?" The second voice I'd heard, the one belonging to someone called Hige, said with a laugh, "Oh, nothing, Tsume. I was just thinking that you're starting to sound a lot like Kiba, with the Paradise thing and all. You never cared so much before." A low growl followed this comment, probably from Tsume, but Hige ignored it and kept right on talking. "By the way, what do you think we should do, Kiba? I've got no problem with letting the runt search a while longer, if it makes him feel better. In fact, I don't think anyone but Tsume minds it. How do you vote?"

There was silence again for a minute, and then a new voice spoke, one that was as deep and smooth as Getsuei's but a lot less scary and annoying. It was more like a summer wind than a river. Disoriented as I was, I did manage to think how much I liked that voice. "It couldn't hurt, I guess," said this voice. "As long as we get going by sunrise, that is." A second later, Toboe burst out joyously, "Oh, thank you, Kiba!" There was a lot of scuffling and I thought that the kid might be running around like Tsuta sometimes did when she was excited. "I just know I can find whoever was calling by sunrise, and then we can give them some he – WHOA!"

Just as the shout came, a huge cloud of dirt, stones and other debris fell down on me from the lip of the pit with a loud clattering sound. The dirt filled my nostrils and I began to cough and wheeze terribly as a silhouetted figure teetered on the edge of the pit above me, before regaining its balance and disappearing from view. Squinting up through the dust, I could just make out a head with two triangular ears on top and a long muzzle before the figure withdrew. This failed to make any impression on me at all, however, because my mind felt numb with pain and fatigue. It never occurred to me to think of who or what these people could be; I just thought of them as people for the moment. I had a feeling they'd soon go away and leave me anyhow, so what did it matter?

"Damn it, Toboe," growled Tsume, "watch where you're going!"

"S-sorry, Tsume," the kid replied shakily, panting in relief. After a few moments, he said, "Hey, this pit . . . maybe . . ." Next thing I knew, someone's head was stuck into the hole and there was a loud sound of sniffing. Not caring who heard, I gagged again on some dirt I had inhaled and tried to spit it up, completely ignoring everything else, even when the ears of the figure above me pricked up and Toboe cried excitedly, "I knew it! I knew someone was in trouble! Look, guys, there's someone in this pit! A wolf, by the scent; a girl wolf."

"Girl?" asked Hige. "Hey, move over and let me have a look at – OUCH! Sorry, Blue, I was just kidding. I swear!" Apparently there were more people up there than just the four guys who had been talking. Toboe called down to me, "Hey down there! Are you okay? Can you jump out?" I flattened my ears against my head and called back hoarsely, "Not so loud!"

"Sorry!" he cried, sounding flustered. "I . . . uh, was it you I heard calling for help last night?"

"Probably," I replied lethargically. "As far as I know, there's nobody else out here. I figured out as much when no one answered. But it's okay. I don't mind it anymore if I have to die. I had a long time to think about it, and it doesn't seem so scary if you just accept it."

"Wait a minute!" said Toboe indignantly. "We're here now, so you're not gonna die. I'm sorry it took so long to find you, but now we'll get you out of there. Right guys? . . . Guys?" Nobody answered for a few seconds, but then Hige said, "Well, sure, runt. We can't leave a lady in a place like this." Footsteps came closer to the pit's edge and another shape like Toboe's, only wider, appeared. "The question is how to do it. This pit looks really deep, and I smell a lot of blood. If she's that injured, we have to be really careful about how we move her."

"Maybe Kiba could carry her out on his back," suggested Toboe.

"Nope," said Hige, "she'd probably fall off. You got any bright ideas, Kiba?"

"Grrr," said Tsume testily, "I'm not sure we should rush into this. We don't know anything about this wolf. She may not be someone we want to help." This comment was met by several outraged protestations from Toboe and Hige, along the line of how could he be so heartless, and they were just going to get me out of the pit, not ask me to join up with them. They both talked at once and Tsume yelled back at them until Kiba spoke again, shutting them up. "Calm down, guys. I'll handle this, and then we'll go from there, okay? Now stand back." There was some scuffling and a snap, after which Kiba said softly, "Wait here, Cheza," and came up to the pit. Cheza? I thought. Geez, just how many of them are up there?

"Just hang in there, okay?" called Toboe to me. "Kiba's gonna help you!"

