She didn't understand it.
Why do wolves like the full moon so much?
It was a single, piercing eye that was always watching you, no matter where you went. It stalked you, like a predator whose eyes shone out of the shadows. It provided light, but that which it did provide had a strange feeling about it. Something ominous, like it was a light you shouldn't be under. While giving you light, it also gave it to those who hunted you. She was a fugitive, and the searchlight had found her. It was only a matter of time before…
The stars were much prettier, she thought. They gave light, but it wasn't much. They reminded her of guardians, sentinels in the sky. Instead of staring down at you, they watched around for any signs of danger. They reminded her of the tiny white buds that grew before a flower bloomed. Full of potential, and the sign of something beautiful to come.
She really didn't understand it. Maybe it was a carnivore thing, liking the moon.
Anyways, the moon brought back more bad memories than good.
"Haru-chan?" His voice called for her softly. Haru turned. He was standing in the warm glow spilling out of the diner's windows. The sounds of talking and laughter came from within. Smells of greasy, fried foods, and toasted bread invaded her small nose. She wondered how he could stand it, being a canine. She had learned in school their noses were extremely sensitive.
"What is it, Legoshi?" Haru asked.
"Would you want to take a walk through the park before we leave?" Legoshi asked. He gestured with a nod to the forested paths across the road, silent at this hour. They were in a lonely corner of the city, a corner where the forest was slowly conquering the concrete and stone.
Haru hesitated.
"Sure."
The forest was dark. The tree branches, laden with green leaves, blocked out much of the moon's light. Shadows wrapped around every tree and laid on every inch of the ground. It was like a maze. The dirt path split apart, then came back together. It wound like a brown river between trees and stones. Tufts of grass stuck out on sections where few feet had stepped recently. Every once in a while, a rock would be disrupted by her shoes, skidding across the path. Or a particularly large root would trip her up. The prickling anxiety in her stomach grew with each unknown noise or movement.
The forest was dark. Despite the small lanterns set every twenty meters or so, it was dark.
He, however, found it easy to traverse the shadowy paths.
Haru found herself cursing the skills (or lack thereof) of herbivores. Not for the first time, that was for sure.
"Legoshi… Can we slow down?" Haru finally asked.
"Of course!" Legoshi barked a bit too quickly. "Are you tired?" She felt him stop and crouch down to be on eye-level with her. She could vaguely see the outline of his pointed cheek fur, and his torn ear.
"No, it's not that," Haru said. She cast a glance over her shoulder. "It's hard for me to keep up. I can't see very well." Nothing worth worrying about. At least, that she could see.
"Oh, right. I should have known…" Legoshi said to himself. Suddenly, Haru felt the warmth of his palm under hers. It was a welcomed feeling. The chill of the night was beginning to seep through the cotton of her clothes and her short fur. She was not an animal made for the chill of spring, unlike Legoshi. The wolf's long fingers slowly wrapped around her small hand. He made sure his naturally sharpened nails didn't touch her. She felt him stand back up, towering over her once again.
"Is this better?" Legoshi asked. Haru nodded. He could see that, apparently, since he continued on walking.
They went on in silence for another minute. Then, he spoke again:
"Ah, Haru-chan. There's a root there."
She was careful to take an abnormally high step.
They went on for another minute. Then, the trees cleared from around them, and the brown river emptied itself into a brown pond. The moonlight broke through the leafy shield barricading it, and gladly cascaded down into the clearing. Its beams soaked the ground, turning it a sickly pale silver. Haru shivered again. She found her fingers digging further into Legoshi's hand.
In the middle of the clearing was a fountain. It was silent, dead. No water spilled from it. It looked like it hadn't been used in a long time, with the moss that grew on its stone circle and the cobwebs that hung under its bowl. Before Haru knew it, Legoshi was pulling her towards the fountain. Memories of their first meeting flashed across Haru's mind. She shook them away. He was different now. She was different now.
They took a seat on the edge of the fountain, side-by-side, finding warmth in one another. Haru scooted close to the wolf's side. She found a comfortable crook to lay against, under his arm, pressing into his side. She felt the faint thrum of his heartbeat through his thick wool jacket. His arm rested gently on her head, pressing her ears down. His hand found hers, engulfing it. Haru swung her feet back and forth, tapping against the old stones, then drifting in the air. Legoshi frowned, noting how his knees were practically drawn up to his chest.
After fully warming herself up, Haru said, "Have you thought about what you want to do?" She felt comfortable enough to take her mind off the darkness for a while. Something about the wolf made her feel safe. Ironic, considering her biology should be doing the exact opposite.
"What I want to- Oh, you mean like a job?" Legoshi hummed. "Well, I think I want to keep helping Gouhin. Besides that, I wonder if I should go to college… Would they even accept me after seeing what's on my record?" Legoshi seemed to be talking to himself again.
"I feel like that's something you should have thought about before now," Haru half-sighed, half-laughed. She leaned further into Legoshi, who stiffened in response. Even though they had been dating for so long, it seemed that he still wasn't so used to physical affection. Haru felt like rolling her eyes. How could a male like him still act like a teenage boy?
