A/N: I own no rights to Wolf's rain as I am sure you all know. I'm just a fan with too many ideas in her head :3 Anyway I'd like to point out that I do have a Tumblr and a formsprings account and the link to both are on my bio page. My Tumblr has OC Bio for the fanfictions I have on this account and sneak peeks of any upcoming fiction I'll be writing in the future. Please visit them I'd love to hear from you guys, oh and Review and fave and follow you guys know the drill I'm sure Onegashimasu!
Chapter III: No reason to stay
"…. Wolves" the dark voice of the Noble spoke. Kiba and Hige flinched with surprise while Mahina simply scowled. How dare he take Cheza, he had no right to put his hands on her flower maiden. "You have my gratitude" the Noble went on "for it was you who woke her"
"What?" said Hige
"Who the hell are you?" Kiba barked in anger. The Noble paid him no mind though.
"The flower Maiden, is mine" he said
"Flower Maiden" Hige repeated in a faint whisper. This was the first time either male had seen the maiden so it wasn't surprising that they would be in awe and at a lost for what to do but all Mahina could feel as a deep growl rumbled through her throat was anger.
"Cheza!" she yelled, she broke from the pair charged towards the high bridge the Noble stood upon with Cheza. She would rip his throat out when she reached him, of this she was certain. A bright light shined over head and almost blinding Mahina as she drew closer but she pushed on. She was so close! So close! The noble saw this and just as the She-wolf was close enough to leap up to them he gripped the back of Cheza's neck with a tight grip, her limbs hung as the noble raise her high above him. Cheza's eyes opened wide, tears ran down her face, with her head tipped up the flower maiden opened her mouth wide and she let out a sad, painful cry.
To the human ear this sound did not exist, if any were conscious in the area and saw Cheza they would simply think she had her mouth open but to any wolf, any canine this scream was audible and not only that it was painful to hear. Mahina winced being hit not only by the sound but the maiden's raw emotions as well. It felt like needle stabbed into her ears. Her hear thundered with pain and that scream...that sad scream split the she-wolfs head in two with a pain so great her vision became blinded with white and she couldn't take it. Even though she didn't want to Mahina had to stop and cover her ears to block such a painful sound. Now blinded and frantic she stumbled in her run and dropped to her knees clenching her. The Noble chuckled at the sight of the creature's pain and soon returned Cheza to her original position in his arms.
"We'll meet in Paradise" the nobles voice came to Mahina among her blinding pain "If we meet again that is" and then abruptly it all stopped, disappeared. Mahina opened her eyes slowly once Cheza's cries had faded from her senses and the pain began to ease. Slowly she regained the ability to take in her surroundings and when she did she found Kiba standing beside her staring up at the space where the Noble once was with the maiden.
"…No…" Mahina called out weakly.
Cheza….. Was gone.
Kiba looked at her silently as the she-wolf hung her head in defeat and let her hands drop from her ear to the ground. She was on all four in her human form in a position of broken spirit and submission. The male kneels down beside while around them the power in the building slowly returned room by room.
"We need to get out of here" Hige pointed out jogging up to them "those guards might wake up at any minute" he had a strong point but Mahina couldn't move. She wasn't still in pain no but she just...her limbs felt like heavy tons of iron. Now that Cheza was gone it was like she had no strength to go on. A Noble had her, some vile human had put their hands on Cheza and took her away and with her scent gone Mahina could hardly find energy to raise her head. A hand presented itself to her and with the dwindling strength she had the She-wolf looked up. Kiba was offering her a hand up.
"Let's go" Azure stared into crimson and slowly the female nodded taking the offered had and sluggishly getting to her feet. No longer have need to snoop about the building Kiba lead them to the nearest sewer lid and after popping it open he dropped down into it.
Mahina cringed, was she really about to do this? She looked to Hige who looked as weary as she did before she took a deep breath and leaped.
"Where the hell are we going? Places like this are rough on my delicate nose…."
