Title: My Wolf

Fandom: "Wolf's Rain"

Genre: Drama, romance

Pairing: My Wolf/OC

Rating: My fanfic is in general agreement with the anime. There are no scenes which I call violent, no sex (only gentle erotic hints), no foul language (except the only one f word and, strange as it may seem, this word was said not by Tsume).

Summary: After the Wolves' attempt to reach the Paradise failed they were given another chance to live in the world which they have almost destroyed. They found themselves scattered about the whole planet, wounded, but alive; now, when they have lost everything, they must start their lives from scratch. The storyline follows one of the Wolves – Tsume – and a young noblewoman as they come across and get to know each other, both trying to forget their preceding lives.

Betas: Cryptic Accolade & Nariko Sasame

Status: Finished.

Disclaimer: The whole world shown in the anime and its characters belong to the creators of the manga and anime. And my Wolf belongs to me.

Thanks: I thank my Wolf for he exists. I also thank my Muses for visiting me from time to time, the creators of the manga and anime for creating them, and my betas for their patience and for our collaboration.

Author's word, which you needn't read if you don't want to

It all began with a single phrase I wrote in a letter to my friend: "Angels aren't disheveled blondes in red coats, who are weeping for all humanity (hint at Vash the Stampede), but serious and harsh men when they show their weak points and feelings. And he doesn't protect you anymore, but you're sitting next to him and guarding him while he's asleep…"

It turned out that one late evening my thoughts began to develop in this course and a thought about writing an essay (an essay about Tsume, certainly) has come into my mind. But little by little my ideas exceeded the limits of a simple essay, and a story of a relationship between Tsume and a young woman formed in my imagination. One word led to another, one phrase led to another one, so came out a fanfic.

Strangely enough, it is quite short in comparison with my two previous fics ("Wings for the Angel of Death", TRIGUN and "Slayers APOCALYPSE", THE SLAYERS).

Strangely enough, but it seems to me that I like him more than "Wings..." and "Slayers...".

Strangely enough, I have no idea why.

So, read the fanfic. If you find any mistakes please forgive me, because English isn't my native language. I'm translating my fanfic for the first time, and your support and reviews would be sincerely appreciated. Questions are welcome too.

Shady 'Dark Star' Dugradigdo


MY WOLF

"Werewolf, werewolf, you sleek coat!

What are you doing in winter, when it's snow and ice?

"I'm not going to die while I have teeth. Even if I'll die – nobody will cry.

"Werewolf, werewolf, and what if a hunter will track you down, lifting a spear?

"I'll tear his throat without any pity, letting crows to rejoice at him

"Werewolf, werewolf, forest savior!

My tormentor disappeared in the dark thicket.

So why did you protect me – didn't you see, that I myself am human by birth?"

Maria Semenova, "The wolf-dog"

Prologue: untimeliness

I remember our first meeting. In was in the very end of November, when there was a smell of waiting for the winter in the air; and our meeting smelled of fresh blood and wet Wolf's fur, and of pain – of my pain, and of his too – and of thorny snowflakes, which accumulated on my eyelashes and the ashen hair of my Wolf, forgetting to melt.

The wind doesn't throw snow in faces of those who dare to go outdoors anymore because the winter already ended. And there are no more puddles outside anymore, and no more thaw, and no more melting snow – the spring is already leaving our city, but my shoulder still hurts sometimes, when the weather is about to change; I think, it will hurt for a very long time, if not for a whole my life.


From childhood, I called up to dogs just "Kitty-kitty-kitty!"

The dogs' reactions always amused me.

Some of them simply paid no attention to me, turned a deaf ear to me and didn't respond to my summons at all. Some of them forgot about their dogs' pride and dignity and ran to me, and I fed them for conscience sake. Some dogs lifted their heads and began to look for the non-existent cat, but, when they hadn't found it, understood, that I was addressing to them, and looked at me reproachfully – and some of them, the most impudent, barked at me furiously.

Servants didn't understand my whims, but didn't dare to object: well, if your nobility wants it that way…

My nobility wanted it that way. And my nobility wanted to do many other fooleries, because I had no mother to look after me, and for my father it didn't matter. And then he died and couldn't object even if he wanted to; and what about me, the whole city passed into my possession, and I had no idea whet to do with it, because I wasn't even nineteen years old.

