AN:

For all of you, who watched WR this Saturday, yes it was very sad and yes it actually made me cry throughout the whole first 20 minutes. The music and the drama were too much to bear. Gads the music...so beautiful, I'd kill for the soundtrack, especially that solo part of the music, I recorded the episode and hear the music and find myself in the verge of tears again....
Anyway I decided to write even more!

Onto the next chapter!

"Minuet"
The fall was indeed really high and harsh, when it came to their landing the water slammed against their bodies as hard as if it were made of stone and the cold it emitted as harsh as thousands of blades puncturing to their skin.

Toboe held tightly onto Tsume's body all the way, even when they were sinking did he dare to open his eyes. Bubbles of all sizes and shapes made their way up to the surface, the water was dark, deep, and deceitful. It all was too quiet, for what seemed like an eternity, he heard the nothingness of the waters.

A beautiful messenger of death that caught them in its claws and pulled them down into the shallow darkness of the deep.

Toboe's lungs stung in the desperate need of air, his body greedily begging him for oxygen to his tired body. It all was going too fast, just mere seconds he was fleeing along with Tsume and now they were both sinking in a tight embrace.

Tsume...

He isn't moving.

It all came to Toboe like the cold did to his body; Tsume wasn't moving, and his grip was loosening on him.

He started panicking and in a desperate attempt to save both of them, his body reacted and kicked as hard and fast as he could to reach the surface.
He had never noticed how beautiful the surface of the water made the light from the moon look so unearthly, and it was too close and yet so far.

He reached a hand to the surface, trying to reach the moon, trying to save Tsume and himself from that icy death.

He was too heavy and it was gaining up on his adrenaline, he could already hear the raging beat of his heart against his ears and his lungs hurt terribly.

He let go of the little air he had inside and as quickly as it went, icy water replaced the warm life inside of him.

"Toboe!" He heard Hige cry out, his voice muffled by the barrier between them.

Kiba, Cheza and Hige had barely reached the surface, they had been calling out to their two friends in hopes they will be alright.

"Tsume!" He cried out again.

Kiba left Cheza's side and taking his jacket off, he dived again, trying to find his fallen friends.

He came back to the surface, calling their names in a futile attempt.
The waters were so dark he couldn't see anything below his waistline.

It was an excruciating feeling, white shots of pain filled his vision as he started loosing his grip on the waking world and felt himself sinking again.

If only he had some air there could be a slight possibility to survive. He was just too weak.

Maybe Tsume had been right all along, and now they were sinking to their tomb.

NO!
No, I can't let myself die here; I have to grow stronger!
Tsume is depending on me!

Sometimes the will to live is stronger than your bodily conditions are. Toboe might not be the strongest of their pack, he might be clumsy and could whine from time to time, but when it came down to his spirit, down when they really needed him, he was no longer the cub, but a true wolf.

He pushed himself one last time, kicked as hard as he could, holding for dear life onto Tsume and finally they broke the surface.

How wonderful and beautiful the feeling to breathe again is, to feel the oxygen and that grip hold tight in your lungs loosen up.

Kiba saw when they broke the surface and hurried to them, Hige dove in as well to help Kiba.

Toboe coughed up all the water he had inside, gasping for air and feeling himself sink again, but when he saw Kiba and Hige, he felt extreme relief wash over him.
His legs were already numb and pulsating, he was glad they reached them in time before his strength decided to leave him again.

Kiba took his arm tightly so as that he wouldn't slip from his grip, when Hige made it to them, he wrapped Toboe's arms around his neck and swam to the edge, while Kiba did the same, carrying an unconscious Tsume.

"He's not breathing," said Kiba, while he checked for a pulse, glad to find one.
Toboe's eyes widened and a choked sob escaped his lips, Hige felt so bad for the boy and embraced him.

"He can't die... He can't..." Toboe repeated with his hands over his face.

"It's ok runt, Tsume is too stubborn to just give in like that." Hige spoke some words of reassurance to the boy, but he too did not know whether he would survive that.
He probably took the entire hit himself so that Toboe wouldn't get hurt.