"Sure," I replied in a monotone, "do what you want." I had absolutely no faith that these random strangers would be able to do anything for me, and I didn't care. Let them try what they would; nothing short of a crane was going to be able to get me out of such a deep hole. I had accepted it, and they would too. When they got bored enough with their fruitless attempts, they'd go away and I could sleep in peace. Just then, another shape appeared above me. "Listen," Kiba called down, "back up as much as you can. I'm gonna jump down and get you."

"I can't," I said tiredly. "I haven't moved since I fell down here. I hurt too much, and I can't feel my leg." My right front leg had been through so much the past couple of days – jumping the fence, falling down while chasing Getsuei, and now falling down this pit – that it seemed to have given out. Kiba mumbled to himself, "Okay, then . . .," and I saw him lean down into the hole and look around a bit before I closed my eyes again in exhaustion. Next thing I knew, there was a loud thump and a rush of air as a warm, furry body fell down into the pit beside me, landing lightly on its feet. It was too dark for me to see anything but a pair of bright yellow eyes gleaming in the faint dawn light, but I could smell him now. Wild flowers, fresh wind, all kinds of lovely scents were in his fur, but . . . oh no. Oh no.

I stiffened up a bit as he came close to me and wrapped something rope-like around my chest, shoulders, and hips to form a makeshift harness. I was trying my hardest not to freak out as all my thoughts, fears, and memories – which had apparently not gone off to oblivion after all – came rushing back to me all at once and jolted every last ounce of numbness from my mind. How could I have possibly ignored the shapes of those silhouettes, the oddness of their traveling in the woods at night? How could I not have wondered what they were? The scent was clear – this Kiba guy was definitely a wolf, and as I couldn't see any creature being friends with a wolf but another wolf, I figured that all his friends up on the surface must be wolves, too. Somehow in the course of the past six months, these fabled creatures that hardly anyone knew or talked about had become as unavoidable as cockroaches. Holy crap, I moaned inwardly, I'm freakin' cursed.

While I trembled and kept my eyes carefully turned away, Kiba finished tying the knots in the harness and assured me that I'd be out in a minute, before backing off and jumping effortlessly out of the pit. Just like Getsuei. Damn, could they all do that? There was a length of rope going from my harness up and out of the hole that Kiba had carried out with him. That part of the rope bounced and jerked a little and I heard voices and noise from up above. When the rope finally stilled, Kiba said, "Okay, everyone pull together on three."

"I'm not helping," grumbled Tsume, but a moment later he added with a loud, exasperated sigh, "Stop it, Toboe! . . . Grr, damn those puppy eyes. Fine, but don't blame me when something goes wrong. I already told you this is a bad idea." Then Kiba counted to three and the rope suddenly went taut. I was dangling in the air in an instant with just the tips of my toes touching the earth. There were a couple more jerks and I rose a few inches before sinking back down a bit. The harness was murder on my torn body and I couldn't suppress a whimper. "Try climbing up the side!" Tsume yelled after a few minutes' struggle, so with a grunt, I shifted my weight so I swung around to face the wall and started clawing at it with my aching paws. The pulling on the harness from above renewed, stronger this time, and between all our efforts, I clambered out of the pit a short while later.

I crawled out on my belly and rolled onto my side, and then just lay there panting. Dirt my claws had dislodged rained back into the pit, but up here the air was blessedly fresh and clear. I didn't try to move or open my eyes or anything, just enjoyed the feel of the soft grass and the cool breeze. After a slight hesitation, during which my panting was the only sound, a sharp gasp erupted from one of the others and soft footsteps rushed to my side. Toboe's voice spoke in my ear, "Oh, what happened to you?" A warm tongue licked my wounded shoulder; I flinched at the touch, and not only because it stung. Wolf scent filled my nostrils, making me tense up again, but I didn't have the strength to move away from Toboe's ministrations. He smelled pretty young, probably not much more than a pup, and his voice was kind and concerned, but I wasn't going lower my guard because of that. In my mind, all wolves were dangerous.

"Wow, it's worse than I thought," murmured Hige from somewhere nearby. Then there was a low growl and Tsume suddenly burst out, as if he had been holding it in for ages and just couldn't do it anymore, "Get away from her, Toboe! She reeks of humans."

The pup's tongue stopped for a moment. "Tsume," he cried in a chastising tone, "that's not very nice. I think she smells good. Besides, she's really hurt and needs help, so I'm not getting away." Then he continued cleaning my wounds. I was a little confused as to whether I was being complemented or insulted just then, but I held back the indignant reply that threatened to burst forth, feeling a little annoyed that they were talking about me like I wasn't right there. Suddenly, I sensed someone else nearby and cracked an eye open, and what I saw made both my eyes open wide in surprise.

