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Chapter V: The Fallen Paradise
"H-hey!" young Toboe yelped stumbling around his feet before falling to his knees, a light giggle replied to this. He looked up at the female that stood a few paces ahead of him with an amused grin on her face. "No fair" pouted the pup "You're too fast"
"Come on Toboe" the female giggled "You're young, you should be able to catch up to me no problem" the she-wolf placed a hand on her hip, her amused smile never once leaving her lovely face. For the past couple of minutes she had been playing around with the pup while their pack took a rest. In a sense she was teaching him to hunt or at least build up his weak body.
Yes, these four wolves made up her pack and though they didn't always get along, Tsume's attitude sometimes left a lot to be desired, to know that they were a pack brought Mahina joy when she thought about it. Since the incident with that big, black, killing machine Mahina had begun to learn a bit more about these wolves she called her pack.
Toboe, obviously, was the youngest out of them all. He was still rather young, Mahina would consider him a pup, and before Freeze city he'd never met another wolf before. An elderly woman had found him when he just barely opened his eyes and had been taking care of him. Toboe implied that the old woman had passed on, though he wouldn't say how, and he'd been struggling on his own ever since. He was a domesticated pet if Mahina had ever seen one and that was a disadvantage for the pup. Mahina took him under her wing filling in as a mother for Toboe, though she didn't at all know how to be one.
Around them, as Toboe took another lunge for Mahina, Tsume, Hige and Kiba sat atop the snow watching curiously or with amused looks. The she-wolf grinned and with a soft grunt took to the air over the pup with ease. Toboe only had time to look up in awe watching Mahina loom over him momentarily before the young pup yelped loudly and snow was thrown everywhere.
"Looks like she got you runt" Hige shook with a deep laughter as the mother like female had the pup on his belly and sat on his back like he was her throne. Toboe picked his face up from the snow and shook white puffs of ice from his face glaring at the amber wolf. "You can do better than that!"
"My name is Toboe" Toboe snapped at the older wolf "and how can I catch Mahi if she's too fast!" the boy stopped his ranting when Mahina placed a hand atop his head and chuckled on ruffling his hair as she did.
"When you hunt, your prey will not stop and let you catch it because you complain that it is too fast" She informed him letting her playful smile grow larger. Toboe stretched his neck to gaze up at her and see this gentle smile. Mahina leaned forward so he wouldn't have to strain to very hard "if something happen to the rest of us" she went on to say "or should you be separated from the pack you have to learn how to catch your own food Toboe" she then stood up and offered Toboe a hand so he could stand as well. He needed a great deal of practice still but hopefully with time Mahina would have Toboe fully capable of fending for himself should the rest of them not be there for him.
"She's right you know" Hige said and with a grunt was standing up and slowly approaching the pair. He had his hands shoved into the pockets of his sweatshirt and he walked with a casual pace "And if you can't catch Mahi how can you hope to catch anything else?" the she-wolf tried not to snarl at the chubby male as he drew closer.
Hige had been the first wolf Mahina had seen when she entered freeze city. He was a rather large wolf, not in muscles mind you he was just very chubby, and from what Mahina could tell he really only cared about two things in this world: Food and women. He had been the one to help Kiba escape from his cage in the lab and that was just about all Mahina really knew about the amber wolf. He seemed like the she-wolf herself; he had no pack before them and he had spent most of his life wandering from city to city. The only differences were Mahina wandered in search of Cheza, Hige wandered in search of something interesting and while Mahina followed instinct Hige followed his ever so sharp nose. In fact it was his nose that led him to Kiba and ultimately this journey in the first place. Now when it comes to the comment this chubby male had just made about his female pack member it was something to be expected, Hige could be just a bit sexist at times but other than that it was harmless. Of course this didn't stop Mahina from putting the male in his place from time to time.
"But Mahi's really good at hunting" Toboe defended Mahina casting a look of admiration towards her "She caught that deer last week like it was nothing!"
"It was weak though" Hige pointed out "It hadn't eaten for days! It hardly had any meat on it remember?" the sullen look on the amber wolfs face told the two that he definitely remembered. Mahina tried not to roll her eyes as she pressed a palm against her hip. What she recalled from that event was this bottomless pit of a wolf complaining that the poor creature wasn't fat enough and didn't have enough meat for him to ease his hunger, it had been a complaint Mahina had ignored. Now, she just waited for him to get closer, just a few more steps… "I bet you I could catch her no probl-" unfortunately for Hige he was never given the opportunity to finish his sentence.
Toboe gaped in utter shock as Mahina's feet left the snow covered ground and introduced themselves to Hige's face, particularly his mouth, with as much force as she could put into the kick. Time stopped for that moment and everyone took the action in. To the she-wolf's satisfaction the kick propelled the male away from her and Toboe and into the snow.
"Mahina!" Toboe gaped looking from Mahina to Hige once or twice but Mahina didn't care, she landed on her feet gracefully with her hands on her hips as if she hadn't kicked Hige at all.
"Wha-" Hige sat up cradling his precious face before glaring up at the female "What the hell did you do that for?"
"I'm not one to be sensitive to insults" Mahina told the chubby wolf casually moving her hand from her hips to the pockets of her jacket "But I don't particularly like being told I'm slow especially by someone who spends his free time feeding a hole in his stomach that can't be filled" Hige continued to glare at Mahina but with a scuff she turned away from him, It was easy enough to see from her disposition that the originally harmless comment took a shot at her pride but then again kicking Hige in the face like that probably shot his ego down a couple of levels as well. "Eat your words before you make a claim you can't back up" Mahina fanned the flames smugly "maybe you won't be so hungry if you do"
"Oh is that so?" the amber wolf lowered his hands from his face; her back was turned to him…if he timed it just right he probably could… Hige pushed himself onto his hands and knees "We'll see about that!" He tried his best to be quick, and really to the human eye the action was a fast one, with as much power as he could muster the chubby wolf pushed off the ground and launched himself at the female he believed to be unsuspecting of his attack only…she wasn't so unsuspecting. "I got you!" Hige yelled in victory as he opened his arms wide to circle around Mahina's waist but instead of touching her flesh he was, again, met with the bottom of her worn shoes. The lone shoe pressed against Hige's forehead and with a loud grunt he was eating snow.
