An Angel

She sighed as she stared into the mirror, steam starting to fill the room. Her dirty clothes were tossed as far away from her as possible and a clean set were folded neatly on the toilet. Alls she had to do was get in the shower and get all the dirt and grime off of her... but did she really want to face what was outside?

Sighing again she shut her eyes, and when she opened them she saw not herself, but two children throughout their lives. A different scene came everytime she reopened her eyes... meeting by the stream, finding fallen feathers, collecting acorns, tumbling down hills, dancing under the moonlight, being teased by the older cubs, kissing... she shook the thoughts out of her head and finally made her way into the shower.

She found the shampoo and squirted it into the palm of her hand. Massaging it into her scalp, she mused over the length of her hair. Almost mid back, much too long. She needed to cut it shorter, or he would never recognise her... 'Wait, who am I trying to impress? I don't even remember if that's me!' A knock at the door disrupted her thoughts.

"H-hello?" she studdered.

"Hey," it was the friendly voice of that boy, Nozomu, who had stayed with her after that other boy got hurt. She could still feel his pain shaking her bones... "You almost done? The other's will be up soon, and they'll want a shower too!"

"I'll be out in a minute!" she called, furiously washing out her hair. Quickly she scrubbed at her skin before she remember about her tails... cursing under her breath, she skipped them and shut off the water. Grabbing for the towel she patted her skin dry, wrapped it around her hair and started to get dressed in the new outfit: too large jeans and a tiny tee-shirt. Swell. She'd almost opened the door when she caught another glimpse of the mirror.

"I hate it," the young teenager snapped, trying in vain to pull the red streaked hair out of her skull.

The older boy chuckled and petted her black locks. "I think it's cute..." he muttered, mirth dancing in his eyes. She turned her back on him, pouting. "Awe... don't be mad!"

"I'm cutting it, if only to bug you!" she hissed over her shoulder.

"It'll still be cute."

She rummaged through the drawers long enough to find a pair of sissors.

Mahiru yawned as she stumbled down the hall. Alls she really needed at the moment was a nice shower to wake her up... so when a complete stranger stepped out of it, she was shocked. The girl blinked at her, heavily layered hair plastered to her skin as tails whisped around her form... tails? "Um... hello?"

"Hi," the girl bowed to her. She wasn't expecting that... but the next time Mahiru looked, her tails weren't there. Was she imagining it? "Sorry... Nozomu told me to take a shower before I leave... it was nice to meet you Princess!"

Before she could register what happened, the girl had dashed down the hall and back downstairs.

Akira was cleaning the dishes when he heard the frantic running. Looking up he saw the girl come out and volt over the bar as he had done earlier... unlike what he had done, she did a neat flip and started giggling to herself as she landed, crouched on her feet. He shut off the tap and moved to lean against the counter, looking at her with a grin. She had no clue he was here!

He crept around the counter with all the stealth be could muster, not realising when his ears enlongated and a tail sprouted behind him... he just knew that when he grabbed her shoulders suddenly, she jumped, turning to glare at him. He laughed much louder than she had, and eventually she started laughing with him. Settling down after a few minutes, he just looked at her.

Why was she so familiar?

"Sorry about that," she said awkwardly, scratching the back of her neck. He grinned sheepishly as a scent came to him suddenly: Nozomu's. He could hear the boy walking down the stairs. "But I should be going soon..."

"Why don't you stay?" he asked, pouting. "Will you stay if I give you candy?"

"Sorry..." she shook her head, turning to leave. "I really, really have to be going... people should be looking for me by now."

"Well, they can find you here, can't they?" he asked. Nozomu was almost at the bottom of the steps...

"No," she shook her head again, looking at him. He noticed her cut hair. "You see, I thought that someone was here... someone that I've forgotten... but they wouldn't of wanted me to remember him."

"Remember who?"

"The one true love of my life," she grinned, finally turning to leave.

Akira could only think of one thing as she left, an aura seeming to shimmer around her. 'An angel...'

"Come on Koi," he grinned one of his grins at her, reaching out to grab her hand. The pack were all singing and dancing under the moonlight, and the girl looked stunning with all the shades of night illuminating her figure. "Dance with me?"

"Right, sure, like I actually know how to dance," she rolled her eyes, but took his hand anyways. She laughed as he pulled her to him, both of them almost crashing to the ground. "Woah! Slow down cowboy, I'm not going anywhere."

"No name calling," he teased her, easing them both into the dance...

"Akira?" he blinked as he realised Nozomu was waving his hand infront of his face. "You okay?"

"Perfect," the werewolf grinned. "Can we go to the park later and play catch?"