Disclaimer: I don't own Wolf's Rain. –sighs wistfully-
Before the Red Moon
Toboe felt his mouth go very dry as sweat broke out all over his body, his amber eyes wider than dinnerplates. He made a small, terrified noise and backed away, numb with dread and fear. His heart seemed to stop and his blood froze when Sheshkemana stared at him with her eerily green eyes that gave the impression that they were glowing, cold holes of pitless malice. Why did this have to happen?
Sheshekemana didn't even look at her sword as a wicked smile slowly spread across her savagely beautiful features that sent shivers down Toboe's spine. And she started to laugh, that evil, unventilated laugh. It seemed to bounce off the walls in the confined space, slamming through Toboe's defenses until it was all he could hear—it brought back memories of the most horrible things, blood and death and violence—guns and the howls of wolves and men alike in agony—
He slowly sank to his knees on the steps, his hands clapped over his ears, trying to shut out the horrible sound, but it seemed so loud that it would be the only thing he ever heard again—he suddenly felt a violent tug as Sheshekemana grabbed the lapel of his shirt and yanked him forward, like a snake. The cackling had stopped, but it reverberated in the pup's head.
The sight of her face inches from his own caused extreme panic, but before he could do anything, she seized his throat with her other hand and compressed her grip with strength like iron. Desperation hummed through Toboe's veins as he struggled frantically to get away, it felt like his breath was being sucked out of him. The wild pounding of his heart was magnified as she constricted tighter.
"I see that letting you live was a mistake," he hissed, her eyes narrowed—much like a snake. "Not only did you defy me, but now you try and escape! I'm going to ask you one more time, since you're conveniently at my hands. Where is Paradise?"
She rammed him against the wall, causing the pup to see stars once more as pain exploded in the back of his head, just like the vicious beating she had given him before they were imprisoned. His struggles started to fail even faster than before—she was literally crushing the air out of his throat, the blood from his bullet scrape completely forgotten in his fear and desperation. But he didn't even know the answer to the question she was asking! He couldn't tell her even if he did know!
His eyes shut and he his teeth grit in pain. He could lie to her—then the pain would stop, she'd let him go—but…he'd be letting down his friends, and his entire race. But where could he find the courage to tell her no? Through his half-choked state, a small flame in his heart flared up. Don't tell her…reveal nothing.
He tried vainly to pry her fingers off his neck as he wheezed, "I…won't…tell you…!" He could practically feel the anger radiating from Sheshkemana—opening his eyes, he saw that her lovely white face had almost purpled in anger.
"Still you defy me!" she screamed, squeezing as tight as she could. Toboe made a choking sound. "I will enjoy watching you die!"
His lungs screamed for air, his weak struggles completely fading off as he sagged against the wall, unable to stop her, powerless. There was nothing he could do—but at least he would die like a wolf. Black spots started to splatter his range of vision as he thought thickly, I wonder what the others would think…will they miss me…?
He wished that the last thing he was going to see wasn't Sheshkemana, so he made an effort to look around…and then…
The sound of a heavy metal object crashing down the stairs rung loudly, bouncing off the walls as whatever it was slammed on down. Toboe could see the light was blocked out for a fleeting instant as Sheshkemana let out a scream of rage and fear as she released his neck and fled, letting the pup slide to the ground, limp at first, but at the release of his neck, he sucked in air shrilly and greedily, feeling the life seep back into his body. He saw a fleeting movement, a huge metal octagonal box, the size of a small boulder unknowingly pursued a very freaked out and pissed Sheshkemana down the stairs—he could hear her screeching.
He didn't have enough breath to make a comment aloud, but he thought, What the heck was that? And who did it? He staggered to his feet and collapsed again, his legs like jelly. Still panting, he crawled up the stairs, painfully slow, but it was as fast as his strained body would allow. He hoped sincerely that whoever threw the box, or more likely, rolled it down the stairs was friendly.
Each step was torture—the staircase was huge. Hauling himself up each one seemed to require the energy it took to move a mountain, and his claws had no purchase on the smooth surface…at first. To his glee—for once, something good—his strength returned rapidly, until he could shuffle up the stairs. Finally, in what seemed to take an age, he reached the top, and to his surprise, he found an anxious looking Ren waiting for him.
"Oh my god!" she cried before he could say anything, her eyes wide, all her fairy like grace and composure vanished for now. "I heard my mother and saw the box right there, so I rolled it down the stairs, but after a few seconds, I wasn't sure if you'd've made it—"
"You…saved my..life," Toboe panted, his own eyes rather wide. This was a side he never thought he'd see about the half noble, her spectral radiance was no longer present, and her strange, ways were…gone. She was behaving like a normal wolf… "Thank you."
Ren stopped blabbering, her ears pricking up suddenly. "It was nothing," she said quickly, "But we have to get out here fast, my mom should be getting reinforcements or at least a search team to come find you! Come with me, she'll never think of searching my room! Can you run?" she asked, looking desperate.
Toboe, tired as he was also heard heavy footsteps, and that slammed the adrenaline of fear into him. "Yeah, but—"
Ren didn't wait for his answer. She held up the hem of her skirt so she wouldn't trip, grabbed his right hand, causing the bracelets to jingle and then took off.
She was fast, half dragging him all over the place; he didn't have a clue where he was going. His paws thudded heavily on the hard floors, their breaths coming in short gasps as she towed him through hallways with tall arches, heavy double doors, places with a lot of wall paintings, chandeliers, but all the way there were those horrible red lamps.
"This way!" Ren gasped, vaulting up another flight of stairs and dashing down a strange black hall, the only light being strange, tiny glittering golden lights that gave the impression that they were walking through pitch dark space. The place struck Toboe as eerie, but it hardly mattered, Ren had yanked them faster than light through that place, and turned a corner. They were now in a normal hallway of this stupid keep, and as suddenly as they got out of the black place, she pushed him forward and shoved him through a door, jumping in after him and slamming it.
Toboe sprawled in an indignified way on the floor, gasping for breath. Ren was doing the same as she secured the locks. "There," she breathed, wiping her face with a slender hand. "They won't look here…you look half dead. Here, you can sleep in here," she stumbled over to a small spot on the wall and held her white hand over it.
A mesmerized Toboe watched as that small section of the wall slid away, revealing a tiny place that could just fit a wolf, and looked soft and warm inside. Then, a wave of exhaustion suddenly hit him, making him feel as if he hadn't slept in a month and had fought a battalion of wolf-hunters.
The pup trotted slowly over to it, and looked questioningly at a breathless Ren, who was smiling. "You're tired…if anyone comes along, I'll close it. You'll be able to breathe…" she looked very tired. "Take a nap…we'll figure out how to get your friends out soon."
A/N: Hawr, Sheshkemana got served! Anyway…ARGH! My teachers are so mean. They dumped thousands of pounds of homework on me, I'm sorry for the hideously slow update! Please forgive? –huggles- Thankies for the reviews, they're really great. As for the broken sever Tweak, I dunno, this site's servers are pretty half arsed.