Mahina sent Hige a slight glare, her right hand pinching her own nose shut like Hige did with his. She didn't have a sensitive nose like Hige but being in a sewer like they were made it almost impossible for her not to notice the stench. Humans were so unhygienic…
"I've got a hunch there's food down here" Kiba replied, Mahina and Hige looked at Kiba who walked ahead of them. "Just a hunch" they had be white wolf and his 'hunch' for a while now. It was a wonder Kiba wasn't bothered by the stench around them. Yards of unspeakable filth and contaminated water rain through these underground tunnels swirling and condensing into a stench that burned Mahina's nose while Kiba simply walked on like it was nothing.
Turns out his hunch was more or less correct. A few minutes and nine sewer rats later the three found themselves sitting in a not so messy area Kiba had also found. It was a much preferred place in these tunnels as it lead to a barred off opening and allowed fresh air to relieve the wolves of their tormented noses.
It was here Mahina sat beside Kiba hugged her legs for warmth. Her eyes gazed from Hige to Kiba a few times; she wasn't sure what she was going to do now… Cheza was gone, her presence was slowly fading farther and farther away and by tomorrow Mahina was sure she would be back to drawing board; wandering aimlessly from city to city until she, usually by luck, caught the scent of Lunar flower or a sliver of the maiden's presence. There was no purpose in staying in this horrid town anymore.
"Looks like that guy stole the only clue we had" Hige spoke in an attempt to start up conversation "and the scent of lunar flowers is gone too…" he only succeeded in darkening the she-wolfs mood.
"Thank you for stating the obvious…" she said glaring at the chubby wolf, Hige grinned nervously at her for a moment before Mahina let out a soft sigh. "I can hardly sense her now…and now that she's gone this city seems to stink so much"
"No, I'm pretty sure it's just the sewers" Hige replied with slight humor in his tone. He wasn't at all bothered by all this like she was. If anything this had been the end of would have been a fun adventure but still proved to be a source of entertainment.
"Hige, he knew about Paradise. That's why he took her" said Kiba ending the chubby males friendly bantering
"Well, then we'll just have to find another flower. She can't be the only one" Hige suggested. Mahina ignored the amber wolf, just find another flower? He said it like they were just scattered across the barren fields around the dome city. It wasn't that easy, that's why Cheza was so heavily guarded; she wasn't just a flower maiden she was the flower maiden the only flower maiden, there were none like her. Mahina turned so she could look at Kiba beside her.
"That man knew us…" she said slowly as Kiba looked at her "He knew what we were the minute he looked at us Kiba…"
"Let's blow this town" Hige went on "come on, let's look for Paradise. The three of us, ya'know?"
Mahina looked at Hige with slight surprise. Since when had she been included with these two wolves' plans? She figured they would part ways now that their common goal was gone.
Traveling with a pack, this she-wolf couldn't even remember the last time she been a part of a pack or if she had ever been a part of one. So many years…. Mahina had been wandering this decaying earth for so long and always she was alone. In fact, it had been so long that it seemed to be all she could remember of her life. There had been times when she tried to conjure a picture of her family in her mind, a pack she might have belonged to a long, long time ago but she couldn't see anything, just sparkling green and those captivating half opens rose eyes of Cheza. All she could remember is always searching for Cheza.
"He'll meet us there. That's what he said" Kiba spoke, Mahina nodded while Hige gained an expression of annoyance.
"He said a lot of crazy stuff! Listen, if you're thinking of going after this guy you're out of your mind! He's a Noble if I ever seen one!" Hige barked out with a long sigh.
"A Noble?" Kiba repeated taking both Hige and Mahina by surprise, even the ever traveling female was aware of nobles! Did this white wolf come down from a mountain or something?
"Oh right, I keep forgetting that you're new around here" Hige mumbled
"They're bad news that all you really need to know" Mahina chimed
"And I for one am smart enough not to mess around with them."Hige added "trust me Kiba just let it go forget about them…" Hige yawned and slowly laid down curling up to get sleep for the night.
As he fell asleep silence fell upon the pair of wolves still awake. Both were absorbed in their own thoughts to bother with talking to the other. Mahina was still wondering what she would do next. Join up with these two? That was an option she never realized she had. After all it would be considered very rude to think of oneself a part of others when they weren't actually invited to join but then again what if they thought it was just obvious? The she-wolf bit her bottom lip at the very thought. From what she understood these two were also looking for Paradise and Kiba seemed more or less determined that Cheza was the key to reaching that goal. If this was the case then Mahina would run into them again even if she did decide to go off on her own again.
