"My goodness!" groaned Hige, as his legs sank into the snow again, "Doesn't this snow know how to solidify itself! Geez!"
"Well I haven't had any problems, so it must just be you, porky," said Tsume.
Alueme's stomach was aching for food. It had been nearly two weeks since they had taken down the deer. She was surprised that Hige wasn't yipping on about food, but then again, he was preoccupied with his snow troubles.
"Up ahead," Kiba called back to the others, "There's an outcropping of rocks. We can rest there for a bit."
"Good," panting Toboe, "We've been walking all day…"
Kiba sped up to reach the rocks, followed by four wolves.
Looking around, Hige said, "This isn't much of a shelter, is it?"
A large rock was sticking up at an angle. It provided only a limited refuge, but any was better than none.
Filled with a sudden drowsiness, Hige crawled under the outcrop and sighed.
Tsume snorted at him and said, "I'm going to take a look around."
"How much is there to see?" Hige sarcastically remarked.
Tsume suppressed a growl and trotted around to the other side of the rockery.
"You shouldn't provoke him so much, Hige," Alueme commented.
Hige shrugged, "Aw, deep down, he probably likes it…" The tan wolf's head sank to his paws and he drifted off to sleep.
Toboe shifted nervously, "Uh, I'm gonna go find Tsume." He looked at Kiba for permission.
Kiba nodded, "Go ahead. You can't get too lost out here."
The white wolf padded in a laid near the rocks as well. He looked at the she-wolf, "What are you going to do?"
Alueme looked at her paws, and then out over the tundra. "I suppose I'll go track down Tsume and Toboe. I feel too restless to relax at the moment."
Not hearing any protest from Kiba, she padded around the rocks, in the direction the other two wolves had gone.
When she got to the other side, she saw no one… 'Ugh, they've probably already gone back around,' thought Alueme. As she was about to turn around, Toboe came out from a gap between two of the boulders.
"Hey, Alueme!" the pup called out, "Come look at what Tsume found!"
Ears perked up, the she-wolf walked over to Toboe and watched as he turned and dove back down a tunnel between the stones.
She followed.
Down below, there was a cavern. There was a stone pedestal in the center, and on it was a glowing object.
Tsume had taken on his human guise to get a better view of the 'thing'.
"What is it?" asked Alueme, also taking her human form.
"How the hell'm I suppose to know?" said Tsume, putting his hands on hi hips. He sounded frustrated.
Alueme walked up to the illuminating object, using her hand to shield her eyes from the direct light. From what she could see, it was only an orb of some sort. But what purpose could it have?
"Hey Toboe, go get Kiba and Hige," said Tsume.
The pup nodded and ran off to get them.
"You know… Hige had just fallen asleep when I came back here looking for you guys," said Alueme, glancing at Tsume.
She saw him smirk as he said, "All the better…"
A few moments later, Toboe came back with Kiba and Hige.
"I just know I would have had a nice dream, too, if you guys hadn't woke me up for- Whoa! What the hell is that light from?" yipped Hige.
Kiba pushed past him and circled around to sit on the opposite side of the pedestal. The white wolf squinted his eyes, trying to get a better look at the object in question.
"Do you think it has something to do with Paradise?" asked Toboe.
"I don't think so… it has no scent of Lunar flowers," said Kiba.
"But that doesn't mean it has nothing to do with Paradise," said Tsume.
"Hey, since when did you become a believer, eh, Tsume?" snickered Hige.
"Shut up!" The gray wolf growled.
"Ah! You've found it! You've found it!" came a new voice.
"Oh no…" mumbled Alueme, half in awe, half in shock. It was the voice that had led her out of the sewers.
"It's you!" Exclaimed Toboe, "I've heard you before!"
"Ah yes… my two little helpers…your names I believe, are Toboe and Alueme, are they not?"
"Is this the voice you two heard?" asked Kiba.
"Yes… yes it is! Who are you?" Toboe called out.
"I? No one special. I am simply… hm… what would your kind call me? I suppose, yes… just call me a demon," the voice said.
"But do you have a name?" asked Hige. All signs of his tiredness, had seemingly drifted away. He was now all ears, waiting for an answer from the voice, just like the other wolves.
After waiting for a few minutes, Tsume muttered, "It probably left…"
Tsume was about to make a rude comment about the voice, when it spoke up again, "No… I am still here, just… thinking… of name for you wolves to call me…"
"You mean to say you don't have a name?" asked Alueme. Another thought crossed her mind, "Do you have solid form? Or are you just a voice?"
"A voice? No. no, I am more than a voice… AH, once I think up a name for you to call me, I shall go into my 'solid form', as you put it. Just please try and be patient… It's been a long time since I have spoken so freely," the voice answered.
And so the wolves waited for the voice to find a name for itself. Hige sighed and lay down, making himself comfortable by leaning against a wall. Kiba sat polity and waited. Tsume and gone back to being a wolf and was also sitting. Toboe was jingling the bracelets on his leg. Alueme, having gone back to a wolf as well, was kicking a rock between her forepaws.
"Yes! I've got a name for myself. It took me awhile, but I've remembered it at long last! You noble wolves may call me Kibure Hiroshari, the demon-lord of wolves."
The five wolves snapped back to attention.
The air near the entrance of the small cave started to swirl as a body formed.
The wolves watched intently.
Four pawed legs, much like those of an average wolf, appeared, and connected to a lithe silver body. On the feet, where the dew would usually be, was a sickle claw, like that of a dinosaur. The tail was long, scaled and split near the end. Two ears, larger than normal for a wolf, appeared on a not-so-normal head. The muzzle was longer, and more reptile-like, although the eyes were obviously wolf eyes. Two yellow orbs, specked with green, stared out.
The demon-lord snorted and shook his head, "It has been far too long since I have taken this 'solid form'. I've forgotten how much I missed it…"
"Wow…" gaped Toboe.
Not wanting to appear stunned by this, Tsume grunted, "How long are you talking about?"
"Oh, many, many years…" Kibure said, closing his eyes, "Yes, I believe…742 years… somewhere around there." He opened his eyes again.
"Geez, just how old are you?" exclaimed Hige, tilted his head to the side.
"Old," smiled the demon.
"Apparently…" mumbled Alueme. She was still in partial shock of this new development.
"Now," said Kibure, looking directly into the glowing orb, "I believe I should tell you five what this is… This item is said to open a gate way into the demonic realm, which is where I first came from. I was summoned by humans, long ago, into this world. I've been stuck here ever since. Now, I know you wolves want to get to fabled Paradise. And I want to get back into the demonic realm. I'll make a deal with you. I'll help you get the flower maiden, if you'll help me open the gateway."
"Really?" breathed Kiba. You could tell he was considering it.
"Tch, we don't need your help. Open the damn door by yourself," Tsume snorted.
"Calm down Tsume, we might be able to use his help! He is a demon!" said Toboe.
Alueme didn't say anything, but started thinking about what Kibure's world must be like.
"Curiosity is a sign of intelligence," said The demon-lord quietly. He eyed each of the wolves, "You may talk with each other and decide. I will sit here and await your answer."
OMG! I have a plot! (Or at least a sad excuse for a plot…) Anyways, I've finally given this story a purpose. I'm not sure where to go with this, but I'll work something out.