Chapter 4: First Night
Kiba opened his eyes sleepily. He was shocked at first of where he was but then remembered that he was at Nikki's house. She was sitting in a corner of the room reading another book. Kiba had no idea what it said but there was a picture of a wolf on the cover. He hoped it wasn't one of those "How to care for…" books. He tried to get up but flopped back on the couch, remembering his wounds and their painful sting.
Nikki jerked her head up. "Kiba, are you okay?" She asked. Nikki put down her book and walked over to him concern twinkling in her soft brown eyes. She kneeled down beside the couch so her face was level with Kiba's. He looked at her and their eyes met for a brief second before Nikki turned away blushing. "Do you need more medicine?" She walked over to her duffle bag to get some more gauze.
"No, I'm fine," Kiba answered.
Nikki looked at him unsurely. "Well, I have to change your bandages anyway," she said.
Kiba gazed at her as she bent down to pick out the medicine. "She has the most beautiful figure," he thought to himself. "The way she looks is… indescribable."
Nikki stood up and Kiba quickly looked away. She came up to the couch and began to remove the old bandages. Kiba winced a little but didn't speak. Once all the bandages had been removed she uncapped the antibiotic cream's top. She put some in her hand and began to rub it all over his wounds. Kiba didn't wince but he loved her touch. Her hands were soft and gentle not firm or mean at all.
Nikki then wiped her hands on a towel. She unwrapped the new bandage and began to cover the wounds. "Are you hungry?" She asked.
Kiba did not look at her. He answered simply, "No." Nikki was hungry, however. That was why she had asked. Her stomach growled, giving her away. A small smile appeared on Kiba's face. "But you are," he laughed.
Nikki blushed a bit with embarrassment. "I-I can live," she muttered. Kiba looked at her and noticed the obvious red tint in her cheeks.
"You can go on and eat that meat in your bag," he said quietly.
Nikki's head shot up. "Oh no! That's for you," she explained. "I've got an apple."
Kiba looked at her. "I already told you that I'm not hungry."
"Well that doesn't mean that you won't be later."
Kiba did not respond. He was gazing out the window. The sun was just beginning to set. "Have I been sleeping all day?" He thought to himself.
Nikki, satisfied with her work, walked over to her bag. She unzipped one of the side pockets and took out an apple. She sat down with her back against the wall of the house. She took a large bite out of the fruit and picked up her book. Flipping to the page with the bookmark in it, she began to read.
Kiba's eyes wandered around the room. Stopping every now and then to look at the pictures of the two young teenage girls. He knew that Nikki was one of them but who was the other girl? He gazed at Nikki. "Why do I feel so nervous around her?" he thought.
As if knowing someone was staring at her, Nikki looked up from the book. For a split second Kiba and her eyes met. Then Kiba quickly turned away. Nikki smiled at him and continued to read her book.
After about ten minutes Kiba asked, "What are you reading?"
Nikki looked at him. "Oh, it's an awesome book called The Call of the Wild. And it's really interesting," she answered.
Kiba turned to look at the book. It looked like Nikki was almost done with it. He looked away. Nikki smiled. She then, once again dove into the book. She had never liked watching tv or playing on the computer. Books and music were the only things she liked. She could lose herself in a good book and she especially loved to read about animals. Her mother, being an animal loving vet, had a complete library of books in the basement. Nikki would often go down there and pick out a book and read it. The last time she counted her mother had 497 books. Nikki had gone through at least 300 of them. She loved books and she was a pretty fast reader.
Kiba let out a sigh and looked at the pictures again. He finally got enough courage to ask Nikki, "Who's that girl?"
Nikki brought her head up again. She looked at where Kiba was pointing. Nikki got to her feet and set the book down. She walked over to the picture of Emily and her on their horses. They were smiling and laughing. Nikki could still hear Emily's jokes and kind, warm voice. She could see her blonde hair and bright blue eyes. Her friendly smile and freckled face.
Nikki turned back towards Kiba. "She was my best friend, Emily Lueck," she said softly.
"Was?" Kiba questioned. "What happened? Did you two get in a fight and split up?"
Nikki shook her head sadly. "No, she was killed in a car accident about a year ago."
"I'm sorry," Kiba said feeling guilty for bringing up painful memories.
Nikki smiled at him. "Oh don't be. I don't need pity from anyone, she probably likes it in heaven anyway," she said quietly. "We would talk about everything. Our future, the boys we liked, music, books, and sometimes we would even chat about our past, like when we were five or six. That's when we first met, in kindergarten."
Kiba looked at Nikki. Her eyes were turning red but she shook her head violently, trying to keep the tears away. She stopped and allowed a lone tear to roll down her cheek but that was all that came. She then turned her attention to Kiba. "Well, I'm going to go and check on Midnight Sky. I'll be right back. Okay?"
Kiba nodded and watched as she walked out the door. After a few minutes she returned, a bridle in her hand. "Don't you need to tie up your horse with that?" Kiba asked.
"No, not Midnight Sky. She's free to gallop around but I know that she won't do that at night and even if she did she'd come back," Nikki answered setting the bridle down. She then closed the door with her foot and walked back over to her spot in the corner. She sat down and picked up her book again.