"You're coming too" Kiba's voice broke the female out of her thoughts. She turned her head to him, her crimson eyes meeting his azure ones.
"Huh?" she sounded not sure what he meant an also taken aback by him suddenly speaking to her. He was often very quiet, while they had been walking the sewers he hadn't said a word.
"You're coming with us to Paradise right?" Kiba asked with that mysterious almost blank looking stare "You were here because of Cheza too so you must intend to go there… come with us" Mahina hung her mouth open for a moment but then nodded her head in agreement. Kiba stared back at her for a moment longer before looking down at the sewer water in front of them that flowed between where they sat and Hige laid.
"Hige I'm not so sure this is the right way…"
"Trust me! I'm sure of it"
"What is he basing this on? Do you know Kiba?"
"His nose I think…"
"I heard that!"
Though it was little, Mahina did find rest in the sewers that night despite the awful smell of the place and with new found light the next morning came. The three wolves moved on trying to find a way out of the city through the sewers. However, as it would seem, this was easier said than done. Mahina was sure they had been wandering around these horrible tunnels all morning and still no sign of an exit. At the moment Hige was climbing up a ladder to a manhole he claimed was right by the exit. Mahina stood beside Kiba staring up at him as he pushed the manhole off with a loud clatter.
"Could you possibly make anymore noise?" Mahina whispered harshly, with the morning following the nobles attack now upon the city it should be expected that the humans would be on high alert looking for the culprit that took Cheza and with Mahina suddenly missing from her post she hardly doubted she wasn't being sought out as a suspect. "If we're not careful we'll be in cages in no time" the she-wolf warned but it appeared Hige was disregarding this as he waved a hand dismissively.
"If anything they'll just mistake us for those raiders and lock us up again" he called down to the two wolves "You still have the key right? We've got nothing to worry about"
"And if I lost the key?" the female questioned putting her hands on her hips, she still had it but really this was just a matter of questioning Hige's logic.
"Then Kiba'll bend the bars back and we'll still have nothing to worry about" Hige replied smirking down at Mahina. She looked to Kiba and he looked to her.
Well...he did bend the bars of his cage back and get out once before he could probably do it again. Still Mahina sighed crossing her arms and looking up at the chubby male above them. He looked around the surface area.
"Uh oh, must have taken a wrong turn…" Hige commented to himself but obviously his two companions caught it. Mahina rolled her eyes and sighed again placing a hand on her hip while Kiba took to climbing the ladder. "Hey! It's one of our own!" Hige said before Kiba gave him a hard shove pushing him fully through the manhole, Mahina followed after him.
"Move it will you" Kiba commented as Hige fell on to the ground above and Kiba began to climb out. "That's the last time I trust your nose"
"Seriously" Mahina voice in agreement. She gripped the side of the hole above her and got ready to hoist herself up only to have Kiba grab onto both her wrist and pull her up. She let out a slight yelp as she quickly found herself seated beside Kiba. There were no exits visible so it was easy to assume that Hige had taken them the wrong way.
"Hey!" Hige barked from across Mahina "Anyone's nose would go numb after a night in that stink hole" at this remark Mahina rubbed her own nose ever so slightly, there was some truth to his words even if just a little. Certain Mahina would continue to smell the faint stench of the sewers for a while.
"You guys… you're just like me…"
A softer voice compared to her male company drifted into Mahina's ears and she turned to see what who had spoken. Her crimson eyes caught the sight of a copper little wolf standing among some trash cans, this must have been what Hige meant by one of their own. He was as lanky as Mahina was but it was obvious to the She-wolf that this was a male. The she-wolf frowned slightly as she surveyed the little thing, he was far too young to be off on his own like this, where was his mother? Mahina would have asked the cub this but before the words could find her a shadow loomed over the entrance to the alley they had found themselves in. A Young girl, a human girl, stood at the mouth of the alley holding bags in her arms and her widening eyes had caught sight of the little cub before shadowing over with a familiar look of fear.
"Leera" the cub turned to face her and the human immediately took a step back and her body visibly tensed as she prepared to run away "Don't be scared I won't do anything" The cub called to her and made her stop, what was this pup doing? Mahina watched carefully as she stood up fully going unnoticed by the human whose focus was on the cub. Could he sense her fear? See it in her eyes? "I just wanted to see you again" the cub went on talking "I'm so sorry about your bird" he hung his head in shame.