"What about you, Haru-chan?" Legoshi asked.
"Botany, of course. Finding a full-time job is a problem, though. Helping out at the grocery store can only pay for so many things. Thankfully, I heard of an opening at a nursery near the apartment." Haru looked up to the stars. "That reminds me. I was thinking that we should find a new place."
"Like what?"
"Like an actual house."
"An actual house? Can we afford that?" Legoshi sounded bewildered. Haru would have loved to look up and see his face, if his baggy sleeve hadn't been in the way.
"I don't know. But we don't know until we try it, right?" Haru grinned. She wondered if Legoshi could see her face from where he was.
"I guess…" Legoshi sounded less than thrilled.
Haru closed her eyes. "I'd want some place near a big field. With a lot of flowers around it. I could open my own flower shop. They would be all mine to take care of. Like a family." She laughed. "Legoshi, have you ever thought of starting a family?"
She felt his large frame flinch. Apparently she had asked a question he dreaded… or hoped for. She couldn't really tell. "Family?" He stammered. "Like… but… carnivores and herbivores… and Melon…" Legoshi's voice turned into an incomprehensible murmur.
Haru laid a hand on his leg. "Never mind. It was a dumb thought." She closed her eyes again and shifted against him, like she was trying to become one with him. She felt like she could fall asleep there. She stifled a yawn. Maybe if she laid long enough…
As sleepiness seeped through her, relaxing her body and calming her mind, the usual fuzziness overcame her. The faint sound of crickets faded into nothingness, and all she could feel was Legoshi's warmth, and the softness of his jacket.
"I would like that, Haru-chan," Legoshi said after a long pause. She snapped awake. "A family… I mean, it might not work out, but…" Legoshi's voice was strained. "Ah! Never mind! If you don't want it, then-"
"Shut up. Honestly, it's like you don't know what I mean when I say things!" Haru folded her arms. She disliked the feeling of the heat sitting under her skin, burning her alive from the inside. She could feel her tiny body begin to tremble from her heartbeat. Suddenly, she pushed Legoshi's arm off of her, and stood on the stones. She was a bit taller than him now. "We should probably get going now. It's not good to be out this late."
"Sorry. Did I say something to make you upset?" Legoshi asked as Haru jumped to the ground, small waves of dust puffing away from her old boots. The pond was disrupted, now.
"No." Haru chuckled. "Sorry if it seemed that way. Like I said, it was a dumb thought."
"Okay…"
Haru shivered violently. She instinctively gripped her arms through her knitted sleeves. A cold wind rushed through the clearing, shaking the trees around it, rustling their heavy branches. A spider clung onto its web for dear life under the fountain. Legoshi and the fountain were the only two things that were unaffected. He stood up with ease, stretching his stiff legs. Thoughts of the darkness and lurking danger suddenly flooded Haru's mind again.
Then, a dark blanket was thrown over her. She trashed and flailed her short limbs about, trying to get the giant, heavy thing off of her. Then, she froze. It smelled like Legoshi? She calmly lifted the last piece of fabric off of her, then looked at it. It was Legoshi's jacket. She turned to him, standing under the moonlight in only a t-shirt and jeans. His gray fur shone with the light, like it was an actor's spotlight, built and used just for him.
Maybe she could appreciate the moon just a bit.
"Won't you be cold? Anyways, this thing is way too big for me," Haru said. She lifted the jacket off the ground, hoping the dirt hadn't stained it too much yet. Small pieces of gray-turned-silver fur clung to it still.
"I don't want you to be cold," Legoshi said.
"I'm not that-"
"You're shivering."
Haru frowned. Oh, of course now he was being observant. She shrugged and tossed the oversized piece of clothing over her shoulders. A considerable amount laid on the ground behind her. She pulled the front closed around her. It was like a giant wool blanket, or a cloak of the characters in the fantasy books she had read. She wondered if her childhood blanket at her parent's place, made for the size of a bunny, was as big as this.
"You're washing this, then," she said, knowing full well she would still volunteer when they got home.
"Okay."
They walked along a different path for a few minutes. Would it take them back to the street, and the parking lot of the diner (probably closing now) with the only bus stop for a mile around? Hopefully. Haru didn't know. If there was a sign to indicate where they were, only Legoshi could see it. She wanted to ask, but knew that if he didn't know, the dread that had returned to the pit of her stomach would only grow. Perhaps a wolf's nose was strong even this far away. Could he still smell the food?
His hand had found hers again, barely poking out from its comfortable shelter underneath his jacket. Her other hand gripped the two sides of it closed. There was no point in zipping it up. It would be like wearing a far too long dress, and a far too heavy one.
The crickets had returned, as loud as ever, singing their song into the darkness. It was a ballad thought of, written, conducted, and performed by every member of the group. A ballad written specifically for the shadows, and whatever waited within them. Or maybe it was written for the moon. Or the stars. Haru found herself amused at the thought of a cricket orchestra as she walked by Legoshi's side. An amusement that failed to mask her unease.
"Haru-chan, are you scared?" The question came out of nowhere. Haru winced.
"What makes you say that?" Haru asked with a feigned smile. If he was even looking.