"You were saying?" Mahina challenged smirking down at Hige.
"You guys…" Toboe approached them with caution "knock it off before you hurt each other"
"Y-Yea" Hige pushed his head up "listen to the runt Mahi"
"That's the point" Mahina replied to the cub with a blank face and a monotone that would make it hard to believe that she was so mercilessly slamming a member of her pack's face into the snow with her foot each time he tried to look up. This would put him in his place for a while…
From his spot on the ground Tsume actually laughed at the scene he saw before him. The sound stopped the scene and all its players looked his way.
"Pathetic" he commented chuckling on from his seat "both of you couldn't even catch the scrawny thing"
"Scrawny" Mahina repeated removing her foot from Hige's head and turning her gaze away from the wolves around her to look out at the surrounding landscape of what was miles upon miles of endless snow. Why did it seem that these wolves had no respect for her? Were females not valued in packs?
"Don't say that Tsume" Toboe spoke up turning to the grouchy wolf with hopes of defusing what would probably be another one of many fights. "You know that's not nice to say, Mahi's really helpful!" What did Tsume do in response to this statement? He laughed of course.
Tsume was what humans would probably call a grouchy old man. Though she didn't know his age Mahina had to guess that the grey wolf with the scar on his chest was the oldest of the pack based on how damn negative he was all the time 'Paradise is a fools dream' he'd always ramble on when the subject came up among the five of them 'You're all idiots for following this mutt' never mind the fact that he, too, was following the white wolf he liked to call a mutt. From what Toboe had explained to Mahina at one point, when Tsume wasn't around to stop him, the grey wolf had been a part of those raiders that kept hitting the lab back at Freeze city. They hit trains that came into the city, storage warehouses and the lab in the center of the city and that run down place Kiba had found Tsume in had been their hideout. It was no wonder his fur reeked of all those unpleasant scents, it still did faintly despite being away from them for such a long time. Beyond that Mahina knew nothing of this male though it was obvious he had seen battle because of that scar on his chest. Mahina and Tsume didn't like each other; there was no getting around it. Tsume considered her a female version of Kiba which made her the runner-up for first place on his list of people he hated and to Mahina Tsume was a washed up wolf tamed by a pack of humans, or a house pet as she had quickly grown fond of calling him. If it weren't for the others the two of them would have ripped each other apart by now.
"I'll call her whatever I want" Tsume scuffed with his nose in the ear as if somehow he held superiority compared to the she-wolf "she is scrawny"
"I'll repeat myself" Mahina spoke up "Eat your words before you make a claim you can't backup" Tsume's grin faded in reaction to her comment "What makes you think a simple House pet could size up to me?" the female allowed herself a moment of arrogance.
"Is that right?" Tsume remarked turning his head to take in Mahina and fix her with a glare similar to the one Hige had just given her. "I'm not like these two weaklings you know" he pointed out "I actually have experience" Mahina wasn't intimidated by the comment at all and she met the grey wolfs gaze with the same glare.
"That can't be much coming from a house pet"
"Mahi" Toboe spoke wearily but it was hopeless, the challenge had been set and Tsume was game that much was obvious by the look in his eyes.
Slowly, the grey wolf rose to his full height. There was silence between the two before Tsume took off in a speedy charge for Mahina with jaw snapping and snarling loudly but much like Hige the grey wolf missed the female. Fur prickling wildly, the she-wolf easily side stepped the first attack and jumped back as Tsume quickly wiped around and snapped at her legs. They snarled at one another before taking off along the empty land as if they were racing but never once looking away from the other. Occasionally Tsume would lunged at Mahina or she would lunge at him in attempts to bite at each other's legs and trip the other up but all attempts failed until, finally, the grey wolf grew tired of it and finally dove in for the kill. That was when Mahina had him. He leaped up over her trying to startle the female and for a split second he came inches from clawing a gash into her back, if she had stayed where she was for a second longer he would have, but he missed and in the time it took for him to land he lost. Mahina chomped down as hard as she could and earned a loud howl of pain from the grey wolf.
'Get off!' the male growl came out from among Toboe's gasp and Hige's loud hiss as he sucked in a breath, empathizing with the grey wolf. Even at the command Mahina did no such thing, in fact to prove her point she released for a second and chomped down even harder on the grey tail that belonged to Tsume. 'I said get off you scrawny mutt!' this time she did.
"That had to hurt" Hige muttered under his breath jogging towards the two as Mahina took a couple of steps back from Tsume.
"Tsume are you okay?" Toboe chirped from beside Hige but if Tsume replied anything it couldn't be heard compared to the laugh that Mahina let out.
"Am I still scrawny?" the she-wolf laughed arrogantly to the male that could do nothing but glare up at her. "I guess none of you can match up to me" she crossed her arms and shook her head at the three wolves before her…wait a minute…three? Something was missing here and within seconds of realizing this fact what was missing made its presence known to Mahina again. She didn't have time to react to the sudden sensation of dread; before she could blink a sudden force hit her in her midsection and knocked the air clean out of her lungs. She was taken off her feet and practically tackled to the ground in cloud of snow.
"Whoa!" Toboe yelped loudly not catching the tackle like Hige and Tsume had "Mahi!"
"Kiba!" Hige gaped when what had happen registered to him fully "What the…"
Kiba?
With a loud gasp air rushed back into Mahina's lungs and she blinked away her sudden daze. The chill of the snow ran along her neck as she found herself sprawled out on her back across the ground with her arms pinned over her head at the wrist instead of standing over a defeated Tsume with smug pride. Someone was looming over her, Mahina stiffened under the intense Azure eyes that stared down at her.
