Tell me the truth, you know I'd do that for you...-- Hoobastank "Running Away"

Their eyes locked and the wave of sudden peace rushed over him. Cheza was the only one who could bring him such a feeling. She was his heaven in person. Lost in the depths of her ruby seas they commonly called eyes, Kiba took steps forward, walking to her.

The commotion that was Blue lecturing Hige didn't grasp Kiba's attention as he slowly sat down next to Cheza, never breaking their eye contact. Not once did he blink, nor look anywhere else. He did not know what he was really feelingbut yet he did not want the feeling to leave. It always came when she was near.

"Kiba..." Cheza's sweet voice called to him, bringing him back to life. He noticed how her cheeks seemed to be rosy at the moment and thought she looked absolutely beautiful with the color.

"Kiba...did you hear this one?" She quietly spoke, noting how the young man was once more staring at her with a dazed look.

Finally blinking, his thoughts scattered away as his mind was brought back down to Earth. "Hmm?"

Cheza giggled at his lack of consciousness and whispered a "never mind," to him.

"I'm as likely to have a heart attack as to give birth with you picking fights!" Blue's comment caught Kiba's attention and automatically his eyes went to the young woman's stomach that over the months had swollen incredibly.

Yes, Blue was pregnant.

Beautifully pregnant, as Hige told her.

With each inch she gained around her waist, the more her temper seemed to get snappier. If she were not carrying Hige's seeds, she would not have been so violent to Hige. But alas, Hige's laid-back and comical view on life helped him sustain the humiliation. Besides, he loved the fact that Blue was now reluctantly depending on him. As if he were her "Hero of the Night."

Blue at times, called him her "Moron of the Day." But either way, the couple couldn't be happier.

"Blue, honey, yell at me all you want, just sit down and relax a bit. You're gonna stress yourself out." Hige went to her and tried making her sit on the soft grass but Blue whacked him away and mumbled, "I can sit down by myself..."

With a sigh, Hige watched his very moody wife take her time to sit, cursing him under her breath. Yet even as she did this, even she though she glared at him half of the times and snapped at him, he loved her more than ever.

Sitting down beside her, he gave her a gentle smile. "You're so cute when you're ticked off." His reward in saying this was making Blue roll her eyes, acting like she wasn't blushing.

A peaceful silence took over them, as the breeze danced through the leaves of themagnificant oak tree and brushed around them. It was times like these that they cherished. Looking at each other, glad that they hadn't lost none of their companions.

It seemed so surreal to them, but here they were. Not one of them missing, not one of them dead.

Chatter among them rose once again as Hige's stomach groaned in protest of hunger. The jokes, the laughter, the sense of harmony made the day go by so quick.

As time progressed, though, one by one the members of the pack began to descend.

Tsume had left to roam around the grounds, using his common alibi that he needed to find a place of his own because he was getting tired of "Hige's presence" and he was always "begging for food like a little fat brat."

Hige countered this by blowing Tsume kisses and telling him how much he loved him which occasionally got Hige a huge bump on his head.

As for Toboe, a pack of pups playing near by had spotted him and invited him to a game of tag. Toboe, not wanting to look childish in his fellow mates' eyes, tried refusing but couldn't when a young light brown wolf came up to him and asked him nicely. Blushing Toboe couldn't deny the offer, her eyes of green seemed...welcoming.

With a few good-byes' said, he left with the others, staying close to the pretty she-wolf who seemed to like him.

Noticing Blue was becoming weary as the sun rose high in the mid afternoon, Hige decided it was time to leave. Hoping to be back later, the couple left to their own turf not too far from Kiba's.

Alone, with Cheza.

Kiba should have been used to this, but every day he seemed ecstatic about the fact that he and Cheza had no other company but themselves. It was now that they would talk in private. It was now that Kiba would share his daily experiences with her and discuss life's topics with her.

Resting beside her, Kiba watched as she picked at the grass, looking quite amused.

"What did you do today, Kiba?" The flower maiden suddenly asked him, never taking her eyes off the blade of grass.

Feeling like he needed to understand why the piece of grass interested her so much, he stared at it, trying to see the mystery behind it.

"I went around the grounds...Met some people...Rested a bit...slept..." He told her the usual. Every day he did the same. But that day was different.

Snapping out of his concentration on the grass, he remembered what he had to tell her. "Cheza, I found something...Something I wanna show you."

