I've been gone for a very very long time. In all honesty it was never my intent to be away for so long but life really gets in the way whenever I try to get into it but hopefully can update faster like I use to again. Thank you all for being patient with me.
Thanks to Crystal-wolf-gaurdain-967, MorWolfMor, and Shirou Okawa for reviewing last chapter
Chapter X: A Forest that is dead.
"Nn!"
Having a human shift had its useful moments. The long digits that lined the human hand were slender and could be very precise when used correctly. However Kiba, who was only now beginning to understand the human form after changing to his over the days since Freeze City, wasn't as skilled in using human digits. He was clumsy and that made certain task painful to endure like, for example, digging a bullet out of someone's back.
"Ah!" Mahina yowled in pain. She clenched the trunk of the tree her body was pressed against with hope that it would direct her focus away from what was being done to her. She tried her best not to scream out in pain but as she clenched her teeth large rivers of tears ran from her eyes "Augh!"
Damn that wolf hunter, if he hadn't been there Mahina wouldn't be in this situation. The bullet he fired that had been meant for Cheza had buried itself into Mahina's back deep in the muscles of her left shoulder. It hurt to move around with the bullet constantly rubbing against sensitive nerves and muscles. She tried but she couldn't go on helping Kiba search for the others. After half the night, or at least they thought it was night, Kiba had decided the bullet had to come out. Mahina agreed and so she removed her jacket and shrugged her blouse off her shoulders so the male could access the wound.
"I'm almost there" Kiba soothed the female when she let out a weak whimper "I can feel it now"
"…okay" Mahina nodded and braced herself. As it would turn out the bullet was much deeper than either wolf originally had thought and so Kiba was literally digging his clumsy fingers into the hole in an attempt to grip the bullet and pull it out, each attempt was more painful than the last. Mahina could feel Kiba trying to grip the iron in her back and with every movement new found pain shot through the she-wolf and she howled in anguish being overcome with spasms until Kiba pushed her against the tree trunk with surprising force.
"Hold still" Kiba's stern voice spoke but the pain was much too great to take. With a snarl Mahina pushed off the tree and lunged at the white wolf, together they tumbled to the ground with Kiba dodging Mahina's snapping teeth despite being in a disadvantaging position. He managed to fee a hand and immediately dug it into the wound. Mahina threw her head back and shrieked loudly, her paws replaced by hands that gripped the fabric of Kiba's jacket. She yelled on bundling up the material before bracing herself against the male with a shudder.
"K-Kiba…" she stammered, she was starting to see white because of the pain. Kiba said nothing in reply, he kept a firm grip on the object causing the she-wolf pain and with an all mighty cry from Mahina Kiba yanked the bullet out. With the wound no longer plugged Mahina could feel the warmth of her blood staining her fur as it flowed free. The females grip slackened allowing Kiba the ability to sit up "…Thank you" Mahina breathed gripping her shoulder; it ached from force that had been needed to get the bullet out. Kiba nodded his head before holding his hand out offering the bloody metal to the she-wolf. She grimaced shifting her eyes to the ground "you keep it" she told him before clambering off of him.
"Are you alright?" Kiba questioned
"Fine-" Mahina started to say but as she stood back up utterly blinding pain shot up and down her spine and she dropped back to the ground in almost a dead heap. The pain was so great in that instant all Mahina could do was lay where she'd fallen and spasm in pain. Within her blinding pain Mahina felt a warm hand rest over the wound.
"You should rest" Mahina craned her neck to look back at the male looming over her with those deep Azure eyes of his. He stared down at her before turning his attention to the bullet hole in her flesh "The bullet was really deep, it's going to hurt to move around"
"But Cheza-" Mahina tried but Kiba shook his head
"Is with the others" he interrupted her gently pushing her back down when she tried to push herself up "lay down Mahina"
"But…" still Mahina tried to get up only to grunt in pain and fall back down gripping her shoulder.
"You won't help anyone the way you are now" Kiba spoke and it was the truth. How could they hope to find the rest of their pack when Mahina was collapsing from pain with every other step. She sighed and finally gave to the white males will relaxing under Kiba's touch. Perhaps she just needed some sleep, maybe she'd feel sore when she woke up but that would be better than the pain she felt now, much better.
Kiba settled down beside Mahina's form now that she had relaxed on the ground. He laid his neck over hers and sighed but other than that he said nothing and Mahina was okay with this. The two of them, Mahina and Kiba, seemed to have developed a lacking need to communicate when alone together. The silence was anything but silent for them oddly enough, tales of unspoken comfort drifted from white male to slender female like the earth and sea. Though both were different in their own ways they mixed in quiet harmony. It was in this quiet that Mahina found peace of mind and eventually sleep. However sleep was not as peaceful or soothing as silence with Kiba.
"Who are you?"
'Who I am is of no importance'
"Why are you here?"
'To warn you'
"Warn me?"
"Stay with me!" a voice spoke to her in a deep tone of panic as the person panted from running. Through her hazy vision long halls whizzed by, her head hung in the air lulling about and bouncing in time with the person that ran with her in their arms "Please, please just hang on. I'll fix it! I'll fix you! You'll be better soon"
'Two years from today I will return for your soul'
"My soul?...why would you do that?"