"K-Kiba" she stammered out between her gasp for air. Of course, how could she possibly forget about Kiba?
Kiba wasn't hard to miss; he was the white wolf of the group but also the quietest of them all. It was no wonder he could sneak up on her like that, he barely spoke and his white fur blended well with the surrounding land it wasn't hard to sometimes forget he was with them. Mahina didn't know much of anything about Kiba, none of them did, only that he was searching for paradise like she was. That was the existent of their knowledge of him, he was a highly guarded male and it almost seemed like if it didn't have anything to do with getting Cheza back the rest of them didn't need to know anything else about Kiba. For whatever reason the smell of Kiba's blood had awoken Cheza from her long slumber and sent Mahina into a tailspin and she didn't know why. He was a mystery…
"Eat your words before you make a claim you can't back up" Kiba repeated Mahina's words to her continuing to stare down at her with the intense eyes and sparked a fire in her face turning it a faint pink. Not having anything to counter to the obvious lesson she was suppose to be learning Mahina settled for ripping her gaze from Kiba's eyes and fixing it on the endless field, there goes her arrogance. "We've rested long enough" Kiba told them when she looked away from him; he pushed off Mahina and released her getting back to his feet. The female stayed just as he had left her and stared up at his as he offered her a hand up "let's go" he told her. With her pride now scared the female smacked the white wolfs hand away and got up on her own. She stormed ahead of everyone else not bothering to look back at them; they'd eventually follow behind her.
"What's gotten into her?" Toboe voiced catching her edgy attitude all of a sudden; Hige chuckled slightly shoving his hands into his pockets.
"That, Runt, is a wounded pride"
"I had a dream that we reached paradise"
Mahina glanced over her shoulder at Toboe's words from the back of the pack. His face brightened when he mentioned the dream that he had and the female couldn't help but smile at him.
"Really?" she hummed facing forward again and kept walking "did you now?"
"Yea!" Toboe chirped breaking into a slight sprint until he was in front of Mahina. His eyes were wide as he walked backwards and explained his dream to the she-wolf "Oh it was so amazing! There were all these red and blue flowers blooming everywhere! And you know what?"
"What?" Mahina couldn't help but giggle out
"They were all lunar flowers!"
"Have you ever seen a lunar flower before?" Hige deflated the pup's happy balloon. Toboe stopped walking and pouted at the question as Mahina brushed past him and kept walking.
"Well…no not really" the copper pup confessed still pouting. Hige passed him now muttering something along the lines of 'I thought so' as he did "But Granny was there too!" Toboe piped up again wiping around fixing the bag of Hige's head with a determined stare "and she took care of us and she cooked for us and made us these kinds of delicious foods!"
"What are you talking about?" Hige rolled his eyes.
"Guess you'd be happy being someone's pet even in paradise" Tsume snorted passing the pup as well. Toboe paused in his place for a moment before he turned around and ran to catch up with everyone else. From where she was within the pack, right behind Kiba as usual, Mahina continued to grin to herself. Toboe's positive outlook and general excitement over what would be awaiting them when they finally reached paradise was a nice pick-me-up when days became long and endless traveling became tiresome. Toboe wasn't alone in his curiosity over paradise, the female wondered what the wolf sanctuary was like as well though she didn't particularly believe that Toboe's human owner would be there waiting to cook them food and take care of them. As she walked the she-wolf closed her eyes and tried to imagine Paradise: lush green fields, towering trees, fresh and untainted air…truly Paradise.
"It's not what you think!" Toboe went on once he caught up to them all "It was like a party and we were all treated like guest! There was music playing and everything!"
"That sounds like a coffee shop to me" Hige remarked dismissively
"But it's true!" Toboe whined on "it was so amazing! I thought it was really paradise…it's hard to describe" the pup ended with a slight mutter.
"Well with a brain like yours…" Hige muttered teasingly
"Leave him be Hige" Mahina chuckled
"Give me a break" Toboe barked out glaring at Hige "Even Kiba hasn't told me what paradise is like! How am I supposed to know!" at the mention of the white wolf Mahina raised her head and looked at the taller male she was now walking beside.
Kiba didn't say anything in response to the comment but the smile on his face was enough to tell Mahina tales of his amusement over the pup's excitement. He was enjoying the conversation as much as Mahina was.
"What color are lunar flowers?" Toboe asked Kiba as they continued to walk "Can you tell me that?"
What color are lunar flowers? That was a good question indeed. It was probably the truth that none of the wolves had ever seen a lunar flower before in their lives. They use to bloom all over the place long, long ago but when humans began hunting down wolves they slowly began to fade and disappear until they, like the wolves themselves, were thought to be extinct. Cheza was made of lunar flowers. It was strange, Mahina had spent most of her life chasing down Cheza but never once asked herself the question Toboe had just asked: just what was the color of the very flower that made Cheza so special?
If Mahina had to think about it and guess she would say that lunar flowers had to be white. They had to be white and they had to glow as bright as a full moon.
Suddenly a smell hit the female's nose; she didn't smell just cold air anymore. She smelt salt and the smell of it made her stop walking like Kiba, Tsume and Hige. What she saw before her actually surprised her just a bit. There was a bridge that started just a little ways away and stretched out far across an icy surface and farther than the eye could see, it probably went on for miles.
"What is it?" Toboe marveled when he finally caught up to everyone and saw what they saw.
"The ocean" Kiba answered. Mahina had never seen the ocean before so she when Kiba said it was so she marveled at it just as much as Toboe did. This was an ocean? Why did it smell so salty? How interesting! The curious female leaned forward slightly to gaze at the water and took in how dark it was with a not so pleasing look, it didn't look at all welcoming to get close to… She'd definitely be careful while traveling on that bridge.