Cheza made her way quickly to the fallen wolf and pressed her lips to his, Kiba understood what she was doing and pressed both hands down hard on Tsume's thorax, helping his system respond and take in air on its own.

No more was needed, and he soon started coughing up all the water inside of him. His eyes opened halfway to see the moon up high and Toboe's features, his tearful eyes and happy expression.

"You're alive! I'm so glad you are not hurt."

The boy almost threw himself to the older man, too happy to even care if Tsume pushed him aside; he knew he hatted being too close to someone, less being hugged by the cub, and he was crossing that line.

And as he thought, Tsume did. He removed Toboe, stood up and dusted himself, his pride getting in the way as usual.

He spat to the ground in disgust of having to be saved, for being weak and depending on someone else.

"Tsk, of course I'm alright." He said, turning his back on him.

Hige smiled, standing up. He knew Tsume even if he couldn't read his mask, he knew all too well that he wouldn't have done what he did and acted like a jerk if they weren't with them.

"At least say 'thank you'. It wasn't Kiba or me who saved you, you know?" He added, a slight tone of amusement in his voice.

Tsume turned around and looked at Toboe, who was rubbing his hands against his arms and try to stay warm, he looked at the ground, but in embarrassment.

"That's not true, if it weren't for you guys, we would've sunk and drowned." A hand on his shoulder interrupted him, he turned in that direction and saw Kiba.

"Don't say that Toboe, Hige's right." He smiled faintly to the boy and this smiled back.

"No one is indispensable, you proved that just now."

Tsume just looked at Toboe, then looked back at the moon, it was not a full moon, but it was beautiful none the less.

"We will rest over that hill, let's try and elude the humans as much as we can."
Everyone followed the white wolf, Tsume walking on the very back, behind Hige and Toboe, who seemed like he was having a hard time walking.

His features showed a clear frown, since they had found Toboe, up until now, he had been acting very strangely, he had changed, and it worried him.

The forest clad in the silver light of the moon guided the pack through its tricky plains, the wind blowed softly and calmly, caressing the trees and playing a soft tune along with the music of the forest.

The night creatures sung their own solo, making the forest even in the darkness look lively and pure.

It was like a voice singing a sad, yet peaceful song that surrounded the whole area and lifted every burden from a tired heart. It was like magic, a mythical melody that represented redemption from the spirit of the forest to the creatures living in its peaceful reverie.

The pack made it finally to their resting spot, it was no cave, nor it was a place protected by any walls, just the bottom of a tree that had a circle made out of its enormous roots.

The wolves laid there, surrounding their maiden yet once more, who lulled them slowly to sleep with her melodious voice.

Their hungry, tired bodies forgotten, it was just her voice and their souls.

Their bodies relaxed, their heart fluttered and they fell into the bliss of sleep, dreaming of their own paradise, of their own dream and hope.

Cheza smiled as she caressed Kiba's head, and looked up at the moon to offer her song, closing her eyes and a smile displayed on her lips.

The next day came all too soon for Toboe for he still felt an exhaustion that shouldn't be there after a good night's sleep, for him it was as if the whole night had been a blink of an eye.
For him it was as if he, after lying comfortably by Cheza's side, by his pack's side, after hearing her melodious voice that lulled his slowly to sleep had closed his eyes, to open them right away by Tsume shaking him awake with his nuzzle.

He felt like whining that he couldn't get too much of a good sleep, but he also felt complied to be strong and forget about his greedy needs.

He never noticed when he started to get cold until he was on his feet, following the pack. His hands were shaking slightly and had abandoned their healthy color, replaced by a yellow tone that worried him, but kept it to himself.

Tsume, who was walking beside the young wolf seemed not to be bothered by any cold, but Toboe couldn't fight the urge for a little of warmth no more.

He closed the distance between their bodies and walked beside him, trying to produce some warmth for his cold body.

Tsume noticed after the cub got close, how cold he was and how his body shook ever so slightly. The morning came cold, but it was not too cold to cause anyone to shiver.
The gray wolf relented and let the smaller one sty close to him for warmth.

"I'm so hungry, need food..." Hige complained, breaking the silence of the pack.