"Is it?..." Her hazy vision was returning to her if only a bit. No longer was she being carried with haste but laying on soft cushions and fabric. Her partially open eyes gazed upon a man looming over her that she did not recognize. It must have shown in her expression because a stone look came to his face and he nodded in some sort of understanding "Paradise sickness"
'Because that is the curse of this house'
She was falling into a sleep, a deep sleep but why? Why couldn't she wake? She remembered…she remembered fainting, of suddenly falling to the ground but she had been gazing into something before she fainted, something that had caused her to faint. Something….something…an animal, a beast, a feral creature as pure as snow.
A wolf...a white wolf…a white wolf!
Sucking in as much air as she could Mahina's eyes shot open and she woke from her sleep. She looked about franticly expecting to still be laying in sheets and cushions only to find that she was on the ground in a deafening silence. As her breath steadied Mahina tried to sit up but something was holding her down from her waist. It was now that the she-wolf felt the moisture of saliva and the texture of a tongue against her back. Now she remembered, she had been shot there in her back protecting Cheza. The others had escaped the hunter with the maiden and Kiba had escaped with Mahina. The group was separated and Mahina was alone with Kiba.
"Kiba" Mahina spoke the males name; she tucked ebony locks behind her ear and glanced over her shoulder. Kiba was exactly where he had been when Mahina had fallen asleep, he paused in his action and stopped nursing Mahina's wound "It's alright" the female breathed, slowly she pushed herself up despite the concern that flash in Kiba's eyes. "I'll be okay now"
"It doesn't hurt?" Kiba questioned as Mahina pushed the sleeves of her blouse back up her shoulder.
"A little" she confessed wincing when she felt a slight throb of pain in her shoulder "but I can bear it" of course Kiba wasn't convinced but if he wanted to say anything he didn't, settling for watching the she-wolf closely while she slipped her jacket back on. She wasn't sure how long the two of them had been resting there but she certainly felt like they had rested enough for now. Rising to her feet with a slight wobble before quickly being steadied by her male companion Mahina cast her confusing, almost nightmarish dream behind her and motioned for Kiba to lead the way with a nod of her head. Azure stared into Crimson in the deafening silence that was this forest before Kiba nodded his head and took off in a leap that Mahina had no trouble keeping up with.
Forest were realms of beauty, the space that was them contained the beautiful balance that was life and death, where the natural circle of life stopped for no one. Forest were supposed to be filled with green plant life and animals of all shapes, sizes, and colors but this forest… as Mahina trailed behind Kiba she took in the city of white trees that surrounded them. A forest was supposed to give off an unnatural, yet very natural, aura of life that even humans had the ability to sense even if just a bit but this place…it was silent and empty as if all that may have once had life among these tall trees had abandoned it but that wasn't all there was to it. No…it didn't just feel like the forest had been abandoned, it was like it the air held a yearning to it…like the woods craved the life it once held and would go through great lengths to make it so. Mahina felt a small shudder run up her spine as a feeling as though invisible arms wrapped around her came to her senses. After a moment of feeling this she shook her head slightly, she must have lost too much blood, she was becoming delusional.
"I can't smell anything in this place…" Kiba's calm voice earned Mahina's gaze "It might take some time to find them, especially if they're moving around like us"
"I'm sure they're looking for us as well" Mahina commented lightly casting another gaze at their surroundings "Poor Hige, he must be getting frustrated that he can't smell anything" to this comment Kiba made no reply. Though Mahina could do nothing but stare at the back of Kiba's head his body language was enough to give him away even if just slightly.
Kiba was skilled in hiding is emotions but as Mahina spent more time with him she noticed little changes in his demeanor, his shoulder at that moment seemed slightly tenser like a cat on high alert as he walked and every moment or so he would glance back over his shoulder at her. If Mahina was too far back for his liking Kiba would slow down or stop all together until she was at a distance that satisfied him, Kiba was getting nervous and Mahina couldn't blame him because she was too. If what Hige had said was true the local humans called this place the forest of death because all who entered it never came out. When she had heard of this Mahina wasn't too bothered, humans were odd creatures with no natural sense of direction so it wasn't surprising that they would easily become lost and confused in such thick woods but now she wondered just what made this forest so hard to navigate through that humans, with their advanced technology, and wolfs, with their instincts and sense of smell, alike could find themselves lost in its depths.
"Can you sense Cheza?" Kiba questioned turning to face the she-wolf figuring it would be easier to follow Mahina's instincts in this situation over his. After all his always seemed to point in the right direction but Mahina's never failed to lead directly to Cheza on numerous occasions without fail since the day that the white male and the slender female had first met and joined forces. Mahina closed her eyes and tried what she had done many times before. She reached out into the darkness that came before her closed lids, she reached across what felt like miles of endless black until she felt like it would go on forever. She couldn't feel Cheza, not even a slight flicker of her beautiful energy no matter how far she reached…this forest…what was it doing to them?
Mahina turned her head in the direction she felt something coming from and let her eyes open. There was no winding path before her eyes, no road to lead them to the call. It was just empty white trees going on forever.