"The scent is faint" she spoke up tipping her nose to the air "but its lunar flowers, I'm sure of it… I can feel her too…just a bit"
"Guys this is it!" Toboe mused reenergized by the news Mahina had just delivered "Paradise is right up ahead! I know it!" and with a cheerful yelp he charged ahead of everyone and went straight for the bridge. Mahina, of course worried for the pups well being around those icy black waters, was quick to follow after her and behind her Kiba followed then Hige and then finally Tsume.
They ran for what felt like days across the tracks on the bridge until finally something could be seen in the far off distance. It was a dark shadow among the blowing snow and salty air and it made the pack slow to a stop for a moment to stare at it from where they were.
"A City" Hige pointed out with hope "maybe we can find some food there"
"The scent is coming from that city" Kiba spoke up before running on without another word, the rest followed him. It didn't take them much longer after spotting the city to find themselves leaping down from the high bridge into the nearest empty street. Mahina landed beside Hige with a grunt and Toboe came after in a clumsy touchdown falling to the ground and Tsume landed last.
"You smell flowers huh?" Hige muttered sniffing the air "all I smell is the stink of oil"
"That's too bad" Mahina replied brushing dirt from her hands and clothes before offering Toboe a hand up "I guess I give your nose far too much credit Hige" she teased. He was right, the city did smell of oil but if one focused hard enough the scent was there. If Mahina could pin it to a physical object she'd say it was like a lone thread from a spider's web. It couldn't be seen with the naked eye but that didn't mean it wasn't there and though most will breeze past it and never know it was there but others walked into it. That little sliver of a smell of lunar flower, it was all over this city.
"You mean you smell it too?" Hige questioned walking beside her, she nodded her head gently. They walked on in silence after that, the streets were completely abandoned aside from them which was just a bit strange considering that it was still light out. This town had a totally different feel compared to the dome city they had left long ago. There were people living here though, Mahina spotted them among the buildings on either side of the pack peering down at them from their windows but quickly ducking out of sight when the she-wolf looked their way.
"…What a crappy city…" Tsume remarked
"Do you think they're afraid of us?" Toboe questioned also taking note in the lack of a warm welcome from the town's people.
"What the hell are we suppose to find here anyway?" Tsume threw the question behind him, Mahina tipped her head and glance over her shoulder at the silent white wolf walking behind her. He didn't answer Tsume question and when the grey wolf snort out and added "This is some paradise" with a sarcastic whip to his words Kiba didn't respond. Instead he stopped walking and turned his attention away from them in the direction of a wide open alley beside them.
Seven individuals sat huddled together around glowing embers, most of them were men but there was one female among them. Their clothes were worn and faded and their faces told tales of age and fatigue. As if sensing their presence they glanced over at Mahina and the others with a hard glare. One of them stood, a male in a red and black stripped jacket, and faced them.
"Where are you kids from?" he asked
"A city off north" Kiba answered
"…and you're here because?"
"Just passing through" Mahina spoke up this time, pulling a hand free from her jacket and stretched her arm out behind her. With a subtle nudge pushed Toboe behind her. She didn't like these guys at all.
"You can't expect us to do business in such a dump do you?" Tsume added to Mahina's comment. The male before them didn't even flinch at the insult.
"Where are you going?" he questioned on
"You know… I don't really think that's any of your business" Mahina replied crossing her arms as she did, it was best not to go around telling people where they were going. Say the wrong thing to the wrong person and they would be begging for trouble to come their way.
"We're going to Paradise!" Toboe suddenly bark from behind Mahina gripping her arms for support as he poked his head out from behind her to glare at the group. Mahina tensed up slightly feeling the air grow just as tense for a long pause between the two groups. They could have said anything in response to Toboe's answer, they could have snarled and tried to chase them out of the city, they could have simply brushed them off and went about their lives but instead they started to laugh and loudly at that. Toboe tighten his grip on Mahina's arms when they did. "Mahi, was it something I said?...Why are they laughing?"
"Because" Kiba glared "they obvious don't know anything about paradise"
"We know all about it" the leader remarked as soon as he had stopped laughing "It's nothing but a stupid fairy tale. There's no such thing as paradise"
"What makes you so sure?"
"Maybe because we've been there, we've seen it" one of the packs other wolves answered taking the younger wolves by surprise. They've seen paradise? No way! If that was true what the hell were they doing in a place like this?
"Don't believe him" Mahina muttered to Toboe who didn't look very happy with the comment, she glanced back at him and offered him a soft smile "he doesn't know what he's talking about"
"Don't I?" Mahina glanced back over at the old pack to see that the male that had said he'd been to paradise was now standing up "Believe me missy that wasn't paradise, it was more like hell" slowly he approached the group with his eyes fixed on the she-wolf.
"I wouldn't expect a dog like you to know what paradise looks like" Mahina coldly despite Toboe tensing behind her, after such a long time of seeing Tsume and Mahina argue to the point of a fight the pup must have a sixth sense for trouble at this point.
"Listen" the older wolf spoke stopping just a foot away from her "Believe me when I say you're better off just forgetting about paradise. Go back to where you belong and get on with life." He smirked at her and reached out a hand, bad move. A growl rumbled about the female's throat like a hive of bees beginning to swarm threatening his actions but he ignored it as his fingers drew closer to her face "I wouldn't want such a pretty wolf to be so disappointed when you find out that its all-" that it's all what? That, Mahina never found out. This wolf, or dog as Mahina preferred to see him as, had reach out his hand to touch her face without realizing that to do so he had to stretch his hand out and in front of the glaring face of one of her pack members. As he spoke he trailed his hand down the side of her face and pushed her chin up with the tips of his fingers so she looked him in the eyes, and that was about as far as he got.
Suddenly a loud snarl and then a bark echoed through the area and teeth snapped chomping down on the hand. The wolf howled in pain from the bite and quickly yanked his hand back stumbling away from Mahina. She gaped for a moment startled when she realized that she hadn't been the one who bit him like she had been planning to do. A new figure stepped in the space the male now retreated from with their back to Mahina and a fierce glare directed at the male.