Indeed they had walked until they reached the boarders of the forest and again a seemingly infinite plain of sand and rocks laid before their eyes as far as the horizon went for miles.

"Porkys right. We need food before going through, but the only problem is that we didn't encounter with any pray in that forest to feed upon...weird." Tsume added, halting the whole group for a moment's rest.

Kiba could not push his pack any further, it has been days since they had pathetic portions of food, and Cheza was starting to show signs of weariness.

But then again Tsume was right, they found not a trace of food in that forest, and the pond was too shallow to even have a chance to hunt for fish, the river was out of question, those rapids can kill anyone, specially a wolf worn by hunger.

Toboe let himself fall ungracefully to the ground with a small thud, he was just too tired, hungry and weak to care.

He couldn't suppress the crimson blush that appeared across his features when his stomach made a demanding noise for food.
Kiba smiled slightly amused at the sight of the boy being embarrassed. He admited though, that he was worried for him, he had been acting strangely lately, as if he were still sick. Sometimes he would be fine, and the next moment he would collapse too tires to go on.

He feared that the young pup had been exposed to too much for his body to bear, being raised inside four walls by a human and all.

Something was still wrong with him and he didn't know what, but it bothered him greatly.

For the welfare of the pack, he dropped his pride and made his decision.

"We'll have to look for the closest human town"

Tsume glared at him as if he were crazy. "Hunger has made you loose your mind, can't think straight or what? We-"

"We have no other choice, at this rate with our bodies poorly fed and weak, it will only be a matter of time before one of us suffers the consequences of malnutrition." He ended his gaze fell from Tsume to Toboe's form, Tsume noticing this knew what he meant and remained silent.

"Whatever, lets just find food. I'm dying" Hige added nonchalant, he had no trouble handling humans, as long as he had profit, and this was food and shelter.

Tsume sighed heavily in defeat, he knew what Kiba had meant, and it ashamed him that he didn't notice Toboe's bodily signs screaming at him. He feared that Toboe would fall ill and die... he already showed the first signs, exhaustion, weakness and cold.

The oblivious boy didn't notice the leader's discussion, too busy on his own train of thought and smiling at Hige's whining for food.

"Fine, let's go. The sooner the better." Broke Tsume before taking Toboe's arm and pulling him up almost harming him.

After miles of continuous plains of sand, his body gave in again to weakness. He had brushed aside how his vision had blurred and how his stomach demanded food, feeling a horrible pain in his abdomen.

Not until he couldn't take it anymore.

His breath came in a small gasp before his feet succumbed under him and made him fall forward to the sand. His throat burned in need for water and his eyes stung because of the sweat that trickled down his furrowed brow.
He could only see how his minds played tricks on him and made the world sway uncontrollably making him dizzy.
He heard loud slurs and in the midst he could make put his voice.

"Toboe..." Tsume went to him and tried to wake the boy.

Kiba, Hige and Cheza who was on Kiba's back because she was too tired to keep on walking turned to aid their friend.

"Come on pup, talk to me." Tsume urged as he propped the limp body, Cheza sat beside him to try and heal him, but only a faint glow came from her hand and she did no more.

"I'm sorry...this one is very tired..." she apologized.

Toboe opened his eyes halfway, their usual sparkle of life abandoned them. "I'm ok... just a bit tired." He murmured as he tried to get up, but gasped when he felt two strong hands taking him and noticed Tsume propping him on his back.

"Shut up you stupid runt, now hold on or you'll fall" said the older wolf as he started walking again before an argument began.

He didn't notice that his tone had been a little bit harsher than what he meant and Toboe resented it.

"I'm sorry" he said softly, almost to himself.

AN:
Bad ending, but hey I'm writing! LOL
I submitted this right away because I will be a bit busy this week, swim season is open and have a swim meet tomorrow! Yikes! O.o

Yes there's actually a part in the anime that goes like this, Cheza sitting with the wolves around her, singing and all, thought it was a pretty idea.

More to come next chapter!! evil laugh have great plans for the pack!
Oh yeah, planned on adding some laughs next chapter, thought it would work since its been full of drama, followed by even more drama xD

Please review! Tahnk you for reading!