Life as A Fox
Chapter 70 OMG CHAPTER 70! ummmmm FREE...GIANT POCKY YAY!*throws pocky at readers*
NSW-The Forsaken Author of the Lost Story (see my bio for explanation)
Naruto traveled, following his nose, he could smell his kind easily. The lemmings had quieted down and now were at a brisk trot behind his own. He paused and sniffed the air, ignoring the barrage at his back legs as all the lemmings ran into them-it was a common occurence.
He turned and began walking in the direction the scent was strongest. He then ran into it. It was the scent border of the wolves territory. Naruto took a deep breath and turned to the lemmings "I don't know if you can understand me right now, but I am going into danger, you may get hurt by following me...do you still wish to come?"
The lemmings looked to each other then one scampered out. He looked up at Naruto then ran over to where the scent marker was. He covered it up with his own. Naruto chuckled at this. "Very well, let's go."
Naruto traveled for quite some ways before he was noticed. Five wolves came out, snapping and growling, they circled around him. The lemmings made a ring around Naruto, growling and yelling in their strange tongue at the wolves.
Naruto calmed them, then he turned to the nearest wolf, a charcoal gray. "I am Naruto, an alpha from far away, I come to speak to your alpha, I mean no harm" The wolf snapped at him "and yet, three of our young ones say you attacked them."
Naruto shook his head "no, I did not, I mearly reacted in self-defense, I had to protect myself and friends" The gray wolf scoffed at this "I should rip you apart where you stand" he spat. Naruto turned a leveling gaze at him, they stared into each others eyes, the gray wolf ended up looking away, Naruto's gaze was too powerful.
Naruto spoke "and yet...here I stand unscathed, face it, if you wanted to cause harm to me, you would have already done so, which means your alpha must have ordered you not to harm me, now I am asking you, not ordering you, to take me to him, I wish to speak, and speak only."
The gray wolf growled but turned, barking orders to the others. They formed a circle around Naruto and the lemmings. The lemmings hissed at the wolves, who growled back at the creatures. Naruto gave the lemmings a stern look, they quieted down once more.
They traveled quite a way and came to a place that was made of rock, two large slabbed hills of rock, with cave opening all around. Wolves came out from the caves and growled and barked at Naruto. They watched him from above and watched him from around the circle of other wolves that was his guard.
Naruto looked about and saw bones, gnawed and picked clean, two bony pups fought over a small bone. Fighting for the marrow that might be inside of it. All around he looked and he saw famine and hunger, it was then he knew why the wolves were attacking demons, they had no choice, when the cry of hungry pups and stomachs was heard, even the most wise of wolves would turn to do unwise things to silence those voices.
The numbers kept on coming, it was a sea of gray,black,charcoal, white, tan and brown fur, even a few darker red pelts in the mix. Eyes of every color yellow,green,brown, slate, and even a few blue-eyed ones followed and watched his every move.
Naruto also noted that a few wolves had bone peircing's in their ears and noses. Some had fur decorations of feathers and paint. One wolf almost had a mane of feathers, while another had carved pebbles and rocks braided into the longest parts of his fur.
Naruto looked closer to the wolves around him and on closer inspection, he noted that they each had a small piercing or painted design on them in some way shape or form. He wondered why they did this. But shrugged it from mind.
He was actully quite jealous of a white wolf like him, who had painted his entire body with strange blue tribal designs. Naruto was even more shocked though when he saw another wolf wearing the skill of a wolf over his head, looking like a grotesque helmet.
As Naruto got deeper into wolf territory, he noted that more and more of the wolves wore the wolf skull helmets and had bones attached to their claws;Making them even more deadly. Naruto shivered at the thought of getting attacked by someone who was wearing them.
Finally they stopped him. "Stay here" the charcoal one said. Naruto waited patiently. He glanced about many of the wolves were staring at him wil leering eyes, salivating. He was confused then happened to look down, the wolves were looking at the lemmings not him.
He took a more protective stance over them. The lemmings edged closer to him as well. Naruto looked about, most of the wolves had now appeared and just stared at him (or the lemmings) silently, waiting for something. Then a howl went up, a powerful edging one, that sent Naruto's fur bristling.
The wolves around him lowered their heads, pups his behind their mothers, and a silence desended upon the wolves a stillness even. He arose up from a high jagged rock. He stood like a king towering above his people. His fur a glistening black, glowing like obsidion in fire.
His eyes, were an ice pale blue, cold and fierce he leveled all with his look. All but one, Naruto matched him. BOth of them were Alpha's both of them, were the top leaders, they were on the same level in the wolf hierarchy. So that is why Naruto did not submit to him nor did he submit to Naruto.
Instead they carried themselves in equal neutrality. The alpha made it to the ground the three agile hops. He landed and walked forward, head held high. Naruto carried his head at the same height but stayed where he was. The wolf was older then Naruto, by perhaps a ten or twenty years, but he still held all the vigor and strength of youth.
He like Naruto bore many scars of many fights he had fought and won. Along his legs and chest, he also had a single scar on his forehead. The leader spoke, in a calm manner, that for some odd reason held a slight coldness. This wolf could be comparable to a winter tundra, cold defient, yet also welcoming to any wolf who cared to run and be a free one.
"Who are you?" he asked simply "I am Naruto, Alpha from Konoha" the leader mearly flicked an ear at this, the other wolves talked among themselves in hushed and murmured tones. The alpha merely turned his head and they silenced themselves instantly.
He spoke "greetings Naruto, I am Fenrir Alpha of the jagged valley pack, I have heard news of you from other demons, you are herding away all of our prey, why is that?" Naruto said nothing for a moment. Then spoke "I only am gathering numbers, I need an army of demons to fight for demons, that is all, I take no prey, I take only my kin."
