SORRY! I didn't realize how long it had been since I updated; I'm trying to balance mediaminer and which is making things very complicated. Here is number 6, not exactly on time, but present and accounted for. Thanks to my reviewers, love you all, many huggles.
"You struck Kyoujaku's daughter?"
Kouga crossed his arms haughtily, refusing to meet Ikasu's eyes. "She hit me first!" came his childish reply.
The elder sighed deeply, cooling its belly in a large elm's refreshing shade. It was said that the regal tree was created by the spirits of every fallen wolf elder, the reason behind its forever growing nature. Every year it grew, despite its lengthening age, and never died in storm nor plague. The wolves reverred it as the forest's gift to them and treasured the tree, laying under its shade reverently or thanking it for miracles, should they occur.
At the current time, Kouga thought of everything but the old tree's history. He remained focused on his previous engagement with Tack, a fight during which the girl was carried off in a heap and Kouga received a large bruise on his cheek. In retrospect, he mused, it had been quite a long time since he'd received an injury by anyone other than Inuyasha or Kagura. Surprisingly enough, he'd broken his clean streak with this girl. Imagine that.
Ikasu looked up plantively at Kouga. "She seems to have struck a sound blow."
Kouga's clawed hand instinctively reached up to touch his wounded cheek and he snarled. "I let her hit me so the others wouldn't think she was a weakling. She should thank me."
The elder beared all through this magnificent lie, turning the subject somewhat. "Kouga, she is a powerful demon, or so I suspect. Do not antagonize her."
This insinuation set Kouga aflame with anger for the umpteenth time that day. "Powerful? That pathetic excuse for a wolf? She should've stayed in the human world where she belonged!" Kouga shouted, his eyes burning as he glared down at the elder.
Ikasu waited patiently for his young protege to gain control and, when silence resumed, the white haired wolf asked quietly, "Are you ready to listen to an old wolf's instructions?"
Truthfully, having to sleep through anyone's instructions was pain enough for Kouga, but he saw the stern quality in Ikasu's gaze. Kouga plopped down on the ground with a sigh, beginning to pick at grass as he waited for the elder to begin his tale. Ikasu cleared his throat and began.
"The girl's name is Rai, meaning 'defeat.' Her father named her so because she was born of defeat, when her mother and father were on their death beds after battle. If she is anything like her forefathers, Rai has great power she's yet to unleash. You believe her to be weak? Tell me, Kouga, when you were two weeks of age, how advanced were your skills?"
Knowing this question was rhetorical, Kouga said nothing, only narrowing his eyes slightly in response. Satisfied, Ikasu continued. "And the great leader has given you insplicit instructions, as I hear, to train this girl. Am I correct?"
Kouga thought back to his time spent in the mountains, speaking constantly with the great elder and seeking his wisdom. The old wolf's face echoed through his mind as he remembered those stern words. "Kouga, you will find Kyoujaku's daughter and teach her to survive in this world. In two full moon's time, I wish to see her and observe her progress. Is that clear?"
It was clear enough for Kouga and he agreed wholeheartedly, not of a position to refuse the great leader's instructions. But now that he'd met his soon to be charge, the tribe leader was having some second thoughts. If that girl let him within a twenty foot radius of her, he would be pleased. As of the current time, the two wolves were enemies.
Ikasu interrupted Kouga's train of thought abruptly. "I believe I am correct. You will train her well and comply with the great leader's wishes, shall you not?"
Of course, Kouga was of no mind to say no and merely nodded, begrudging to say the least. He would just have to throw some moves at the little snot and go on with his life, searching for Naraku to claim revenge.
"Yeah I will, damn it. Lay off ya old..." Kouga began.
"No need to take your anger out on me, young leader. Though I would suggest taking a run to clear your head; when you go to formally meet Rai, you wouldn't want to worsen your already terrible relationship."
With a snort, Kouga stood swiftly to his feet and disappeared into the forest, a swirling circle of winds forming the tornado around him. As trees shook in the leader's wake, Ikasu sighed and laid his tired head on the grass. If that young pup of a leader ever became a man, the old wolf would eat his own fangs.