"Daddy…" Leera spoke sending a sense of trouble rumbling down Mahina's spine. The human spoke again "Daddy…Daddy!" she began screaming and the she-wolfs muscles tightened as the human turned away from them still screaming "Daddy come quick! It's the wolf! The wolf is here!"
"We've gotta get out of here fast" Hige broke everyone out of their stunned and without a second thought Kiba sprung into action taking off down the opposite end of the alley with Hige close behind him.
"Come on!" Mahina yelled reaching out and grabbing the cub by the scruff of his neck and yanking him in the direction that Kiba and Hige had run. The cub seemed to understand because a moment later he was racing behind Mahina as she raced around a corner and sped after the other males wolves.
"This way!" her red eyes caught Hige's upper torso sticking out of a large pipe in the wall of the dead end alley she had just turned to. He waved to her and she wasted no time thinking about if she should follow or not, sure these pipes lead to the sewers but that was a small price to pay in exchange for not being caught. The she-wolf raced into the cover of the large pipe "Where's that runt kid?" questioned Hige almost as soon as Mahina slowed to a stop before him. The runt kid? Did he mean the pup?"
"He was right behind me" Mahina looked back, outside of the pipe, where the alley was, a loud scream echoed followed by the thud of someone collapsing to the ground. Mahina double back peeking out of the pipe and down the alley where the scream had come from, the human girl, Leera, had chased them all down but now sat on the ground cowering away from the cub. "Hey!" the wolf now turned human looked back at her "come on, let's go!" He hesitated but the boy did eventually follow Mahina and after reuniting with Kiba and Hige the four descended back into the sewers, to Hige's disapproval. Usually when they wandered the sewers Mahina was right behind Kiba, his hunches and instincts were proving to be helpful to the she-wolf and so she trust him to lead them in the right direction but right now she was the second to last in the lineup. Behind her the pup whose name she had yet to learn tried to keep up with the groups haste walking.
"Hurry up runt" Hige called back to the pup.
"I'm not a runt!" the pup snapped in offence "my name is Toboe!" Toboe was his name then? This young wolf held no scent of any other on him beside the scent of humans and Mahina couldn't help but shake her head at this fact. Toboe had probably never spent a day of his life with other wolves which mean he didn't have a mother…
"That's cool" Hige replied in a friendly manner in response to Toboe tell them his name "I'm Hige" the chubby male motioned to himself before pointing to Kiba in front of them all "And that there's Kiba, and this lovely lady's name" from among the stench of the sewers Hige's scent wafted into Mahina's nose and she tensed as the male wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her close while introducing her "is Mahina" he grin at her in a flirtatious manner but Mahina growled jerking out of his hold.
"Too touchy" she warned the chubby wolf before taking a couple of quick steps until she was walking beside Kiba. Hige, she didn't know the chubby wolf well enough to let him that close to her, she wasn't very fond of touching. Hige chuckled sheepishly at her actions.
"Where are we going anyway?" asked Toboe still in the back of the line.
"The exit of course" Hige replied
"We're going to Paradise" Mahina corrected Hige giving the smart ass of a wolf a stern look.
"Paradise?" Toboe leaned to the side so he could get a better look at Mahina who nodded "…hey, do you guys know Tsume?" the three older wolves looked back at Toboe curiously. Mahina raised an eyebrow at the pup.
"Tsume?" she repeated
"The guy with the scar on his chest?" Kiba questioned from beside Mahina. Toboe smiled brightly and nodded his head in confirmation.
"That's Tsume!" he chirped
"What about him?" Kiba asked bluntly taking Toboe by surprise, the pup looked down at his feet.
"Well" he said "He's one of us so… I thought he might want to come too"
"Do you know where he is?" Mahina questioned turning to fully face the pup in curiosity. Tsume must be that other wolf Cher had found the fur of on the body of some child, the house pet. Even now the female lacked any interest in this male wolf that Toboe spoke of and this was made no better when the youngest of them slowly shook his head indicating he didn't know where this Tsume was.
"...No" he said "we got separated..."