"…Kiba…" the female quickly recognized the white wolf now standing like a barrier between her and the wolf whose hand he had just bitten. The air became tenser than before with the drawing of blood and a sense of danger over powered Mahina. That wolf deserved it, what kind of idiot goes and puts their hands on the member of another pack like that? Especially a female! For all he knew she could be one of these fours mate and touching her was just inviting trouble to the door. Still, they were outnumbered but Kiba was showing no sign that he was going to back down. "Kiba" Mahina spoke his name again, he glanced back at her when she wrapped her fingers around one of his arms "come on let's get out of here" she told him "I don't want to hang around here anymore…" wordlessly Kiba complied and with Mahina's firm grip on his arm the two of them began walking with the others close behind them.
The pack they left behind laughed in a taunting manner at their back.
"I don't like this idea" Toboe commented "this place… its giving me the willies"
"We'll be fine Toboe" Mahina reassured the pup "it'll only be for the night, just so we have a place to sleep"
"But it's so creepy" Toboe countered "and I keep hearing some strange noise"
"Would you stop being scared all the time?" Tsume complained
"Tsume" Mahina sent the male a glare before turning a soft eye to the youngest of their pack and pat his head "don't worry Toboe we'll be fine. I promise I won't let anything happen to you" the pup looked up at her
"R-really?"
"Of course" she smiled back "now…could you please… loosen your grip?" she wheezed out gasping just a bit when Toboe's arms tightened around her waist where he had been holding onto her since they came to their destination "I can't really breath…"
"Oh!" he let her go and Mahina inhaled "sorry…"
Night had come to the city and with it the need to rest so the pack traveled the city looking for a good place to sleep. It turned out that the best place to sleep was a cemetery a little ways away from town; it was secluded enough for them to hang out around the area without being noticed or attracting trouble to themselves. Toboe, however, didn't like the idea. Even after he had release Mahina's waist and the group began walking into the field of the dead the pup held onto her arm.
"Do you hear that?" he jumped and drew even closer to Mahina.
"I don't hear anything" Hige replied in boredom
"There's something here!" Toboe whimpered and Mahina winced, for a weak little runt he certainly had a grip.
"Toboe" the she-wolf commented when she felt the pup tighten his grip even more than she though the possibly could "There's nothing here but the five of us, I swear it!" or at least she would have swore it before something popped up out of the ground right at her feet. It was only a very old wolf but Hige and Toboe screamed loudly and while the chubby wolf stumbled backwards and onto his butt Toboe wound his arms around Mahina once again and buried his face into her jacket. "T-Toboe…" the female gasped out "Toboe I can't breathe!"
"Hey gramps! What are you doing?" Hige yelled at the old male after he had breathed a sigh of relief "You scared the crap out of us!"
"Gramps?" to Mahina's relief Toboe loosened his grip and peeked out from her jacket. This old wolf leaned an arm out of the hole he had so suddenly popped out of looking totally harmless, Toboe sighed as well "I thought I was a goner" he breathed
"Sorry about that" the elder laughed softly "I'm just digging a hole for myself"
"Digging a hole for yourself?" Mahina repeated "are you saying you're digging your own grave?" the question cause Toboe to shudder and Mahina wrapped her arms around him and pulled him closer to her, how morbid…
"When you get to my age you start recognizing that your time is up" the old wolf replied though he didn't at all look sad about this fact.
"You better start digging faster than" Tsume mutter under his breath rudely.
"Excuse me" Kiba approached from behind everyone with his hands in his pockets "but do you know if there are any lunar flowers around here?" Lunar flowers? Mahina glanced towards the white wolf curiously, what a random question to ask. If one looked around at the barren fields of cold dirt it was impossible to believe that lunar flowers ever grew here at all let alone still did. Despite this thought a look of familiarity crossed the elders face.
"Long, long ago they bloomed all over this island" he explained to Mahina's astonishment he smiled brightly and opened his arms up wide as if the ground would suddenly sprout with the beautiful flowers "but then they were all dug up one day" a sullen look came to the wolf's face when he said this and lowered his arms "not a single petal is left"
"Do you know what color they were?" Toboe asked
"Why they were the color of the moon of course!"
"And what about Paradise?" Tsume asked this time though his sarcastic tone never once left him "have you been there?"
"Every wolf goes looking for paradise" the elder answered this "I, myself, tried to find it once" Tried was the keyword in that sentence, Mahina frowned slightly.
"So… you didn't find it?" she asked quietly.
"My dear I never said I didn't find it"
"What?" the five wolves gaped in union.
The elderly wolf led them away from his hole and farther into the cemetery. It was there at the top of a hill that he stopped and pointed to a boarded up arch with a caution sign tied to it. By the time they had gotten within a foot of the arch Hige was covering his nose with both of his hands and groaning in protest.
"Ugh!" he complained "What is that? It smells like death warmed over!"
"You know… I was kind of expecting the entrance to be a little nicer" Toboe commented.
"In a dump like this? I think this is the best we're going to get" Mahina replied
"There have been many young wolves that have set out through there" The elder explain turning from the arch and facing the young pack "but sadly none of them ever reached paradise" so did he mean they died? Was that why it smelt like death to the more sensitive nose out of all of them? "And for those who return there's nothing left but to ink out a living here, just like the rest of us"
"Okay old man I think it's time you rest for the day" a new voice joined them and every looked behind to find the wolf from earlier standing behind them. This man, who had a scar running down the side of his face Mahina noticed, had a superior air to him which probably made him the Alpha of this towns wolves. "Don't forget we have work tomorrow" he told the old wolf
"I see… Well, I've dug it deep enough" the elder slowly made his way to the wolf's side.
"When your pack tried to get to paradise" Kiba spoke up stopping the two wolves from leaving like they had moved to "did you use this entrance?"