A great white wolf was looking down at me. His fur was the pure white of new fallen snow, as light as Getsuei's was dark. His eyes were that mesmerizing gold I had seen in the pit, and they were full of pride and wariness, but also kindness. His bearing radiated power and strength. The sight of him filled me with awe, and I was afraid again as I thought to wonder what these wolves would do with me now. I could only stare as the wolf bent over me and bit through the harness, which I now saw was made from a long vine, with only a few quick snaps of his jaws. When he threw the remains away, I saw something shiny and silvery go with them, and I gasped. "My . . . my collar!" I cried sadly as my last piece of my former life disappeared into the brush. "You broke it!"

"It was choking you," the white wolf said simply, and I knew from his soft voice that this was Kiba. A disdainful grunt came from nearby. "Oh shit, not one of those," Tsume sneered. "Bet someone's been keeping her as a pet dog, for her to get that upset over a damn collar. That's what happens when you deal with humans; all but the strongest become willing slaves." Toboe cried out in protest at that, and Hige remarked sarcastically, "Strong like who? You?" Kiba growled warningly at a tough-looking gray wolf with a cross-shaped scar on his chest. I also snarled at Tsume and started to rise, but Toboe pushed me back down. "You shouldn't try to move yet," said the pup worriedly. "Don't mind Tsume; he never trusts strangers, and he says stuff like that to everyone anyway."

"Nobody talks about my humans that way," I grumbled, "especially when you don't even know them."

"I don't need to know them," the gray wolf started, baring his fangs, but a glare from Kiba shut him up.

"H-hey," said Toboe said to me nervously, trying to change the subject and avert a fight, "I used to live with humans, too. I really liked it." I only grunted dismissively in reply. What was the point of all this? Of course I had been with humans; that's where dogs belonged, not out here with creatures like these. I wished they'd cut the useless chatter and let me go already. I was at my wit's end, having so many wolves so close to me. I didn't so much as think about fighting them as I had Getsuei. I just wanted to run away. "My name's Toboe, by the way," continued the pup amiably. I turned slightly to get a better look at him. He was all legs and quite skinny, with rusty reddish-brown fur and yellow eyes and four metal bracelets around his right front leg. "Um, what's your name?"

"Foxfire," I answered automatically, then bit my tongue as I realized it was probably not a good idea to give your name to someone you considered the enemy. But it was too late. Toboe was already wagging his tail happily and saying, "That's a pretty name, perfect for a wolf with red fur." That got my attention. I turned a confused stare on the pup and said, "I'm not a wolf," snorting through my nose at such a stupid idea. I mean, sure he was a pup, but didn't he even know the difference between a dog and a wolf yet? Even I had known that without ever having heard of wolves. But Toboe just stared back.

"What are you talking about? Of course you are," he said. "Your scent . . . oh, wait a sec! You were joking weren't you?" The pup grinned and stuck out his tongue comically. "Heh, sorry. Sometimes I'm a little slow with stuff like that. Just ask Hige!" Hige, a rather chubby wolf with sandy brown fur and a leather collar around his neck, immediately called out agreement, but I just answered seriously, "But I wasn't joking. If you think I smell like a wolf, it's probably because there was one here earlier and we fought. That's how I ended up in the pit." Toboe stopped grinning and lowered his tail, looking at me uncomfortably like he couldn't think of what to say next. But Kiba knew. He spoke up so suddenly that I started and looked up into those golden eyes, which were regarding me closely. "Well, if you're not a wolf, what are you?" he asked in a tone that suggested he was either just curious or testing me on something. I became suddenly flustered and had to think for a moment before I could grasp the answer out of my whirling thoughts. "A dog," I said at last.

"Ha! You see?" snapped Tsume. "Brainwashed." Kiba didn't say anything at all. He just looked at me for another moment and a sudden hardness clouded his eyes, a coldness that hadn't been there before, and then he turned and padded away over the leafy ground to sit beside two shadowy shapes I hadn't seen before. His reaction puzzled me; I had no idea what I'd done wrong or why I suddenly felt so bad about having done it. Why was this immense feeling of guilt building up in my chest? I didn't owe these wolves anything. They were just vicious killers, strangers to me . . . but then, they had just saved my life, though I couldn't guess why. I shot a nervous glance at Toboe, who came close to me and whispered in my ear, "Kiba puts a lot of importance on having pride as a wolf. But, um, if you're not one, at least you were honest, right? I guess we could've made a mistake." He didn't sound too convinced about it, though. Then he stepped back quickly and said a bit louder, "Want to try getting up now, Foxfire? I got the bleeding to stop as much as I could." I nodded wearily in response.