"Sorry kid but it's too late to go back for him" Hige shrugged at the kid and though Mahina wouldn't have worded that the sane way she did agree with him, they didn't have time to comb the city for a house pet and if the she-wolf had her way they wouldn't even bother with it. House pets were useless outside if their cages even if he was a wolf he was no better than a mange mutt of a dog. However Toboe knew him so she might as well show some concern even if it was fabricated concern.
"What is he your friend?" she question curving a slender brow slowly until it formed a perfect arch. Again Toboe shook his head.
"No" he answered quickly before returning his gaze downward "It's just that..." his sentence found no end and Hige shrugged at this.
"So? Then ditch him" he told the pup as he turned round and brushed past Mahina to continue walking. It took Toboe a second but he soon followed suit. "Shake a leg runt" the older wolf called over his shoulder
"It's Toboe" the pup snapped brushing past Mahina with quickened steps in an attempt to keep up with the chubby wolf. The female chuckled lightly at this, the little cub shows promise. She trailed after the young wolf down the path of the sewer only to be called back.
"Stop" Kiba's calm voice stopped the group in an instant earning curious looks as they looked back at him. He stood by a ladder that lead to the surface that the other three had passed without a second thought. Were his instincts telling him something again? Mahina wondered...
"What is it?" she questioned but received no reply from the white wolf. Kiba simply looked up at the light coming from the surface and climbed the ladder up to the surprise of the others. Rather than question Kiba very questionable instincts the rest followed him out of the sewers and slowly, carefully along the back roads of the city. While Toboe and Hige took of the rear bickering with one another Mahina walked beside Kiba with her hands buried deep in the pockets of her jacket.
The white wolf she walked beside, yet slightly behind in what could be called a natural form of submission, said nothing to her at first and for the first half of the walk that didn't both the she-wolf at all. She enjoyed the stillness between them feeling no sense of awkwardness in Kiba's obvious lack in social skills.
He must be like Mahina, a packless wolf, a lone wolf spending most of life traveling long distances either by choice of lack of their own kind to be found. Hell, if it were not for the occasional pack Mahina sometimes came across she might lack the ability to socialize with any general creature.
So the sun began to set outside the dome painting the sky a deep orange, still they walked.
"So..." crimson eyes shifted to gaze at the white wolf "are we following instinct at the moment?"
"We're following a scent" Kiba answered plainly earning a twitch of curiosity. A scent? But whose? Tipping her head upward Mahina sniffed the air and easily caught the smell of blood. Why were they following this scent? Weren't they supposed to be leaving? Mahina fell silent trusting the male rather than questioning as night began to rise upon them and they entered a rancid area just outside of the city. The scent of blood lead the four of them, Kiba, Mahina, Toboe and a complaining Hige, into one of the many building. Up a flight of steps they went and down a hall until they found a door where the scent was strongest.
"Man this place reeks" Hige complained as Kiba opened the door and they all piled into the room "Why'd you bring us here Kiba?" the white wolf didn't have to say the reason because as soon as Toboe entered the room he perked up because of what he saw.
"Tsume!" the pup chirped happily.
Mahina scrunched up her nose at the stench in the air, that smell of ash and gun powder she was already familiar with. This was the wolf, the house dog. He stood taller than her with silver hair, he was a muscular being and he had an X shaped scar on his tan chest. Beyond the illusion stood a large grey wolf though Kiba was slightly larger in comparison. He didn't look as pleased to see Toboe as he was to see him. In fact, he looked pissed.
"I could smell the blood from your wound" Kiba informed the male blankly "I could smell it all the way from town"
"And what?" snapped the deep voice of the grey wolf he tensed up where he stood and glared at the group "You're going to nurse me back to health? Forget it I don't need your help" Mahina sighed glancing out the nearest window of the abandoned building; they were running short on time...did they really have to have this grouchy male come?
"Tsume" Toboe tried to reason with the male "We're all leaving town, you should come with us" the suggestion eased the heated glare that came to Tsume's face but his tone still held a threat when he decided to speak.
"Really?" he arched a brow "And where is this happy band of yours going?"
"To paradise" Kiba answered simply earning a nod from Mahina but a snort from Tsume.
"You've got to be kidding; you're going with him because you believe in that crap?"