"I thought I told you it doesn't exist"
"Zari…" the elders attempt to sooth the wolf known as Zari was ignored
"If you disrupt the peace of this pack I'll show you no mercy" Zari warned them all "get out of this town before dawn"
Metal screeched in her ears and clamped shut with a loud Clang! She opened her eye wide when she realized that the loud clang was the sound of bars shutting tightly behind her. She barked loudly sticking her muzzle between the bars hoping that someone would hear her, find her, save her! Someone! Anyone!
The cage rattled and began moving away from the savage flames that burned on before her eyes. She barked and yelped pressing against the bars as hard as she could hoping that by some miracle she could escape but there was no escape and no one was coming to get her.
As the burning forest began to become farther and farther away the air echoed with cries of pain. A lone howl rang out through the night air and soon another joined it and then another and another. She watched in utter horror as the land, the home she had been born on and lived on, glowed orange with the fire that took over and now filled with the mournful cries of those unfortunate enough to not make it out. No… flattening her ear to her skull she tipped her tiny muzzle upward towards the full moon over head and howled with them
The air danced with this sorrow filled song of loss and goodbyes.
Mahina's eyes snapped wide open with this dream. Raven curls sprawled about her head and the cold ground pressed against her cheek. She was lying on her side turned away from some ongoing conversation. A small hand trailed along the side of her head and ran along the soft tresses of hair in a petting motion that surprisingly enough sooth the she-wolf and stopped her from panicking like her dream might have originally made her do. Her crimson eyes softened easing from their wide open state.
"Don't say that" Toboe's voice spoke from right behind Mahina telling her that it was the pup that was petting her so delicately. It only made sense that it would be him; she did the same for him when he slept. "Besides… getting angry just makes you hungrier"
"Maybe we should stay here and die in the gutter" Tsume's voice reached Mahina's ears now "Start digging holes for ourselves like that old man" They must be talking about what they were going to do next. According to the old wolf that arch was dangerous to take and even though Kiba probably wasn't afraid of dying if it meant he'd reach paradise the rest of them liked the idea of living just a bit longer rather than take a risk and enter the tunnel. Now Mahina remembered… she had fallen asleep listening to Tsume complaining about what a waste of time their journey had been.
"It's not confidence…I'm not really sure what it is but it's always there screaming inside of me" Mahina remained still as ever as she listened to Kiba.
This was something she and Kiba shared in common among other things, this unexplainable feeling deep within that pushed them to seek out Cheza and find paradise. Mahina's memories were lacking a great deal, she couldn't remember anything of when she was younger but that didn't matter anymore. All that mattered to her now was the latest memory she had. She didn't know how she had gotten where she did but she remembered waking up on the ground at the foot of a dead forest. She didn't know where she had been before hand or if she had had any plans to enter that forest, all that was swimming within her being were two names: Her own, Mahina and Cheza and this urge deep within her. It was like Cheza herself was calling to, reaching across the distance and tugging at her inner being pulling her closer and closer.
"I have to get there that's why I've kept on running all this time" Kiba summed up Mahina's thoughts for her without even realizing it "I can't imagine living without believing in it…" Just as Kiba finished the sounds of footsteps reached her ears and she raised her head ever so slightly to look in the direction of the person approaching.
"You guys must be starving by now" It was that female from earlier and she was carrying a bag with her, that was probably what Hige smelled when he suddenly shot up from his laying position beside Mahina.
"We sure are!" Hige chirped crawling over to the female happily "How very kind of you to notice!"
"Kiba wait!" Mahina sat up just a bit more when Toboe called after Kiba, he silently left the area they had decided they would sleep in and didn't slow down or stop when Toboe called to him. The pup ran off after Kiba leaving Tsume and Mahina to watch Hige greedily dig through the bag the female had dropped before him and began munching on what appeared to be bread
"Thanks! This is really great!" the chubby wolf remarked
"What about you two?" the she-wolf addressed Tsume and Mahina now with bright eyes and a friendly smile on her face "Are you going to eat?"
"No" Mahina responded while Tsume simply looked away
"Awe come on lighten up!" Hige told the two of them "Let's face it we don't know when our next meals going to be"
"Weren't you listen back there" Tsume snapped at Hige "we don't have a destination, our little trip is finished"
"What do you think Miss…uh miss…" Hige turned his attention to the female who had saved him from his hunger
"My name is Cole"
"Cole huh?"
"You've got to be kidding me" Mahina muttered, with Hige how he was right now and that dream she'd never get sleep in here. The female pushed herself up and onto her feet stretching her limbs when she did
"Maybe you all should think about sticking around for a while"
"Well that's tempting isn't it?" Hige looked towards Tsume and Mahina but the she-wolf turned her back on him and made her way towards he very doorway Kiba had just left. It was just as she was walking out that Toboe started coming back.
"Guys…Kiba just ran off on his own" he stopped in the doorway as Mahina brushed past him "Mahi…what's wrong?"
"Stay here" she told him over her shoulder and kept walking.
"Tsume" Toboe spoke up again as Tsume left as well going in the opposite direction Mahina was going "You're leaving too?"
"This isn't worth my time…" Mahina heard before she was out of ear shot of the others.
She was leaving so that she could find a place to get a peaceful night of sleep but really now that she thought about it she was absolutely terrified of going back to sleep. What is she had another one of those dreams again? Mahina slowed to a stop along the edge of the island and stared out at the waxing moon above her. Those dreams, she could still hear those haunting howls of the wolves trapped in that fiery blaze echoing in her mind. She cringed holding her head in her hands and closing her eyes tightly.
"Make it stop…" she muttered to herself why was she having these dreams? And why was she rocked with such sorrow and pain when she woke from them? It didn't make any sense!
"You're by yourself…" It was Cole, the fellow she-wolf's scent drifted into Mahina's nose long before her voice reached her ears. She looked back at the older female briefly before looking out at the sea again.
"…What do you want?" she asked coldly
"Nothing really" Cole chuckled walking beside her and sinking into a seat "I just thought you might follow the white one" The white one? Did she mean Kiba? Why would she do that? Mahina gave Cole a confused look that she smiled mischievously to "He's your mate isn't he?"