Tack slowly became aware of her limbs and the terrible weight which came with being grounded on earth. Her dreams, mere wisps of a memory, faded like disappating mist. Blurry figures clouded her vision and she blinked a few times, letting her eyes adjust to the stark contrast of candle light in relative darkness. The sounds of water falling into a pool below carressed her ears, though the calming air did little for her body. Never in her short life had Tack felt pain so unbearable; she imagined this is what it felt to actually get the shit kicked out of you.
Sure, the redhead remembered her smackdown with that arrogant wolf Kouga, her terrible defeat, her disgraceful loss of conciousness. She did however manage to land a solid punch; this was enough to satisfy her momentarily. The blurs of color slowly morphed into recognizable figures, two female wolf demons and two males, all hovering around her doing odd jobs in what appeared to be a cave. When Tack accidentally shifted to look to her right, she hit a sensetive spot and felt fiery pain enflame her back.
"God damn," she hissed bitterly.
One of the females glanced down at Tack, her face shining with a delicate smile. "You're awake, good. Try not to move too much, now, Kouga really did a number on you."
This wasn't what Tack wanted to hear and this became obvious when she narrowed her eyes in dislike. This girl's spastically happy tone reminded her of someone quite familiar. One Courtney de la Shanz.
"Like hell he did," Tack retorted violently, making a strong motion to sit up.
It was then that the other female placed one firm hand on Tack's chest, pushing her back to the ground. This second one was a direct replica of the first, their hair, eyes, everything. Obviously, this was the uppity female's twin.
"Don't be so stubborn," the second female admonished forcefully, a hardened look in her dark red eyes.
Struck by this girl's attitude, Tack obeyed reluctantly and glanced boredly up at the ceiling. "What did he do to me," she muttered, astonished by this incredible pain. Was she so bad a fighter?
As though the first female could read Tack's thoughts, she said, "You aren't bad for someone who became a wolf two weeks ago, Kouga's just an amazing fighter. He broke three of your ribs and the tree scraped up your back. Luckily, you didn't fracture your spine... we couldn't have fixed that."
Though the girl's tone was light, her words were serious and Tack shrugged off the thought of a motionless life, laying paralyzed on a bed unable to return home. What a terribly happy idea this was.
"I'm Kyoko by the way and this is my twin sister Reyna. We're in Kouga's elite hunting guard," said the bubbly female with a smile.
Reyna only gave a slight nod of her head, obviously not fond of the redhead, and returned to sharpening a dagger with a blunt rock. One of the males with a startling mohawk of blonde hair interrupted the girls' conversation. "So you're Kyoujaku's daughter?"
Meeting the girl's eyes violently, Tack spat, "I don't know who the fuck that is. I'm the daughter of Skip Harley and you people better get that through your heads."
The two males, who were now half heartedly guarding the entrance to the cave, exchanged glances at the female's ferocity; none of the women in their tribe had an attitude like that, not even Reyna. Speaking of Reyna, the colder twin rose to her feet and observed Tack with her frightening glare. "You don't have to be so...human about it." She said the word "human" as though it were a terrible disease on her tongue. "We only know what we've been told."
Keeping her cool for as many moments as she could muster, Tack asked levelly, "And what have you been told?"
Reyna opened her mouth to speak but Kenji gave a warning snarl. "That's not your place, Reyna, shut your nose."
The wolf Kenji was a rather powerful looking creature, standing tall and strong. His wild black hair was swept back in a terribly unkempt ponytail, framing angry blue eyes and what Tack considered a handsome face. Reyna barred her teeth in a fiersome display, obviously not a friend of the male's. "Don't speak as if you know so much, Kenji."
"It's Kouga's words and Kouga's words alone that she's to hear. Don't get in the way of that," Kenji responded to her challenge.
Walking slowly towards him, Reyna lowered her eyebrows in a dangerous dance of hatred. "I'm glad you know the pecking order, Kenji, since your father seemed not to. Bascon the Betrayer, wasn't he? Leading his tribe in mutiny against the great leader? Whereafter he was...killed?"
Before any more words could be spoken, Kenji let out with a furious kick in Reyna's direction, yet the cunning female dodged. The two were soon locked in a death match, much to Kyoko's dismay. The girl's innocent crimson eyes observed her sister scuffling on the floor with Kenji, unaware of Tack rising carefully behind her. Hakkaku, who was trying to break the two fighting wolves up by this point, paid the redhead no mind as she crept out the door, silent as only wolves could be.