"It's not like it matters if you come or not" Mahina spoke up trailing delicate hands down her sides until they rest upon her hips and she sent the grey male a bored look "it's just a friendly offer, we don't need a domesticated house pet tagging along eating up food and being useless" a snarl echoed through the rundown room as it rumbled through the throat of the insulted wolf but Mahina wasn't intimidated.
"What was that?" Tsume growled at her.
"You heard me" the she-wolf replied coolly, she wasn't backing down from her words, she meant them. She thought a domesticated wolf was useless to them and the only reason she wasn't calling Toboe useless was because she still considered him a pup and pup need guidance not isolation. Tsume snarled at her daring attitude and in reaction Mahina felt her fur prickle in anticipation of a fight "you want to prove me wrong house pet?" she taunted the male and she was sure they would have had at it but a arm extended out before the hyped up female making her falter.
"Mahina" Kiba turned his head to the she-woman; though his face was calm those eyes of his, those piercing blue eyes, were stern enough to tell her to stand down. Mahina fell silent turning her head away from the male and tightly crossing her arms.
"Look" Hige jumped in before the wolves around him could grow anymore hostile. He had his back firmly pressed against a wall just beside one of the windows "I don't mean to interrupt but a nasty stink is coming this way..." he was right, now that she wasn't focused on Tsume she could catch the faints of stenches, one only a human could produce. The other seem to catch it as well now.
"We're surrounded" Tsume informed them.
"Tsume" Toboe tried again to reason with the grey male "If we stay here we'll have to stay in hiding or worse... We just can't live with the humans anymore and survive..." the pup had a point but still Tsume made no moves to agree to join them and this on its own drew agitation from the female among them.
"Let me ask you something" Kiba broke the silence "why did you guys come to this city? It was because of the flower scent wasn't it?" no one made a sound of protest to the question "well it's gone now, there's no reason to stay"
"The flower has nothing to do with it" Tsume protest stubbornly "I'm here because I belong"
"This city is a dump" Kiba expressed earning a glare from the fellow male. From his place beside the window Hige groaned.
"Come on" he spoke sensing an impending fight "we don't have time for this" but he went ignored, Tsume approached the white wolf still not buying their plans to run to paradise.
"when I saw you last you were going on about how your pride wouldn't allow you to pass off as a wolf" the grey wolf looked Kiba over once before snorting lightly "you look pretty damn human now, where that pride go?"
"..." a tense silence came to the group as they all awaited Kiba answer "No where...nothing's changed"
Mahina's ears rung loudly with the sound of bullets bouncing off the metal surface of the long pipe she zoomed across. Ahead of her Kiba took the lead, these human were trying their hardest to stop them as they made their retreat but their efforts were futile, even in a form like this wolves were formidable foe. A bullet grazed the pip she ran along just inches from her feet and spark flew before her eyes. The she-wolf yelled loudly stumbling back and using her arms to shield her eyes from the bright flash. The sound of her cry halted Kiba and made him glance back at her.
"I'm fine!" she barked "Go on! I'll catch up" she wanted to take care of these pest first and so without another word to the white wolf Mahina turned tail and dove off the pipe.
"Mahina!" she heard the pup cry out and Hide soon followed suit watching with wide eyes as the female zoomed past him like a hawk dropping from the sky.
"Mahina what are you doing?" he yelled hoping she'd come to her senses before it was too late. Mahina didn't reply and she made to attempts to catch herself as she dropped from the sky and down towards the humans shooting at them from below.
"Keep moving!" Kiba called and took off running again.
Adrenaline rushed through Mahina's veins as she squinted her eyes against the wind that howled across her falling frame. Her raven hair whipped about her fair face as she seemed to pick up speed.
"Do you know what leaving this city will mean?" the conversation between Tsume and Kiba rung throughout the she-wolf's mind
"Yea..."
"You'll just die"
Hot metal grazed flesh and a slight sting came to Mahina's right cheek from the bullet that broke the skin there and drew small trickles of blood but still this didn't not dieter her. With the ground now hurtling closer to her the female bared her teeth and snarled. She shot off like a rocket as soon as the pads of her paws touched the ground; they took her across the distance with amazing speed until she was right upon the shooting humans and their guns.