Fenrir curled his lip ever so slightly. Naruto was not detoured. "I have come here to ask of you Fenrir, alpha of the jagged valley pack, why is it you hunt kin? Are we demons not all family? Even if we are of different species?" There was a tremor of fear that ran through every wolf there, no one talked to Fenrir like so!
Fenrir chuckled "You forget Naruto, we are wolves, we eat meat, when you scared away the regular animals we used to hunt, what were we supposed to turn to? Grass? berries? No, instead we turned our heads to easy pickings, herds of young, weak and old, it is our way of the wolves to purge the weak from this world."
Naruto shook his head "no, you are wrong to do such thing, you know that they are left behind because the strongest of them went to war, knowing that their mates, young and elders would thought to be safe" Fenrir grinned savagely.
He spoke to his pack, "You hear this wolf? He speaks of such strange ways, instead of hunting the weak, he protects them! He fought of three of his own kind, to save a group of wandering elders!" The pack yipped and yowled in laughter.
Naruto spoke, his voice deep and stong like the roots of an oak tree. Where Fenrir held a cold merciless power with his voice, Naruto held something much bigger, he held a emanating burning power, that seared you to the bone with his words.
He spoke and the pack hushed. "Those elders hold much wisdom, wisdom that makes them strong, not in body but in spirit and mind, much stronger then you or I, the body deteriorate with time, but the mind does not, you would be wise to let the old live their lives, much guidance they can bring."
Naruto looked about "Do you not have elders? Tell me, if it is our duties to purge the weak from the world, would that mean purging weakness from your own pack? If so, then many of you would die" He stated it matter-of-factly. Fenrir stared at him.
THe entire pack stared at him, they stared because they knew he was right. Naruto continued "It does not feel nice, telling someone who they are too weak so they are not fit to live, where I come from...every life is special, every life is sacred, weak only means that with time they can grow to be strong, stronger then anything else in the world if given enough attention and time."
Naruto turned back to Fenrir, "I understand that your pack cries in hunger, it is hard for an alpha to stand by and watch his pack members slip from his grasp...it is a feeling I know only to well, but Fenrir, my brother...do not forsake yourselves to save yourselves."
Fenrir was silent for a long time, his pack looked to Fenrir, they always did, he was their Alpha, he was their leader, he would guide them, he always did. Fenrir spoke "then what would you have me do?" Fenrir asked "Sit by and wait for the animals to come back? By then half of my pack would be dead"
Naruto nodded understanding Fenrir's fear "I am sorry to say that your pack has outgrown this valley, in nature that would mean just as you say, letting your pack numbers dwindle back down to the appropriate size for the valley to sustain you."
Naruto shook his head "but this in itself is wrong, we are demons not animals, we are smart and have powers bigger and greater than that, instead why not take my offer?" Fenrir glanced at him "What offer is that? Fight for you? FIght alongside humans? For what? Demons we barely even know?"
Naruto spoke "It would mean making sure every member of your pack was fed and healthy for all the days of their lives." Fenrir paused Naruto spoke "I barely know any of you, and yet, I come here offering you help, I could leave you, and leave behind warriors to protect the weakened herds, and you could sit here, cowering in your caves and among your empty bones, waiting and watching as you slowly die of hunger"
He turned "Or, you could join my cause and be fed, and you can be wolves for a change, real wolves...demon wolves, who actually know how to fight and bring fear to anyone that stand in your way!" He yelled at them instilling them with passion.
Many of the warriors nodded, skulled heads nodded eagerly around him, happy growls filled the air, they danced about, claws digging and scrabbling across the rock, creating an odd symphony of grating music. A low humming filled the air as many of wolf demon keened on a certain note.
The energy grew stronger and crackled. Hows and yips began to emanate from a few. Fenrir spoke, "I agree with my pack! For too long have we lived and not really lived! For too long have we hunted and not be filled! It is time for us to re-claim our birthright my pack! It is time we show the world, what we the demons wolves...CAN DO!"
Slowly one by one they picked up in a chant, a chant that was infectious. Even Naruto could not fight it, he just knew it was his duty to raise up his voice in it, to join together with others of his own kind, to feel truly one with himself and those around him, to truly be a wolf.
"Wo wo wo wo wo wo wo wo
Yeh yeh yeh yeh yeh yeh yeh
Yeh yeh yeh yeh yeh yeh yeh
Wo wo wo wo wo wo wo wo"
Then, the white wolf Naruto had saw before rose up and began to sing.
"Living to the beat of earth, and running under stars of light"
"Finding that we as one, can survive through the winter nights"
"side by side, we stand stong, learning that we get along"
"we are wolves, and we are free, only in a pack can we..."
There was a sudden hush in the music
"survive" she whispered loudly.
All around a symphony of howls went up. she sung once more
"so raise your voices, my dear kin!"
"for we are to begin, the journey of a thousand days, begins to us in one small way..."
"lifting voices in a howl, we know that...we can live"
Then they were dancing and play fighting around each other, the lemming joined in and sung in odd descents and harmonies, together all the wolves blended and mixed their voices and together they created a true wolf song.
Naruto and Fenrir howled next to each other, for they were Alpha's they could howl with their heads held in the same positions, neither higher nor lower then the other. Naruto shivered as he felt a great opening inside of him, he knew, he finally knew what it truly meant to be, to be a wolf, and not just a wolf...a demon one, because know he knew, he and Yume were no longer alone.
Well, I am not notable for my song writing, that is just something I pulled out of my...rear so...yeah, I have to get to class.
NSW