Disclaimer: I don't own Wolf's Rain. Paahaha. I'd love to, but I don't. –sighs dreamily-
Before the Flower's Call
The silence was deafening. Not a bird stirred. Not a breeze whispered by, not a leaf twitched. All motion was halted, as if everything was caught in a giant freeze frame. The blood of the dead noble troops spattered the ground, coloring the leaf-mold forest floor. The only sound Toboe could hear was his own ragged breathing, and it was a bit of time before he allowed his fur to relax on his shoulders. It was silence and situations like this that made him nervous.
Getsuei was the one who broke the awful hush.
"Well," he growled, shaking his cream and gray coat, his bright green eyes closed as he proceeded to stretch. "That was refreshing. Nice of you to show up, Toboe."
The pup sharply turned his head at the big two colored wolf, finding himself rather surprised that Getsuei didn't use his customary nickname—runt. He wasn't sure weather or not to say anything, so he just sat down and glanced around.
Tsume was watching him with piercing, yellow green eyes, his fluffy tail curled around his big paws. "You all right, runt?" he asked of Toboe, his voice carefully monotone.
Discarding the stale guilt he felt for the death of the soldiers who would have seen them to their deaths, Toboe was pleased at Tsume's notice and the quiet concern veiled behind disdain for the troops. He stood up and wagged his tail in slow motion.
"Yeah. I'm fine," he tried to assure the others, but Hige prowled up to him and gave his shoulder a sniff with his keen nose. Toboe shrank from the scruntiny, his ears flattening a little in meek surprise.
"You smell and look pretty banged up to me. That must have been one hell of a ride down the river," the big brown wolf commented in his animated voice.
"Can you move easily?" Came Kiba, his voice colored the tiniest bit by concern, his long slender head turned in Toboe's direction while his body was facing sideways, at least in Toboe's view.
The young wolf had almost forgotten the dull ache in his chest. It seemed as if remembering its severity only made it worse, because he reasoned the brunt of the pain now was only in his mind.
"Yeah. I ran here, didn't I?" he tried to make his voice a bit more convincing that he was all right, but since he did it so little, it sounded alien in his voice. Kiba nodded in satisfaction and said, "We need to get out of here. The sooner, the better, that hunter'll most likely be after us in a bit. We need to throw him off our trail."
"Yeah, something tells me that Sheshkemana lady isn't gonna give up easily," Hige commented wryly.
"Well, we might as well do our best to get clear of her," Tsume growled, tipping his head down with his eyes closed, his voice returned to its deep, forever nonchalant tone.
Marel, who had limped up from hiding restored the atmosphere of the pack. "Let's go," she snapped, pointedly giving Getsuei the cold shoulder. "I know I'm sure as hell that I don't want to hang around this damned place. Come on." As if she knew exactly where Kiba was, she trotted in the white wolf's direction and then stopped a few feet away. "Lead the way."
Toboe watched with a dropped jaw. How the heck did she do it? He half toyed with the idea that she wasn't even really blind, but it was her inability to hunt that proved it. But if you ever said that to her, be prepared to duck…
Kiba nodded and then set off in the direction of the moon at a fast pace, not an all out run like he would usually have them going, but he obviously wanted to make allowances for Marel and Toboe. Even thought it was obvious and awfully embarrassing, the pup was glad for Kiba's consideration of their conditions.
He also kind of felt bad that he was being a hindrance. Hige probably wouldn't mind though…
As the wolves had predicted, the shadow of doubt and the vassal of their enemy at the moment was trailing them. They had fled the battle site almost an hour ago when Dorjan read the tracks. As they proceeded, it looked like they were going about seventeen miles per hour, damn it.
He shouldered his gun, and without a second glance at the dead men, proceeded.
Marel could sense Getsuei's mother-hen-ish presence not too far ahead. Hige's bulky presence was to the right, Kiba's completely unfathomable one was several meters in front of the rest, Tsume was close behind him, and Toboe was about half a length behind her. Her sense of smell and hearing were as acute as ever, taking in the surroundings so well that she could almost picture it in her mind's eye…
The old wolf sighed inwardly. Sight. Something she had almost forgotten, and yet wished she had. She used to love the colors, and tiny, stupid details of the world, and the facial expressions of the wolves she spoke to. The vivid, bright blue of the sky on clear days. The intriciate, delicate and unique shapes of each snowflake that floated down to stick to her pelt and melt on her nose. The look of pleasure and determination on Ryo's face when she predicted a bountiful season, or pups…the Sight, her inner eye was a grand thing, but she had always preferred her physical eyes.
But then they had begun to fade. She remembered the day when she woke up, and things were starting to blur, and no matter how many times she blinked, or rammed her head into things, it wouldn't get any better. Within a week, she could no longer distinguish facial features, or see tracks, and within two, her sight had completely bled away. She had been middle-aged then. Ryo was barely an adolescent or 'teenager' as a human might put it when she had taken leadership of the pack…as had Getsuei. Oh, that Getsuei.
He was the wolf who had been her eyes after she had lost her sight. Marel had considered suicide several times after she went blind, but Getsuei had always talked her out of it, gave her a reason to live. He was the son she never had, as Ryo was the daughter. But the strain of responsibility was hard on Ryo's shoulders, and it drew the both of them apart.
Then, that fateful day when she was taken by the Nobles. Oh, months and months of torture had ensued, causing the old wolf to loose her will to live. She had wished for a release to Paradise, but it was not to be…until she met Toboe. That pup reminded her of Getsuei when he had been younger. But those days were, over, and now she was with this new pack. They were a good lot, and Kiba had drive to actually try to find Paradise…Ryo had tried, but too many times had she been hurt emotionally over time.
She was getting tired, they had been running for hours, but her pride was still intact. She might as well try and look into the future, if only to distract her from aching paws and leaden limbs, not to mention her own ragged breathing…she let her conciousness fly through the endless sky of her mind, clouds streaking alongside her and under her and over her, the light of the moon pouring down from above as her soul self ran endlessly in a misty sea, stars sprinkled beyond their expanse. A shimmering pool of light appeared before her, so close that she could almost taste it, yet so far, it was hard to 'see'. Blurred images ran through it, complicated algorithms of futures, possibilities, and then…
Marel sighed as she watched the pool, and closed her inner eye, suddenly heavy with regret. She had guessed it would come to this. But she had tried to deny it. And she wished she could say something, because the very thought of it made her heart bleed.
Someone wasn't going to make it to Paradise alive. And it would happen before the next full moon.
A/N: Happy Fourth of July! - I am lucky to have such glorious readers and reviewers. –nodnod- Very lucky. I feel really guilty I haven't been able to update. –smacks own forehead- It's been hideously busy, and I will soon leave for a week-long overnight camp. –frustrated sigh- I hope this chapter can make some amends. Thanks to the great crowd of mine, (Lonegrey, Kristen, Tweak, D.C, Cring White Wolf and Sea Mistress—welcome to the pack! ) and I will sorely miss you. I will write up as much as I can, while I can. Bahahaha! This is more of a teaser than anything, but can any of you guess?