"Everything eventually dies or is killed, that's a natural part of life..."
A still moment, a single second in time everything paused between the she-wolf and the humans. In that one second expressions of fear touched their paling faces as Mahina snarled dangerously at them. A few of them yelled in terror and most of them began shooting at her without aiming. The female easily averted the bullets letting them pass her slender form and embed themselves into the ground below before she charged with furious growls and snapping teeth.
"To die while reaching for something, to be killed for a goal..."
Yells and screams of pain echoed through the area as Mahina's teeth chomped down on limb after limb. She made no discriminations between fingers and hands and arms and legs, just so long as the human she attacked dropped their weapon and all of them did so that they could cradle their wounds. In a matter of minutes the lanky she-wolf was looming over a gang of humans writhing on the ground clutching their wounds but otherwise alive.
"It's better than living without a purpose; if you do you're dead already."
Suddenly Mahina's platinum eyes were blinded by pure white light. It pained her vision and she had to turn her head away just to spare her eyes the throb they felt right now.
"What is that?" the humans behind the blinding light muttered "Is that the dog that escaped a couple of days ago?"
"It's bigger than any dog I've seen, it must be! What do we do?"
"Shoot it! It's killing our men!" a gun was cocked, the sound bounced within Mahina's erect ears and a snarl of a warning shook the females throat. Bullets were flying again and just as Mahina made a hard leap away another bullet grazed her, black fur fluttered through the air as the female ducked into a tunnel and disappeared within the shadows. The humans preside her of course stomping their feet loudly through the tunnels but try as they might they won't find her or at least not in the form they saw her in.
With one hand clutching the tear in her jacket by her left shoulder and the other tightly held over her mouth Mahina kept as quiet and as still as she could which the men's stomping faded in the distance.
"Not so tough now are you?" Mahina became stiff when she heard this deep voice echoing through the tunnel. From the darkness she hid within the female spotted Tsume entering the tunnel calm as ever. "I can smell it, your blood"
"They only grazed me" Mahina shot back defensively. She released her shoulder and revealed untouched skin "What are you doing here?" the question floated from her lips as she stepped out of the shadows and stopped before grey male, Tsume smirked at her.
"I should be asking you the same thing" he said, crimson eyes narrowed and a dangerous snarl rattled the echoing tunnel "what happen? Did the white one deem you useless?"
"Go back to your cage house pet" Mahina spat at the male "I'm sure your owners miss you" she should get moving, they might have found the exit already and once they made it outside the done it would be a matter of minutes before Mahina lost their scents. She turned away from the grey wolf and briskly began walking away from him, he didn't want to come? Fine by her, he would have been a pain anyway.
"Why do you believe in paradise?" his deep voice halted the female. Why did she believe in paradise? That was a good question, a question she had never been asked before. Why did she believe in paradise? Mahina stopped walking and stared blankly ahead keeping her back to Tsume as she thought deeply about it.
"...because it keeps me going, it stops me from getting too comfy around humans and..." locks of raven fluttered and swayed as the female closed her eyes and tipped her head upward. Deep within her being she felt herself reaching out into darkness, blindly reaching out and just barely, faintly brushing her finger tips against such a soft presence, her presence. Cheza. "Because I've seen the key" Mahina finished her sentence, the tunnel quieted down after her words and the two wolves stood in it for what felt like a long time until Tsume sucked his teeth loudly.
"Whatever" he grumbled, his footsteps echoed through the hallowed area until the male brushed past Mahina and walked in the direction she had been heading in. The she-wolf blink at this.
"So you'll be joining us?"
"Screw the journey" Tsume rudely replied to her as he continued to walk in the direction the others had run to "Paradise can kiss my ass...I'm just...tired of this place." curving a brow Mahina trailed after the grey male keeping a safe distance from him "It was time to move on anyway"
"..." she wasn't sure what to say, Tsume sounded sullen when he said those words like the thought of giving this up was tearing at him. These humans he had been with, what were they to him? The silence between the two wolves as they walked was a awkward one in comparison to the one Mahina had with Kiba so rather than bear it the she-wolf spoke up "then get moving" she told the male before she became light on her toes soaring over the land until she landed gracefully on a ledge over looking where Tsume stood "Or would you prefer to remain a house pet?" in response to her taunt Tsume snarled and leapt after the female as she took off after the retreating scent of the others. The two of them ran with the sounds of bullets dancing through the air behind them.