Toboe let me lean against his side as I shakily stood up. I was a bit unsteady on my feet and lightheaded to boot. It was weird; I knew how dangerous wolves were, what they were capable of, and I was scared shitless being surrounded by them right now, weak and at their mercy. And yet this pup was being so nice to me; I had never expected that of any wolf. That's the only explanation I can think of for why I suddenly found myself croaking hoarsely to the pup, "You can call me Foxie for short, if you want to." I almost kicked myself for that one, too, but again it was too late. Toboe wagged his tail happily when I shared my nickname with him, but apparently he wasn't the only one who heard.

"Hey, Foxie. I'm Hige," said Hige in a tone that made it sound like a bad pickup line, even though it was only my name. The moment he said it, one of the shadowy shapes near Kiba shot out from the shade of a tree and cuffed Hige hard on the shoulder. It was a big black wolf, and it scared me to death until I realized that it was a female with bright blue eyes and was therefore not Getsuei. "Ow!" Hige wailed. "Will ya stop that already? I didn't mean it like that." Then he sighed and gesture to the female beside him and added, "By the way, this is Blue."

"Hi," said Blue, sitting down next to Hige and affectionately licking his ear in apology. I shyly said hello back to her. She and Hige were obviously a couple by the way she was acting, and I sure didn't want to make her mad at me. Then I happened to look at the other shape under the tree with Kiba, and since the sun was now starting to peek over the horizon, it was easy for me to see the strangest sight that had ever met my eyes. Yes, stranger even than Getsuei. And never mind that she was a human hanging out with a pack of wolves; that wasn't even the weird part. After all, I didn't know so much about wolves, but I knew humans, and I knew how humans were supposed to look. The girl I now saw looked nothing like that.

She had short pink hair and large, luminous pink eyes set in the most serene and angelic face I had ever seen. She wore a short pink cape with a hood and pink boots. Besides that, she also seemed to be wearing a skin-tight white cat suit under the cape. The girl sat there beside Kiba, looking at me with open, friendly eyes. Her scent was what gave me pause more than anything else – there was no human in it at all. She smelled just like flowers, though no kind I could name, and it was the most heavenly scent you could imagine. It wasn't perfume, either; the farmer's wife had perfume, and I knew that no artificial scent could ever hope to match this. This was the real thing. I stared, dumbfounded and uncomprehending, until I finally managed to utter a squeaky, "W-who - ?" I couldn't for the life of me figure out what that girl was or why she made my insides feel like they were turning to jelly (in a good way).

"That's Cheza," Toboe said proudly. "She's the Flower Maiden and she's leading us to Paradise! Wanna come?"

"Hmph," growled Tsume suddenly, " she doesn't need to know our business, Toboe."

"She has as much a right to know as we do," the pup replied.

"Paradise isn't for dogs," the gray wolf said with a glare at me, "so she doesn't." Blue and Hige both started to growl at Tsume just then, but he continued, "Now that we've finished with the runt's little rescue mission and the sun's coming up, it's time to get going. Come on, Kiba."

"Wait!" cried Toboe. "We can't just leave Foxie here like this. We should at least help her to a safe place."

"No such thing," Tsume muttered.

"Is there anywhere you'd like us to take you, Foxie?" Toboe asked me. I almost said no – the last thing I wanted to do was go anywhere with these wolves – but then I realized I had to look at the situation realistically. At the best of times, I had no idea what I was doing out here in the world, being a farm dog through and through. As it was, I was terribly injured and completely lost, and really had little hope of surviving on my own. I had an opportunity to get some help now, and if I turned it away, I was probably as good as dead. Maybe if I could bring myself to stand the company of these animals for just a short time, I could get within range of a human habitation again and make myself a new, wolf-free life. Plus, Getsuei never seemed to show up unless I was alone, so maybe the arrangement would have the added benefit of keeping him out of my fur. So although it was really against my better judgment, I answered, "Well, there's supposed to be a town called Stonewall somewhere around here, but I got lost and I don't remember where the road is."