"You're gripping my hand really tightly." Haru loosened her grip. "No, it's okay! I liked it."
"Perverted wolf," Haru scoffed under her breath.
"What was that?"
"Nothing."
"Anyways, there's nothing to be afraid about. I've heard that carnivore-herbivore crimes have really decreased since the destruction of the Black Market. I think they're gonna build some apartments there now."
"Apartments? I'd never want to live there. They're probably… haunted or something."
"Haunted?" It was Legoshi's turn to sound frightened. "You're probably right." Haru bet that his ears were drooping, and his eyes were taking on that look of a sad puppy. "Anyways!" His hand felt stiffer than usual. "If there was danger, I could protect you!" He sounded proud of that. Haru wanted to roll her eyes again. Still, she couldn't deny that, and it comforted her.
Haru was abruptly stopped by her guide. He crouched down, if the movement of his arm was any indicator, and sat silently for a minute. Haru could feel light, rhythmic gusts of wind behind her. Was his tail wagging? She narrowed her eyes. Nope. Couldn't see anything.
"Look," Legoshi said.
"I can't."
"Oh, right!"
She was pulled to a lantern a few meters ahead. In the tiny pool of light, she could only see up to Legoshi's waist. The rest of him was a mystery in the darkness above. That was until he lowered an arm, palm open to the sky. She was confused at first, until her eyes adjusted to the dim light, and saw what was in his hand: a rhinoceros beetle. She smiled despite herself. Still acting like a teenage boy as an adult.
"It must be a lucky day for me," Legoshi said. "I'm going to keep him. I'll name him Kabuto."
"You know, those beetles are good for gardens," Haru said.
"Really?"
"They break down decayed plant matter."
"It's a lucky day for both of us."
Haru continued smiling, even as they entered the darkness ahead. She was sure Legoshi was smiling too. Either because of her or because of his new pet. Probably both. She couldn't see it, but could sense it. Maybe it was a bonus of being someone's girlfriend. You just knew things.
"I think you can learn something from Kabuto," Legoshi said.
"What?" Haru asked.
"He's not afraid." Haru raised a brow. "Like right now, he's looking ahead of us. Also, he's not flying away from my hand. If he was scared of me, he would have left already."
"I would have less of a reason to be afraid if I had a horn like that, too. And if I was as strong as he is."
"I guess… But anyways, you shouldn't be afraid."
Haru didn't reply. Of course, the uncomfortable feeling remained inside of her, but she could feel it slowly dissipate. Maybe it was Legoshi's words. Maybe it was her knowing he was strong. Either way, the wolf's body absorbed her fear like a sponge absorbing water. What filled her up completely seemed to only be a tiny speck inside of him. He showed no sign of being afraid.
They walked on for a bit more. Far into the distance, Haru could see lights. So they had been walking in the right direction. She silently thanked the signs she couldn't see - or a wolf's instincts - whichever one it was. Between them and the street ahead were patches of light piercing through the branches that tried to hold them back. Every time they walked through a piece of that soft white light, Haru looked at Legoshi. She found herself admiring a different part of him every time: his fur, his scars, his eyes…
Then, the question that had come to her the first time she set foot into the moonlight was back.
"Legoshi-kun, why do wolves like the full moon so much?"
She could see Legoshi's snout pointing up in the faint light around them. It was mystical, she thought. "Biology, I guess," Legoshi said. "Our ancestors were guided by the full moon, and it served as a unifying symbol for them. Sometimes I feel like I should howl at it when I see it."
"Please don't." Haru wondered what other animals, especially herbivores, would think if they saw a carnivore, a wolf, acting that primal. What would her own body tell her to do? Run away? Hide?
"I know." Legoshi faced her again. He was only a shadow to Haru, against a backdrop of gray trees, but she could still see. "But for me, personally, the moon reminds me of you."
"Of me?"
"Well, it's white like you. It glows, and you glow when I look at you, I think." Haru felt the heat creep under her skin again. "Our first meeting was under the full moon, remember?" Haru swallowed nervously. "Oh, not that I would want to repeat that! But… I think it means something, anyways…" Haru was silent. "A-also! Most of the times we spent together at Cherryton were at night, under the moon."
"You're right," Haru said. She fondly remembered their late-night adventures at their shared high school. She remembered the walks to the dorms, the talks on stairways outside, the Meteor Festival, the rescue from the Shishigumi… the hotel… Haru frowned. She had had an interesting time in high school, hadn't she?
"I think I understand now," Haru said. She hastily changed the topic "It's probably so late now! Unlike you, I've gotta get up early for work. So, come on, Legoshi!" She urged him on with a tug on his hand.
"But weren't you the one who told me-"
"That doesn't matter now. I can see better because of the moon."
"Oh, okay." With that, Legoshi pulled Haru along beside him. Or maybe Haru pulled Legoshi along. Either way, the two animals found their way out of the forest, and out onto the street, fully doused in moonlight. Haru found herself embracing the light, bathing in its glow. Her fur shimmered, turning into a radiant white. It made her an easier target, but what did she have to worry about with Legoshi there?
As the couple walked along the street, the moon watched from above.