Outside the cave, the air was fresh and clean. Tack savored one breath before she inhaled to much and felt her ribs screaming in protest. Rather than wince or yell, she glanced down irritably as though asking them to be quiet. It was then that she caught a familiar scent on the air, one belonging to her favorite person. Or rather hated enemy.
Kouga was walking slowly towards her in the field below, his muscles tensed in dislike and frown stark across his features. After catching his eye, Tack sighed and made a quick leap from cave ledge to ground level, nearly collapsing as her feet touched the ground; her wounds still hurt a great deal, yet she showed no sign of it. She wouldn't be thought of as weak by this insolent bastard.
Standing tall, she addressed the arrogant leader with a curt nod. He responded in kind, crossing his arms belligerently as a sign of his distaste. "Yer comin' with me," he said matter-of-factly.
Tack raised her eyebrows. "Says who?"
"Me."
"And since when was I listening to you?"
To this Kouga had no reply and only narrowed his eyes dangerously. "Come or I'll actually aim to kill this time."
"I'll take you on any day, you stupid bastard!" came Tack's hot response.
Kouga growled fiercely and, in one fell swoop, threw the girl bodily over his shoulder and took off at a quick run towards the elder's tree. To her credit, Tack fought him valliantly all the way there, pounding at his back and scraping with her claws. She managed to scratch him in a few places, despite her current weakness, yet never succeeded in breaking his hold. The fighting pair arrived at the elder's tree in a short, helter-skelter sprint, thanks to Kouga's desire to be rid of the wench.
As they approached, the old wolf Ikasu opened one keen yellow eye. He could hear those two a mile away. When Kouga arrived with his rebellious bundle, he dropped Tack unceremoniously on the ground and addressed the elder impudently. "Here old one, tell er what she needs to know. I'm taking the elite guard out for deer."
And with that, Kouga disappeared in a whirlwind tornado of speed, disappearing quickly on the horizon. Tack attempted to get to her feet, yet her ribs yelled for her to stop. After she regained her breath and shot one dirty look in the direction from whence she'd come, the redhead met eyes with the aging wolf before her.
Silence followed as the observed him, ears to tail, and he finally spoke. "I am Ikasu, chief elder of this tribe."
Feeling suddenly at ease with this old wolf, Tack sobered and nodded respectfully. If there was one thing she respected, it was her elders. She paid Ikasu the same respect she paid Kaede. "I'm Tack Harley," she said, with a small bow of her head.
Ikasu smiled as well as a wolf could. "That is your human name, yet your demon name is something different entirely."
The redhead watched Ikasu closely, her confusion seeping through her brave facades. Seeing that she knew virtually nothing of her true life, Ikasu sighed and began the tale patiently. "I've much to tell you. It starts with a wolf named Kyoujaku..."
With one final swing of the Tetsuiga, Inuyasha destroyed the last cat demon. The bloodstrewn battleground reeked of scorched flesh and death, a product of his many attacks on the tireless cats, yet the hanyou growled angrily. The mangy wolf Kouga'd made off with Tack and, before Inuyasha could pursue, the two disappeared into the forest.
Sango was wiping her boomerang bone clear of grime, observing her hanyou friend all the while. "What ails you Inuyasha?"
Without turning to meet Kagome and Courtney, who had recently landed from their safe haven on Kirara's back, the hanyou replied, "That mangy wolf took Tack and ran off to God knows where before I could cut his stupid head off."
Courtney gasped, looking around frantically for her friend as though not believing the dog demon's words. She saw no trace of Tack, yet wished this were anything but true. Now she was all alone without contact from her own country, the closest thing to familiarity being Kagome's many worldly products. Even though Kagome was her friend, the two were from different sides of the world and had little in common. At least Courtney had known Tack before hand.
Miroku smiled brightly upon seeing Courtney's distress. "Don't worry, Lady Courtney. Kouga has a habit of making off with our women. Lucky dog..."
As soon as these words left his mouth, Sango smacked his head in one angry swing. Kagome ignored her feuding friends as she digested this new information. "Do you think it's because Tack's a wolf demon?"