It didn't take Mahina long; she smelled their unique scents long before she heard their voices. With Mahina in the lead the pair charged out of one of the numerous tunnels they had been running through for the past few minute and there, standing atop the ruined walls of the dome cities border, waiting for her. The she-wolf wasted no time leaping up to join them but behind her Tsume stopped.
"Tsume!" Toboe openly cheered while a look of relief washed over Hige's face and he sighed upon seeing Mahina land gracefully before them.
"You made it!" he chirped to her "thank goodness! I thought they had gotten you back there!" the chubby wolf reached out and lightly patted the females shoulder in what manner Mahina could safely assume was friendly and caring, she stiffly returned the gesture with an uncertain smile.
"It was a distraction" she informed him calmly "so you guys could get away safely"
"You're bleeding" Hige's eyes flickered to the cut on Mahina's face, it was a small one that had stop bleeding minutes after the wound was inflicted and left a thin train of red down the females face. She casually wiped at the crimson life force and shrugged her shoulders.
"This is nothing" she told him
"This way" Kiba's command ended the conversation and just like that the five wolves were off again leaping from ledge to ledge barely letting their shoes round a soils surface too longer before they pushed off it to reach the next.
Up and up and up they went along the border of the dome city until finally the top of the wall was reached and the five wolves had crossed over and away from the protection of the dome. The wind was none to kind to them when they're bodied greeted it, it incased them in snow that, if their human skin were real, would have stung with how fast it was begging blown. Even so Mahina embraced the harsh weather like an old friend letting the fresh air gallop into her nostril and whip across her frame. No sooner did she embrace the cold did the ground vanish from under her as she was sailing downward after Kiba towards the snow cover ground. The white wolf landed with ease and Mahina stumbled about the chilly ground beside him. Hige followed behind her having no problem staying steady on his feet and Mahina expected Toboe to land right after but there was nothing. The three looked up to find that the pup had hesitated in jumping.
"Hurry up Runt!" Hige yelled out "jump already!"
"I was getting ready to!" Toboe snapped back from above "Don't-" whatever the pup didn't want them to do became unknown as Tsume appeared behind him and delivered a stern kick to the cub's rear. With a startled yelp Toboe was sent down towards them with limbs flailing the whole way. Mahina stepped forward, opening her arms wide and accepting the full force of the pup as he clumsily landed. Taken off guard by the force the two tumbled to the snow with united grunts.
Tsume was all that remained. As if he were still weighing the option of leaving he stayed up there just staring down at them. Even as sirens blared and shots were fired he stood still as ever.
"...are you scared?" Kiba called up after they waited a moment for the grey wolf to jump on his own.
"Yea you wish" was the reply and with that said Tsume jumped.
'...They say there's no such thing as Paradise. You can search to the ends of the earth and you will fine absolutely nothing'
One labored breath after another dragged from her lungs as she pushed herself on, the howling wind fought her slim frame trying hard to deny her the right to run on. Nostrils flared and deep pants pushed out clouds of frozen breath. Her tail was straight up in the air as she ran tainting the untouched snow with her tracks.
'There's nothing there, no matter how far you walk it just goes on and on. You walk that endless path until you die hopeless'
After miles upon miles of running the wind settled and the snow gently sank from the clouds overhead. No longer battling the elements she pushed on harder digging her paws into to the ground and pushing off with all her might. She kept right behind the great male that took the lead. Under the moonlight that peeked through the clouds his white fur shimmered.
'But... Only the wolf can find Paradise. We are the ones meant to reach it, in this decaying world only we can seek out the flower that will take us there.'
Skidding to an abrupt halt she turned her head back. Far off in the distance the dome city shined dimly in the night, from it only the scent of death and decay remained. She stayed like this staring at the city and wondered briefly what would become of Cher now that her life's work was gone. The shimmering coats of amber, copper and grey whizzed by her taking her from her brief thought and with one last look she raced after the four wolves as they began their journey.
'I know that there is a paradise, deep in my heart I know. I've seen the key, I've felt her presence, I've smelled her scent and I know her name. Cheza...she's waiting'