"My-" oh the color that came to Mahina's face "it's nothing like that" she grumbled looking away as Cole laughed lightheartedly at her. "He's not my mate"
"He's very protective of you" Cole remarked, she must be referring to the hand biting incident that took place during their first encounter with one another. She guessed anyone would assume Kiba was her mate after seeing him nearing chomp another wolfs paw off just for touching her. Still facts were facts.
"We're a pack" Mahina commented stiffly "if he didn't do it I would have and I wouldn't have let go" yes that was it, if Kiba had let Mahina bite that mutt she would have ripped his arm right out of its socket then they would have really been in trouble.
"Whatever you say" Cole chuckled on "Are you looking for somewhere to sleep?"
The place Cole led Mahina to was a lone room in one of the many buildings in town. It didn't have any sort of furniture to indicate that a human lived there, just a couple of mattresses and a lot of blankets perfect for sleeping in.
"It isn't much but..." Cole spoke softly standing at the doorway watching Mahina look around the room. The younger female looked back at her older counterpart and smiled gently.
"It's perfect" she said "as long as it's warm and quiet I'm okay" Cole smiled back at her stepping into the room and slowly closing the door behind her. "But I don't get it" Mahina added sinking down so she sat on one of the mattresses "our packs aren't exactly on neighborly terms, why be kind to me?" Cole smiled on dropping onto the mattresses across from Mahina.
"If you haven't noticed" she explained "there aren't many other females around here, I might even go as far as to saw we're the only females in this whole town. We need to look out for each other" Mahina scowled slightly at this, she knew there had to be some kind of catch!
"What do you want from me?" she questioned eyeing Cole. She laughed in response shaking her head.
"Nothing" she answered "I just...want to look out for you..." the sincerity in Coles eyes was enough to earn a bit of trust from Mahina. The young female turned her eyes from Cole to the only window in the room. From that tiny window one could look out and see the desolate land that lay between the town and the cemetery where the others should be right about now.
"That old wolf" Mahina murmured recalling the elder's words as he recalled the younger days of this island "he said that it use to be covered with lunar flowers..."
"Ah, I see you spoke with him" Cole replied with warmth to her tone as she did, she too turned her gaze to the window "you know if we had been here long ago I bet this place would be paradise" this place be paradise? Mahina could hardly imagine such a thing.
"Even if that were true" the female said softly "this paradise has long since fallen, there's no reason to stay"
"You sound like that boy" Cole chuckled out probably referring to Kiba but Mahina was too tired to argue with the fellow she-wolf. It must have showed on her face as she continued to gaze out the window because Cole quieted down "you must be tired" she told Mahina softly "I bet you've been traveling for days, you can rest here for the night"
"...thank you" Mahina hummed, she couldn't really argue with Cole for she was tired though she was certain no sleep would come to her. She didn't want it to because once it did the dreams would follow, those haunting cries would echo through her again and this time there would be no Toboe to sooth her when she woke in a panic. Still, as to not worry Cole, Mahina shifted on the mattress and crawled under the worn old blankets that lay across it.
"You know being here isn't all that bad" Cole informed the younger female watching her as she rolled over and turned her back to her "you learn things from the humans here. Like what a kiss is"
"A kiss?" Mahina repeated curiously though she did not budge from her comfy position, she had never heard of something like that.
"Yes" Cole confirmed "it's when you and another press your lips to each other"
"I don't see the point in doing that" Mahina deadpanned, why would humans have such a useless things as that? Honestly, she thought the whole species was stupid. Silence met Mahina's remark for a little while, so long so that she thought that Cole was done talking so she closed her eyes awaiting horrid sleep but then a soft chuckle reached her ears.
"human mates do it a lot" she informed Mahina "It's their way of showing affection for one another" the she-wolf's crimson eyes snapped open in direct response to the new information. Quietly she let it sink in before huddling even deeper into the blankets she found herself bundled in.
"I'm going to start ignoring you now" she announced making Cole laugh. The eldest of the two couldn't see it but a rosy color was coming to the younger face under such blunt teasing, she was starting to wonder if sleeping out with the others had really been such a bad idea.
Soon Cole's laughter died down and she fell silent allowing Mahina peace at last. For hours she lay still on the mattress drifting in and out of black, dreamless sleep. Not dreaming about anything was certainly odd and new but was welcomed nonetheless. At one point of time during the night Mahina heard the faint howling of Toboe from somewhere nearby, it wasn't mournful like the howls of the she-wolf's dreams nor did he sound like he was distressed or it trouble. He was just howling, the sound of it lulled Mahina even deeper into sleep for the rest of the night.
When she finally woke again the sun was peeking timidly through the small window in the room as if the day itself were unsure if it wanted to come. The female would have stayed asleep herself but a gentle shake kept coming to her whenever she was just on the verge of falling asleep again.
"Hey..." Cole shook her again "wake up it's time to go" the young female grumbled in response and brushed Coles hand off her "Come on now" Cole sighed continuing to shake her "we have to go to the train station, I'm sure your pack is waiting for you already"
"...wha?" Mahina drowsily peeked her head out from under the covers a stared up at the older She-wolf "they're at the station? But why?"
"I'll explain on the way" Cole replied and yanked the blanket off of Mahina "come on before we're late" Mahina groaned like a stubborn child curling into a tight ball and staying like so.
"Late for what?" she whined but Cole said nothing, instead she turned tail and left the room leaving Mahina to silently wonder what she meant. She could always get up and follow, apparently her pack would be at the station right now but why would they all meet there and not tell her?...right she had run off and spent the night here... Sighing, Mahina pushed herself of the mattress and exited the room grumbling to herself the whole way.
This better be damn good.