Inuyasha looked warily up at the suddenly cloudy sky, smelling rain in the near future. "I don't know, but whatever the reason is, Kouga's going to pay. We better get tracking before the rain comes and washes away their scent."
The group joined the hanyou in observing the turbulent sky, shielding the waning sunlight from view; Courtney lagged a bit, ignoring her friends as they walked quickly up the trail. She sensed something ominous in her gut, a warm feeling in her body as though something terrible were going to happen. It wasn't about Tack; she felt a sort of reassuring safety when she imagined her friend's face. No, it was regarding the Northern horizon; something in that direction was distinctly ominous. And Courtney didn't like it one bit.
Ikasu observed Tack's expression as her story began to take shape. Throughout the telling of the tale, her face was confused, yet somehow impassive at the same time. One might say she eventually shut off all contact between her body and the world, lifeless gaze observing the growing clouds with little or no interest. The elder knew that Tack was no fool, that she was thinking all possibilities over in her mind. Indeed she was, but with a more frantic feeling than even Ikasu knew.
Maybe he's lying, she thought. But what reason does he have to lie? They aren't trying to use me, that I'm sure of. I'm too weak of a demon yet for them to even consider me useful. They could be trying to lure Inuyasha here but, from what I gather, its merely Kouga's quarrel with Inuyasha, not the tribe's. Maybe they want Kagome and her jewel seeing powers? Or maybe even Courtney and her would-be priestess powers? What would they need me for? Maybe I'm paranoid. And maybe they're just trying to unite the tribe like civilized people...er, wolves. Looking up, unafraid, at the turbulent storm clouds, she thought lightly, maybe this is where I belong.
After mulling over all the possibilities, Tack finally decided to toss the dice and go where lady luck may take her. Who could say whether or not she was meant to be in this world? Only one thing was certain: Tack wasn't exactly itching to return to her era. A place where students showed open hostility towards her, badmouthed her father's death, criticized her mother for doing god knows what. She didn't want to go home where her 15 year old brother, only a year younger than herself, was transporting illegal weaponry between what she suspected were gangs. Home, where she walked into her mother's room, smelling of sickness and dulled marijuana. A house, no longer a home, where her father's unexpected death had torn the perfect family apart.
Finally blinking life back into her emerald eyes, Tack said quietly, "Thank you for telling me all this. I would say that you're lying...but I know you would get no profit from that. And I don't think you're a sadist in this for the kicks. So I guess that makes my life in the other world a half-lie. I was born of my parents, but not originally...sort of. In all actuality, I have two sets of parents. One which I never met. And my entire life depended on and still depends on something called the Kaiku stone."
Ikasu nodded, pleased to see that she understood her past and present. All that remained cloudy was her future. "I hope," the old wolf said, "that you will stay with the tribe as long as you are able. I believe, and I think you do as well, that your place is here."
His words were met wit a respectful silence, in which Tack observed the dark ground beneath the cloud's moody shadows. Standing shakily to his feet, the old wolf finally steadied himself and said kindly, "Let us return to the cave. I believe the elite guard will be back by this time with dinner."
Tack nodded stiffly, rising to her feet as well, and the pair began a slow walk to the den. At one point, Tack glanced up at the thunderous clouds and then returned her gaze to the elder. She admired him greatly, not only for his intelligence but for his determination. It looked painful for him to walk, let alone the good mile and a half to the cave. He must be over 500 years old, she thought to herself. And he's still going. I can't even imagine living for 500 years...but I guess I will.
A drop of cold rain water shattered on her face and snapped Tack from her day dreaming. Something still tugged at the back of her mind and Tack felt the need to ask while they were still away from prying ears. "Ikasu?"
The old wolf looked up expectantly at the girl. She made a confused face, asking, "So my name isn't Tack anymore?"
Ikasu chuckled and returned his eyes to the path ahead. "Your name has always been Rai Kyoujaku, you've just finally come upon it. If you wish to be called by your other name, who are we to judge."
The redhead's hands came up quickly before her face and she shook her head until it became a blur. "No, no, god, that's not it. Tack never fit me anyway. It was short for Tacita, the latin word meaning 'silent.' I don't know what mom was thinking."
The old wolf couldn't help but smile at the girl; though her exterior was tough, not unlike Kouga, she had a kind heart and strong spirit. If the elder wasn't mistaken, however, she had a wicked temper. One that would give Kouga's a run for its money.