Kiba began to think about Tsume, Hige, Toboe, and Cheza. "I wonder if they're okay. I hope Darcia hasn't hurt Cheza. If he touches her once I'll kill him," he thought to himself.
An hour went by. The sun had completely set and the moon had come out. The only light came from Nikki's flashlight (which she had turned on as soon as the sun had gone down). Kiba wanted so badly to run out into the moonlight and howl to his pack. He wanted to make sure they were okay but his wounds held him where he was. The moonlight crept into the small house through the window and fell upon Nikki. It was then that Kiba noticed how beautiful she looked in the moonlight. Her bright blue streaks in her hair shone brightly with the light. Kiba gulped a bit and felt ashamed for staring at her but he couldn't tear his eyes away from her.
The flashlight Nikki was holding flickered a bit and then went out as the batteries died. Nikki glared at it and cursed silently. She had forgotten to bring extra batteries so she would have to wait until morning came to finish her book. She put the book and flashlight away. It was then that she noticed Kiba's blue eyes were staring at her. Nikki blushed badly. "How long as he been staring at me?" She thought.
Kiba noticed how she had looked at him questioningly and he felt ashamed of himself for staring at her. He turned away and looked at the ceiling. Nikki was smiling and still blushing. She reached into her duffle bag and took out a blanket and a pillow. Nikki then walked over to Kiba and gently put the blanket over him.
"Lift your head up," she demanded quietly.
Kiba looked at the blanket and then at Nikki. "But you need this, I don't," he replied.
"No, you're hurt," Nikki retorted. "Lift up your head please."
Kiba did not raise his head. He stared at her in confusion. "I already told you that I don't need this," he protested.
"You know that I'm very stubborn," Nikki said smiling.
"I am too."
Nikki shrugged and walked over to the other side of the house. She lay down and rested her head on the pillow. After the long, hard day Nikki had had she fell asleep almost instantly.
Kiba looked at her and grinned. He got to his feet, finding that the moonlight had healed him up pretty well along with Nikki's care. Kiba took off the blanket and set it on the couch. He walked over to Nikki and very gently picked her up, careful not to awaken her. His nose caught her wonderful scent. He felt his heart skip a beat. "She smells like Lunar Flowers," he gasped. He looked at her with care in his eyes. "Why do you, a human, make me feel like this?" He asked her, knowing that she wouldn't answer.
Nikki moaned in her sleep and snuggled her head against Kiba's bandaged chest. He smiled and carried her to the couch. He gently laid her down and covered her up with the blanket. He then walked back to where she had fallen asleep and picked up the pillow. Walking back to her, he lifted Nikki's head and slipped the pillow underneath it. Nikki groaned and turned to lie on her side, facing Kiba. He grinned at her and walked back to the moonlit corner of the house. He lay down in the light of the moon. He gazed at Nikki and wondered why she smelt like Lunar Flowers. He shrugged it off and fell asleep.
That night, Nikki dreamed that she and Emily were back together once again. They were both smiling and laughing. They had ice cream cones in their hands and the friendship bracelets sparkled brightly on both of their hands. Nikki turned to look at her friend. Emily said something but Nikki could not hear it. Then Emily got into her car. After that the dream was more like a nightmare. Nikki saw the other car slam into Emily's car. She saw the police and firemen rush to the scene and she heard the roar of an ambulance siren as it whizzed past her. The men were trying frantically to get Emily out. They finally got her out and handed her to a paramedic. After examining her body he shook his head sadly and covered Emily's body with a white sheet. Then everything disappeared and Nikki was surrounded by darkness.
Nikki's eyes snapped open. She noticed that Kiba was standing over her. He had a very worried look on his face. "Are you alright?" He asked.
Nikki sat up and noticed that she was crying. She looked at Kiba and suddenly flew her arms around him. Kiba was shocked and confused at first but he allowed her to cling to his white fur. She buried her face into his fur and cried. After a few minutes Nikki stopped crying and fell back asleep. Kiba, still in wolf form, lay down next to her on the couch, his tail wagging every now and then. He remembered what had awoken him. Nikki was screaming "Emily" in her sleep. He had gone over to see how she was doing when she awoke and now he was sleeping beside her. After a couple minutes Nikki wrapped her arms around him and pulled him closer to her. Kiba smiled and allowed her to stroke his fur in her sleep.
All the rest of the night Kiba stayed awake. Just in case Nikki had another nightmare. Even though he didn't realize it, he was her protector all that night. He felt glad to be in her arms and he was delighted to breathe in her flower scent. "She smells like Cheza," he thought to himself. "Only her scent makes me feel so odd. I feel like my stomach is churning inside my body. I can't describe it. Whatever this human is doing to me… I like it. And I want this scent to be with me forever."
Author's Note: I am soooooo sorry for the delay! I totally forgot about this fiction and I'm all "Hm... I should work on that." And I got a review update and I'm like "Oh my goodness!" Soooooo yeah. Hope you all have a happy, happy Thanksgiving. Eat this up and leave room for Chapter 5! I'm open for suggestions and you can also gimme an email. I wouldn't mind. I responde to most of my mail so dont worry. Well, hope you lap this chapter right up. Byez all! -skips away whistling as she holds Kiba's hand-