She found Cole waiting for her outside of the building with a knowing look in her eyes. As they quietly walked side by side through the town Cole explained to Mahina that trains going to other towns stopped here every morning so the humans within could rest and that this was how her pack got their food. She said she had told her pack to come to the station in the morning so that they wouldn't go without food after traveling for so long. However there was something wrong with the way Cole was acting, like mentioned before her expression held a look as if she knew something that she just wasn't telling Mahina. As they found their way into the train station from one of the upper levels the young female found herself questioning why Cole was acting like she was all of a sudden.
"Is something the matter?" she asked in a soft voice halting to a stop beside Cole, Cole didn't respond. All she did was look down at what was going on below. Oh, that was right! Cole had said the others would be here, she should find them and make sure everyone is okay. Forgetting her question to the she-wolf beside her Mahina turned her attention down as well.
There were many levels between her and the ground level where the train and its cargo were and seeing as most of the stations occupants were down at the ground level it wasn't hard to spot Hige, Tsume and Toboe leaning over the railing of the second or third level. That wolf Zari was with them and they were collectively watching the train being unloaded. Human's yelled out commands and the loud crack of a whip suddenly run in Mahina's ears.
That's was when the female saw it, a sight that would haunt her far worse than her nightmares ever could. Crimson eyes grew in size and pupils narrowed, Mahina's already fair skin lost all color at what she saw. She looked beside her at Cole for an explanation but Cole didn't look at her, she simply gazed down with a sorrowful look on her face.
"Wha….what is this?" Mahina muttered in horror turning her attention down, down, down to the ground level.
Large, stacked, heavy looking boxes of cargo towered high on planks with the intent to have them pulled up to the higher levels of the station. The human with the whip cracked it loudly commending dozens upon dozens of wolves strapped to the cargo. A deep shudder ran up Mahina's spin as she gripped the railing before her tightly and watched these wolves struggle in union dragging those heavy boxes up a ramp wheezing all the way. It was just too much take! The she-wolf sank to her knees still holding the rail, she wanted to look away but she couldn't. The wolves managed to drag the cargo to the next level where the humans allowed them to stop and rest.
"All the trains make a quick stop here" Cole explained watching the young female's body shudder as she watched the wolves panting and dropping to the concrete trying to catch their breaths "It give the humans and us a chance to eat. We work for them and they feed us"
"Like a pack of house trained pets" Mahina shuddered, how? How could wolves lower themselves to such actions? Her body wouldn't stop shaking watching the wolves getting up and dragging the cargo on but one of the wolves began struggling…wait! "That's the old wolf!" she gasped loudly pushing herself back to her feet and zeroing in on his struggling form. While the other wolves around him pushed on he looked to just barely be holding on and then finally, after what looked like a painful struggle to move on, the elderly wolf collapsed. "No… this…this is terrible…" the she-wolf was so absorbed in the sight before her she didn't notice that Cole had slowly drifted away from her and out of sight.
The human's cracked their whips at the elderly male and, shaking so much Mahina could see it all the way up where she was, the old wolf struggled to get back up but he just couldn't do it and within minutes of pushing himself up he fell back down. Again the humans cracked their whips at him but this time around he didn't move. No…he couldn't be! The thought of this old wolf digging his own grave yesterday came to Mahina's mind and her muscled shook even harder at the realization; this elder knew that doing this today would be the end of him!
Suddenly, from Mahina's spiral of despair Kiba's scent floated into her nose. She stiffened and looked around wildly for the white wolf, he couldn't see this! If he did Mahina didn't know what he might do! It was too late though, standing at the bottom of a lower ramp by the train was Kiba. He stood there in shock for a moment before a large snarl echoed through the building and the white wolf changed charging up the ramp and moving to attack the humans around the elderly wolf surrounding the now deceased wolf.
"Kiba!" Mahina yelled out as he picked up speed "Kiba no!" It was too late, baring his teeth he leaped to attack but just as he was about claim his first victim Zari dropped from the level he was standing with the others and took Kiba down. Startled by the sudden attack the many humans in the station left their post to help Zari in pinning Kiba down
"A stray dog!"
"It's huge!"
"Get it before it gets away!"
"I thought I told you not to interfere, we have our own way of doing things around here"
Zari's words just barely reached Mahina from her place on the ground. Dammit it was like watching Cheza being taken away all over again! She felt so helpless! So utterly powerless to stop what she witness not too long ago! Black locks fell about her shoulders and past her face as she hung her head and slumped where she sat beside a very banged up looking Kiba.
Kiba had managed to get away from all those humans and Mahina and the rest were quick to follow him. Both their pack and Zari's stood quietly in the cemetery while the unfortunate elder was set down in the grave he had dug for himself yesterday. From where he stood Zari glared over his shoulder at the younger pack and most of them glared right back.
"Living like a bunch of down and out stays and clinging to this disgusting place" Kiba snarled from beside Mahina "Doing the things you do, how can you live like this?"
"What the hell do you know about it?" Zari barked back
"You're pathetic" Kiba spat
"…" Zari paused "You kids…are still young"
That was the last thing the wolf said to the young pack. The elderly wolf was buried and with that left the pack of five to themselves. No one said anything to each other for a long time even as the sun began parting from the horizon and taking to the sky.
"Those damn mutts" Tsume broke the silence delivering a harsh kick to the nearest rock to him.
"That was awful" Toboe spoke so quietly it was almost missed "How can they do that to their own kind…"
"Kiba…" Mahina spoke almost as quietly at Toboe did earning her stares from the rest of the pack. From beside her Kiba stared at her gripping his shoulder. As Mahina raised her head to look at the male in the brighter daylight she could see all the cuts and slashes and scratches to his face and his torn clothes. He looked a lot worse than he did when she saw him in the station but as she gazed into those Azure eyes of his all she saw was surprise.
Mahina's throat burned and throbbed in pain from the knot forming in it as tears formed in her crimson orbs and slowly began trailing down her face. Her whole body shook much like it had when she had been in the station.
"I don't want to stay here anymore" the female choked out her hands curling into tight fist on her lap "Please Kiba can we go?"
"Mahina…"
"We…" Mahina lowered her head again "We can't stay here"