When the two wolves were about a quarter mile from the den, the sky finally gave way, sending torrents of rain down upon the countryside. Ikasu seemed not to notice, or care for that matter, while the newly named Rai spun around in magnificent circles with her mouth wide open. The old wolf observed her with amusement, thinking back to his younger days as she hummed a strange tune to go with the pounding of the rain drops.
Reyna looked out from the cave entrance, observing that foolish redhead dancing around in the rain. For some reason, the cold girl couldn't help but smile; Kyoujaku's daughter seemed so happy just to be alive and it was heartening to see. Reyna herself felt she had nothing to be happy about, living in a tribe, scrambling for food, alone in the world beside her beautiful and perfect sister. It was funny that Reyna thought Kyoko beautiful, as the two were identical, but something about her sister's smile made her prettier. Or at least Reyna thought so.
A presence approached from behind Reyna and she took a half hearted sniff at the dense cave air; Kouga. The wolf leader joined Reyna, looking out the entrance, yet with a disdainful sneer on his face. He too lingered on the foolishly dancing redhead, who was now standing stupidly with her mouth wide open, attempting to catch drops in her mouth.
"What an idiot," he growled, eyebrows lowered.
Reyna smirked in his direction, saying, "Sure, Kouga."
Raising an eyebrow at her tone, Kouga asked confusedly, "What?"
The female shrugged, reaching her hands behind her head and beginning to braid her thick black mane. "Nothing."
The leader snorted to himself as he thought of women and their complexities, finally taking a step out onto the ledge in the pouring rain. "Hey, you!"
Rai looked up as her attention was called, blinking stupidly until she recognized the figure on the ledge. Kouga rolled his eyes at her dumb look, continuing, "Yeah, you, Kyoujaku's kid. Get your ass up here if you want any meat. You too, old one."
The redhead narrowed her eyes dangerously as she leapt to the ledge, rushing to stand nose to nose with the arrogant wolf. They glared fiercely at each other, eventually barring their teeth to add to the display. When Ikasu finally stumbled up to the ledge, tottering on his old feet, the two were still locked in their silent battle, tails errect like hissing cats.
Reyna was watching the proceedings and cleared her throat loudly, finally snapping the pair from their euphoric staring game. Rai jumped to life, yelling angrily, "My name is Rai, got it? RAI. Not 'kyoujaku's kid' or 'woman' or anything stupid like that! I have a god damn name!"
Not to be outdone, Kouga responded likewise. "Yeah, well I'm leader and I'll call you whatever the hell I want, ya mangy bitch!"
"Oh yeah, ya flea-bitten bastard!"
Hakkaku ran out from the cave just in time, placing himself strategically between the two feuding wolf demons. He addressed Kouga first. "Kouga, cut it out," he said wearily, almost tentatively; he didn't want to evoke his unpredictable leader's wrath.
Kouga narrowed his ice blue eyes even more, if this was possible, but Hakkaku only regarded him with a level stare. He knew his friend was only blowing off steam, no doubt worried about presenting Rai to the great leader. After seeing that Hakkaku wouldn't back down, Kouga snorted belligerently and turned on his heels, storming into the darkest depths of the cave.
A long silence followed this outburst, yet Rai wasn't keen to keep it alive. Leaning back on her heels, she adopted a sour expression, though perhaps not on purpose. "Is he always like that?"
Reyna, who'd been observing the conversation with interest, pushed off from the wall and grinned wolfishly. "Only when he's awake."
The others present snorted, as though considering this an understatement, and Rai lowered her eyebrows. "Ikasu?"
The elder took a step forward. "Yes, Lady Rai?"
"Are you sure that I have to stay within a mile of him?"
Many were startled by one of two things, the first being the girl's given title. The elder had addressed her as "lady," meaning she was a high rank in the pack. Secondly, almost no one showed such forthright hatred of Kouga, especially not when he was in hearing range. Since the leader was only in his special den near the cave's entrance, he could most likely hear every word being spoken.
"Yes, Lady Rai, I am quite sure," came Ikasu's amused reply.
"Fine," she sighed irritatedly. "In any case, where's the food? Oh wait, hold on."