"Do you know the general direction it's in?" asked Kiba. I looked around and located the rock face onto which Getsuei had jumped, and using that as a reference point, I tried to mentally retrace my flight after the white-eyed wolf that afternoon. It was hard, but once I thought I had a pretty close guess, I pointed the way with my nose. "There, I think."

"Okay," said Kiba. "That's not too far out of our way. You can travel with us till we reach your town."

"This is a mistake," growled Tsume, but no one paid attention. Kiba started off with Cheza (who still completely baffled me) at his side, and I moved to follow, telling myself repeatedly not to freak out because this was just going to be temporary. But the moment I took my weight off of Toboe, I collapsed in a heap on the ground. Toboe cried out in distress, and Kiba and the girl came back. "Oh, I'm so sorry!" Toboe gasped. "I forgot about your leg!"

"She's too weak to keep up," said Tsume scornfully.

"Too bad the full moon's over, or you'd heal in no time," remarked Blue.

"Want me to carry you?" Hige asked, earning a dirty look from Blue. I gasped and tried to get up, mumbling apologies and saying I was okay, but every time I tried to rise, I fell back down into the leaves. Tsume was right; there was no way I could get to Stonewall in this condition. I was still doomed. But then a new voice spoke, soft and sweet like music floating on a gentle wind. "Wait," said Cheza, "this one can help."

She knelt down next to me and, before I could think or react, she put her hands on me and began gently stroking over my wounds. An odd but delicious tingling began all over my skin, and I squirmed slightly and half-whimpered, half-giggled in joy. The pain in my head and body, the fear and uncertainty, all ebbed away. With my eyes squeezed shut, all I could see were dancing rainbow colors. All I could smell were sweet flowers.

All too soon, it was over and the girl backed away. I opened my eyes and sat up with a disappointed whine. What had just happened? But then I noticed that for the first time in days, there was no stinging pain anywhere in my body. My teeth no longer ached or felt about to fall out. My right front leg held my weight as well as it ever had, maybe better. In fact, I felt brand new! I stood and took a few experimental steps, then jumped, then ran joyously in circles, chasing my tail and giggling. I stopped facing Cheza, tongue lolling and tail wagging wildly. I had completely forgotten the wolves; Tsume looked disgusted, but the others were staring in wonder.

"Better?" Cheza asked with a smile.

"Oh, I've never felt this good in my whole life! Thank you!" I cried. Then, sobering up, I added in an awestruck voice, "What are you?" The girl didn't answer, just smiled sweetly at me as Toboe, who had been examining me closely, said, "Wow, Foxie! All your wounds are gone and the fur's even grown back over them. No scars, either. Cheza's healed me before, but it was nothing compared to that!"

"How did you do that?" I asked Cheza again, but she just patted my head before putting her hand on Kiba's shoulder and saying, "Let's go now, everyone." Then she and Kiba turned and started walking again. Tsume, Hige, and Blue followed next, and then Toboe. I stood for a moment in hesitation. It seemed like I had been in a state of constant confusion lately, and it didn't look like this was going to change anytime soon. Wolves were supposed to be just regular animals, right? Like bears or mountain lions or any of those creatures; eat, sleep, fight, reproduce – that's what made up their lives, right? I mean, let's face it; I wouldn't have done much more than that myself if the farmer hadn't decided to train me as a sheepdog.

And yet here was a pack of wolves who looked for something called Paradise (which I'd have to ask about later), hung out with a flower-girl who could heal with a touch, and basically just behaved nothing like wolves were supposed to. They had even helped a dying dog when dogs and wolves were enemies. What a strange pack! I wondered if I'd be able to stand being around them for who knew how long, till we reached the town. I reminded myself again that it was only temporary, just till I found some humans and learned to take care of myself better. Then I could hide away among the humans and maybe find the company of some normal dogs. If I could just relax awhile and go along with these guys and try not to make them angry, I should come out of this in one piece.

Toboe's voice broke into my thoughts just then. "Hey, Foxie!" he cried, turning to look back at me just as he was about to disappear over the crest of a hill. "Come on! Don't wanna get left behind, do ya?" There was a hint of playful laughter in his voice.

"Coming!" I yelled back, and I ran to catch up to the young wolf who was waiting for me. There was nothing for it; for better or for worse, I was now involved with the very creatures of my nightmares. Talk about facing you fears.