Cheza rose her eyes off the object in her hands and looked to him with a smile. "What is it?"

Seeing the twinkle in her eyes, Kiba smiled and got up. Helping her to her feet, her grabbed her hand and led her.

"Kiba? Is this a surprise for this one?" Cheza questioned, not having gotten an answer from the wolf previously.

All he did was nod and look at her with a sincere smile. "I hope you'll like it."

As they passed through the "streets", the common wolves came out to praise Cheza, most wanting to catch her attention.

"Lady Cheza, you look so lovely today!"

"What an honor it is to see you again, Flower Maiden!"

"Thank you for saving us, Lady Cheza!"

"You do well to keep her safe, Kiba! You lucky wolf!"

As Kiba simply blocked out their words, not wanting to stall, Cheza waved at them and smiled gratefully.

Finally leaving behind the wolf town, they arrived at the forest and deep into it, they walked.

As time went on, Cheza kept questioning Kiba, seeing if he would just tell her one thing about the surprise but he kept his mouth closed.

"Kiba, not even a little hint?" Cheza pouted, looking up at him with big, googly eyes.

He couldn't hold back the chuckle and shook his head no. "We're almost there, Cheza. You'll get to see it soon."

Indeed they were reaching the destination. The light of the world grew dimmer as the sun's rays lessened and their shadows on the trees began to descend. The sunset was about to come in a few minutes and they were still trekking.

Kiba may not have noticed (over-excited that he was finally going to show her what he had found) but Cheza was becoming tired and her walk was slower than when they had began this little escapade. Yet she showed no sign of telling him of her weariness.

"There it is..." Picking up his speed a bit, almost dragging Cheza, he led them out of the forest at some turn and pulled some branches out of the way to expose a scenery so out of place.

Green hill after green hill toppled with lilac flowers, rows and rows of them, leading a trail down to a majestic lake whose crystal waters were colored soft pink and sweet purple in the sun's reflection.

As the sunset crept behind them, the night sky was already coming towards them, stars shining faintly and the crescent of the moon before them.

The garden of flowers at their feet and beyond sparked in the light, shimmering as though if in the bud behind the petals were diamonds.

Colorful birds flew over the lake in their V-formation, the paints of the setting sun brushing over them.

Kiba softly squeezed Cheza's hand and led them to the top of a hill, ending up being up totheir calves in flower patches. They stood overlooking the magnificent body of water in awe.

Cheza, taking in every detail with a smile on her face, turned to Kiba and whispered, "Thank you for showing this one this...most wonderful sight."

They gazed into each other's eyes for a long moment, before Cheza broke off and looked down, gasping. "These are...these are lunar flowers!"

She had been so caught up in the midst of the mystical landscape, she had not noticed the blooming flowers at her feet that seemed to pop out of nowhere along side the other flora.

Kiba looked to the flowers and wondered how they got there. He had not seen...nor...smelled them before there.

"They only come out when the moon goddess arrives..."

That answered it for him.

With a sigh, Cheza turned her eyes to the sky that was now fading and fading away. And that was when he noticed it.

There. On her neck.

Crawling faintly all the way up to her jaw lines.

"Cheza...what is that?"

Cheza looked down at him with a confused face.

With a long, slender finger, he pointed at her neck, illuminated by the fading colors.

She must've known what it was, for her eyes widened and her hands quickly went to cover up the area of questioning.

"This one wants to go back, Kiba." Her voice let out urgency as she no longer looked at him straight in the eyes.

"But--"

"Please, Kiba. This one wants to go home..." With her eyes so wide and shimmery, and her bottom lip quivering, how could he say no.

As he reached for her hand, to guide her back... She moved away.

Looking deeply, profoundly confused at her, he made no other gesture and turned to walk back into the forest.

Cheza followed in silence and throughout that journey back, neither spoke. Cheza trailed behind as Kiba led the way, both engulfed in their own thoughts.

Though he didn't press on the subject, he would eventually ask her and she would have to answer him.

Why? Why were they back? Those...those...

Veins.

A/N: I have managed to finally write this chapter...I have been trying to "un-depress" myself but alas it is hard. Why am I depressed you ask?

Well, ask anyone who has read the new Harry Potter book and you shall find out. Because if I talk about it, I might actually cry and while in the midst of crying decide to send a bomb through mail to JK Rowling and force her to fix her mistake. -.-'''''''''

Till then!