Lifting her nose comically to the sky, Rai inhaled deeply; her eyes lit up with joy as she charged into the cave. "Meat!" she cried, ravaged by hunger.
It was then that a new and strange sound broke the air. Reyna, ever cold and unloving, was actually laughing a throw-back-head kind of guffaw. Confused, Hakkaku exchanged glances with Ikasu and said tentatively, "Um...Reyna? Are you feeling alright?"
Shaking her head through a brilliant grin, Reyna broke into fresh peals of laughter. Poking her head outside the cave, the girl's twin Kyoko cocked her head to the side. "Oh my, who set Reyna off?"
"It was Lady Rai," Ikasu said with a small smile of his own.
Observing Hakkaku's uneasy face, Kyoko just let out a barking chortle of her own and began leading the helpless Reyna inside. "Don't worry, Hakkaku, she's just happy."
The wolf sighed, running a hand subconciously through his mohawk. Just when you thought you knew a person...
Inside the cave, the ravenous pack of wolves roamed restlessly about the central most pit of the cave, which was filled to the brim with raw meat. Deer, pig, even the odd cow had met its end by the demon tribe, now playing prey to their terrible hunger. No one dared touch the kill before Kouga took a bite, as was custom. Their leader, however, appeared to be shut up in his den, refusing to come out after his fight with Rai.
Ginta came from Kouga's private den, relating this news to the now sullen wolf tribe. Everyone gave silmultaneous groans, some growling in irritation, while others satisfied themselves with sending Rai dirty looks. Deciding to make friends early on, Rai rolled her eyes plantively. "Fine, I'll go talk to the stubborn bastard. What a baby..."
Inside the den, Rai could hear thie furtive hissing of whispers, no doubt Kouga muttering obscene things about her. She found the wolf demon prince flat on his back, staring blankly at the ceiling with his hands behind his head. He looked for all the world like a musing schoolboy and the girl observed him for a moment; there was something ruggedly handsome about him, if she could put a word to it. Not that she found him attractive; she thought these thoughts from a strongly objective point of view. Or so she liked to believe.
"Hey, ya flea-bitten bastard. We want some food, get out here," she called roughly.
Without removing his eyes from the ceiling, Kouga responded, "You can frickin' starve for all I care. I just brought you here cause the leader made me."
Narrowing her eyes patiently, Rai shot back, "I don't care about you either, but your tribe is hungry. Be a good little leader and go start their meal off with a bite, ay?"
"Whatever," Kouga snorted apathetically, turning his head pointedly away from the girl.
For Rai, this was entirely the last straw. Marching boldly towards him, she reached down and dragged Kouga bodily to his feet by use of his armor. Ignoring his stunned expression, she literally began to drag him towards the den. Growling irritatedly, the leader broke free of his surprise and, in the midst of his kinsmen, began to give the redhead a piece of his mind.
"Listen up, you mangy bitch, this is my tribe and we'll do things the way I say when I want them done. My rules, my orders, my mountain! Understand?" He yelled angrily, claws nearly digging into his palms.
"What makes you so bloody great! You ignore the needs of your tribesman, have no respect for your elders as I saw earlier, and, to top it all off, you dragged me away from my friends so that you could complete the 'almighty circle of wolves' or whatever the fuck your doing! Did it ever occur to you that I maybe didn't want to come!" Rai spat in return.
"First of all, I'm leader because I have royal blood. Secondly, I give the elders what respect they deserve. And thirdly, I don't give a shit what you want! You're just a useless, selfish, prissy little bitch of a woman!" came Kouga's booming reply.
A silence interrupted this argument, laden with prejudice and so-called hatred. Discarding her outraged screams, Rai moved on into an entirely different level of anger. Her voice was deadly calm as she began talking slow, deliberated steps towards her enemy. Green eyes locked with blue ones as the two domaneering wolves tried to silently gain the upper hand.
Eyebrows lowered dangerously, Rai said, "Alright, let's get something straight. I'm not like other girls. I don't like pretty things. I don't feel sympathy. I don't give a shit about peace and sure as hell don't understand mercy. You know what those things do? They make you weak. Most importantly, I don't play second fiddle to self-righteouss bastards like you. You may think I'm not angry right now, but you have no idea. So I suggest you take a little bite of that deer before I rip your gonads off and use them as hilt greasers. Got it?"