I understood that I had to rule it, ideally wise and justly, for the welfare of the people of my city… But it was all words, just beautiful words, and I didn't know, what to do in reality. I didn't know what order to issue to make my citizen's life easier, but not to make my own life harder… I didn't know how to behave with citizens. I didn't know what they think about me and what they are waiting from me, and, what the worst is, I didn't know whom I can seek advice from. So I began to think some reforms out, fortunately, giving this up in the middle already, and then ordered not to disturb me, and then I suddenly became extremely interested in every ramshackle fence, in every crack in a ceiling, in every wage-out in my city.

From time to time I visited the other nobles, but they seemed funny to me. They put on masks, hiding their cold mournful true faces under them, put on gorgeous clothes and waltzed in the hall, but their waltz was joyless, as though the wind was whirling withered autumn leaves, that were torn away from their trees, in the air. Yes, firstly it seemed funny to me, and I gladly changed masks and costumes, waltzing with the others.

So passed summer. And then autumn, winter, spring; somewhere in the depths of that year hid my nineteenth birthday, which I celebrated… I didn't celebrate it at all. I spent this day this day as usual, only at supper I came to the mirror with a full beaker of white wine and clinked glasses with my own reflection (it was advisedly and falsely… But what can I say if I liked the nobles' balls then?), and ticked off mentally, that another year had passed. And then passed another summer, another autumn, another winter, another spring, and another, and another… My life was like a kaleidoscope in spite of the fact that nothing was changing in it.

Until I saw lord Darcia at one of the balls.

He stood aside like a statue, without a mask or festive attire that all nobles were ought to wear on fancy-dress balls – a silent reproach to all of us, to those who dare to lie and play the hypocrite, covering ourselves with masks and motleys. I was sure he made his appearance on the ball for the first time – I have definitely never seen him before – and I was looking only at him the whole ball.

And I wanted to invite him to a slow dance – but, luckily, I didn't. I can't imagine how he could possibly answer. Evidently, I was just afraid of his unvoiced answer.

I am not a good match for him. I felt it at the very moment I saw him.

On the next ball – which I visited only to see him, because carnival already disgusted me – there was no sign of him. I came home and fell into apathy.

Nothing interested or excited me. Invitations to balls stayed without an answer. I don't remember how I was filling those days; I remember only, that once, sitting on my bed, looking down out of the window, I suddenly thought: "Alliah, you're in love!"

I have never been in love before.

Lately I repeated these words so many times to myself, that they lost their meaning to me. I heard something about a war, which broke out among the other nobles; I heard that they seemed to be fighting for some girl named Cheza, which, however, wasn't exactly a girl, but some kind of flower… It seems that people said she can open gates to Paradise and that Wolves really exist, but as I heard that, I said only: "Indeed?". As I heard that lord Darcia's castle was destroyed, I said only: "Is it possible?"

The time was passing by.


And once – it was the late autumn – I woke up. As though somebody gave me a nudge; one morning I just looked out of the window and understood, that today I can't sit and do nothing as I did yesterday, and the day before yesterday, and many, many days before. I gave an order to report me on everything that was happening in the city. I went for a walk – first I walked around my castle, then around its outskirts, then I even strolled a bit through the streets of my city. Citizens didn't recognize me, once someone even roughly pushed me on a crossroad, but for some reason it made me happy for a while.

It began snowing that night, and the next morning, when I woke up, I saw it and took it for a good sign.

There was a smell of changes in the air.


Some days after I was reported that a big grey and, seemingly, wild dog was found in the city – it hid in the narrow passages of the sewerage system. To all appearances, it is wounded, but it already bit two men who tried to kill it: it nearly torn the artery of the first man, bit the arm of the second men through and almost gnawed through his throat.

I could not stay aside – I had to go there. I had to push the men with crowbars and my own security guards aside. I had to crawl into that narrow and filthy tunnel myself although I was being dissuaded from doing it – "your ladyship ought not to do such things"...

I didn't give a damn about what my ladyship ought to do...