The silence which followed nearly shamed the previous one to pieces. No one moved, dared to breath, or even blinked an eye. Every wolf in the room was watching Kouga for his reaction, knowing their leader's helpless temper. Surely, he would explode like a volcano and order Rai to be stripped and eaten. Yet none of these gruesome orders came. Instead, the wolf leader turned to his tribe with a mocking expression.
"Who agrees with her? Who thinks I'm a piss-poor leader and wants to challenge me? No? Any of you girls out there want to join her?" When the tribe averted their eyes at his questions, Kouga returned his gaze to Rai. "In that case, you ungrateful bastards can tear apart your own fucking deer. I'm going out. Follow me and I'll throw five of you off a cliff at random."
With this, the wolf tribe leader turned swiftly on his heels and sprinted from the cave, disappearing behind the crashing wall of water.
After the world's most tangible noiselessness, Hakkaku said boldly, "You hear im. Eat up!"
The wolves exchanged glances and, without further ado, tore ravenously into the meat. Rai watched in perverted fascination as bits of skin and tendon flew about the cave, sticking to the walls and adding to what was already a horrendous odor. It was no wonder the wolf tribe lived in such filth, what with the way they ate. Sighing, the girl walked towards the huddle of wolves and tried to find an angle at which she could grab her share. After finding none, Rai lowered her eyebrows tiredly. This was getting her no where.
"Hey...Rai, was it?" came a voice from her left.
Standing at the crowd's outside was Reyna, the cold hearted twin from before. She seemed somewhat softened as she appraised Rai, arms crossed, and finally cracked a smile. "Hungry?"
Before she could deny it, Rai's stomach gave a hideous growl and a blush rose to her cheeks. "Well," began the redhead, "yeah."
Motioning the girl towards her, Reyna turned boldly to her scuffling kinsmen and gave a loud, angry bark. A few turned to listen to her, while those rash few continued tearing at the deer, and she issued scathing instructions in southern wolfen dialect. Most backed quickly away from the almost picked-clean carcass, but the elder Hideki and his loyals remained. Rai turned unsurely to Reyna, raising her eyebrows as though completely clueless. When the dark haired girl motioned her to attack the other wolves, the redhead gave her new friend the strangest look she could muster. If it were possible, wouldn't this make her relations with the tribe even worse?
When Reyna continued making obscene pummeling motions with her hands, Rai shrugged her shoulders and turned towards the offending wolves. If she wanted to gain control, she needed to make a statement. Lowering her eyebrows dangerously, the girl assumed a violent posture and charged into the melee of five wolves, biting, kicking and scratching with great ferocity. She growled and barked as she went, screaming terrible fates in a dialect she didn't know she spoke. Hideki's old eyes grew wide with fear and he jumped backwards into his kinsmen, leaving his loyals to fend for themselves. Seeing their leader had fled, they too disappeared into the surrounding crowd.
Rai glanced threateningly around the cave, as though daring anyone to take her meat, and returned to the deer carcass, pulling a strip of flesh from the hide. At first, she was reluctant to eat something so...raw. Yet, as she took a bite and chewed thoughtfully, she felt several delicious bells go off inside her stomach. Why, this meat was positively delightful!
After her virgin bite, Rai continued on with the meet and virtually tore the deer to pieces in a few seconds. Her tribesmen watched in half wonder and half fear as she destroyed what little food there was left and then stood, wiping her mouth clean of blood and gristle. Blinking stupidly, she addressed her staring kinsmen. "What?"
Having witnessed her assault on Hideki, the wolves all shook their head and shrugged their shoulders, smiling quickly to dispel any thoughts of violence. The crowds began to dissipate, leaving Reyna and a few recognizable others behind to speak with Rai. Kyoko, smiling sweetly, sidled up next to her twin, leaving the sharp toothed Kenji in her wake. Hakkaku and Ginta, also, lingered in the cave, all of them casusally leaning against the walls watching Rai lazily.
After standing in silence, surrounded by searching gazes for a while, Rai's green eyes glittered in annoyance. "Can I help you?" she asked snippishly.
Reyna held up her hands peaceably. "Easy princess, we just want to talk."
Cocking her head to the side, Rai felt a pang of familiarity; it was as though she'd become Courtney and Reyna became her, just for a moment. Yet, she shook away these thoughts and listened as Reyna began. Taking a look around at the others, the girl said, "Look, we wanted to...help you out. See, we like you, princess. You aren't afraid of Hideki, hell, you aren't even afraid of Lord Kouga. We like that. So, if ya got any questions, spit em out."
There was a brief silence, during which Rai crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. After years of false promises and humiliation, she couldn't help but be suspicious. "Yeah, I got a question." The others waited serenly. "Is Kouga always such an ass?"
The group's eyes grew to the size of dinner plates and they exchanged glances, wondering just how far this girl would go. Did she truly not understand Kouga's power? Kenji, shaking his head slowly, said, "I can't believe you talk about him like that."
Rai snorted. "He doesn't deserve my respect. A good leader wouldn't treat his followers the way Kouga does. It's like he couldn't care less; he wouldn't help you out of a tight spot, mark my words."
At this, Hakkaku pushed violently off the wall, his eyes suddenly narrowed. "Hey, Kouga's helped us out plenty of times!"
Ginta sidled up meaningfully beside his friend with a confident nod. "Yeah, he's a great leader! We oughta know, we're part of his Saibansho!"
Rai cocked an eyebrow, new to this word. "Sai...bansho?" she stuttered out.
Nodding her head placidly, Kyoko smiled a delicate smile and said, "Saibansho, meaning 'court,' is the name for a high wolf leader's group of loyals. Ginta, Hakkaku and several others are part of Kouga's Saibansho because they respect him and trust his skills. The Saibansho follow their leader regardless of circumstance and are always loyal to his cause or opinion. They stop rebellions within the tribe and fight his battles with him. It's a great honor to host a Saibansho and, perhaps, a greater honor to be in one."
Mulling over this information, Rai said slowly, "So, how high up do you have to be to have one?"
The wolves exchanged glances, as though conferring silently amongst themselves, and Kenji finally said casually, "Descendant of the top four lines. Like, the great leader, his assistants, and the two advisors." Pausing, he continued, "I guess that would make you elligible."
The redhead grinned ruefully and replied, "I might be elligible, but I screwed up my chances by being all aggressive and cold. I've done it more than once, believe me."
Shrugging menially, Reyna replied, "Sometimes that's the way to do it. Besides, you don't know exactly how the tribe perceives you. Not yet. C'mon guys, let's go."
With that, the group of wolved left the cave at a run, proceeding on for night excercise. Rai listened to the dank sounds of the cave, face emotionless but mind whirring like machinery. So she'd already made a few acquaintances within the wolf tribe, even though she was new to the surroundings. Truth be told, the whole situation was a bit intimidating and Rai felt fear for one of the first times in her life.
The girl moved outside and sat on the cliff, her legs dangling over the edge as she observed the setting sun. Her thoughts drifted back to Kouga and the way she'd set him off earlier. She knew it was disrespectful, him being the leader and what not, but she couldn't help it; he was so annoying sometimes and besides, she had to lay down a few things. Soft steps approached behind her, accentuated by the clicking of claws on stone. With a quick sniff, Rai relaxed her muscles.
"Ikasu," she greeted shortly.
The old wolf nodded his grey head wisely, laying down beside the girl. He looked silently out on the landscape before asking, "Something troubles you, Lady Rai?"
Making an irritated noise in her throat, Rai growled, "No, I've only been kidnapped and beaten into submission by the world's biggest jerk today."
The elder chuckled and laid his head down between his paws. "I see. You worry about nothing else?"
"No," came the younger demon's short reply.
After a moment, however, she mumbled something not even the older wolf's keen ears could pick up. Cocking his head to one side, he asked, "What was that?"
Through gritted teeth, the girl repeated clearly, "I asked where Kouga was."
Concealing a smile, the elder replied simply, "The Grove, two miles east of the elder's tree."
Without another word, Rai pushed herself gracefully off the ledge and hit the ground silently, taking off at a run in the proclaimed direction. Ikasu closed his eyes and smiled quietly, drifting into a peaceful sleep.
Thanks for reading, if you got this far I assume you read. Please, a review of any kind is welcome; unless something terrible happened to you today and you want to vent, I don't prefer flames cause they don't help anyone, including you, savvy? Good.
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