"That way" the she-wolf pointed "It's faint, and I don't really know if it Cheza or not, but it's all we've got" she turned to look back at Kiba. The white male nodded his head and with him taking the lead they were off again as fast as Mahina's condition would allow. They moved for what felt like days and the feeling never once became stronger no matter how many times Kiba asked, each time Mahina would give him the same answer: 'No, not even close'. Time felt out of place here, there was no way to tell what part of the day it was or if it was even day to begin with. The trees...they just twisted and wound around each other creating a barrier so thick the sun couldn't make the leaves glow in their light.
Mahina's wound, the bullet hole in her back, made traveling hard.
It throbbed from time to time and the energy the she-wolf put into putting up with was draining her. They had to go back to taking breaks between distances so she could catch her breath. Kiba stood atop a high branch in a tree opposite to Mahina and scanned the area, he had hoped that if they got up higher that they could spot something, a clearing where Mahina could properly rest or something, but the forest was too dense.
"Looks like we're out of luck" the white wolf remarked with a sigh, they'd just have to keep going in the direction they had been going in before and hope for the best. Kiba turned and looked back at the female with him; she was leaning against the trunk of the tree she stood in gripping her shoulder and panting. Her usually pale human skin looked unnaturally paler and even from the distance Kiba could tell she was sweating bullets. This raised the red flag and waved it in his head as the white wolf turned to fully face Mahina "are you okay Mahina?" he asked
Mahina barely showed any sign that she had heard Kiba's question of concern but she did hear him. It was looking at him that prove to be fatal for her. When Mahina raised her head and tried to focus her eyes on the male she was left confused when she saw two of him spiraling before her eyes. Still panting Mahina shook her head slightly in an effort to shake the image from her head but it was no use, the world was spinning now and for a brief moment darkness crept up on the she-wolf. The next thing she knew she was going down. Kiba called out to Mahina when he saw her shake her head, she didn't answer him settling for shutting her eyes and-
"Mahina!" Kiba barked out the female's name eyes gong wide as Mahina suddenly dropped off the branch she stood on in a nosedive for the ground far below them. Without giving it any thought Kiba dove off the branch he stood on after her catching up with her free fall and catching her with ease. He landed with a little difficulty with Mahina in his arms. The female grunted softly from the landing but otherwise fell limp in Kiba's hold. He turned the she-wolf around to look at him but was met with a paler then usual face and an unfocused look of bewilderment from Mahina "are you alright?" he questioned pressing a hand to her cheek in hopes that it would center her focus. Mahina's crimson orbs shifted to gaze up at Kiba for a moment before they blinked furiously and she let them droop.
"…no" she groaned out, he head felt too heavy to keep up so she settled for letting it drop against Kiba's shoulder, she closed her eyes to the world, it would stop spinning before her and it made her dizzy, "I feel…weak…" she confessed though if Kiba asked she wouldn't be able to give an answer as to why she suddenly felt this way. Kiba didn't need an answer; his nose twitched when Mahina let her head drop against him and sent a wave of her scent wafting up at him. Mahina's scent, which usually danced with the scent of lunar flowers and other things, now smelled like blood and lots of it more then he remembered smelling when they had started their search in fact. Shifting his weight, Kiba turned Mahina to her side despite her weak whimper of protest.
There it was, the left side of her jacket had darkened with dark crimson and the smell of blood became stronger. The wound must have started bleeding again while they were moving around, or maybe Kiba hadn't nursed it enough it had been bleeding since Mahina had woken up, and had bled so much it stain half Mahina's jacket. No wonder she felt weak, it was surprising she had lasted this long without noticing but at this rate there was no way the she-wolf could go on, she would end up killing herself if she hadn't already condemned herself. Lowering Mahina so she lay on the ground Kiba quickly slipped the jacket off of the female, when he did this Mahina stirred from her dizzy stupor.
"Kiba…" she raised her head from the ground keeping it up for a moment before letting it drop back down on the ground "what are you…"
"Hold still" Kiba ordered calmly brushing ebony locks out of the way so he could survey the damage. It didn't look like the wound was bleeding too badly anymore, it still was but just barely, it would be best if they took a rest for now and let it clot up rather than keep moving and get Mahina's blood pumping thus lead to more bleeding. Kiba sat back with a slight nod to his own thoughts, Cheza would be safe with the others, for not he had to focus on keeping Mahina alive. "We're going to rest here for a while" he informed the female watching her look over her shoulder at him.
"But-" she moved to protest but Kiba shook his head
"You lost a lot of blood" he told her making it clear why she had suddenly found herself on the ground instead up of up in the trees like she recalled she had been before she blackout momentarily "if you keep pushing yourself like this you're going to kill yourself"
"….Nghn" Mahina close her eyes and carefully dropped her head back on the ground. There was no use arguing with Kiba, he was stubborn and he would do things his way regardless if Mahina didn't want to. He wouldn't move from this spot and if she wanted to keep going she would need his help to do so. At the moment sleep didn't sound like such a bad idea, she would rest for a while and hopefully feel much better when she woke up-A twig snapped nearby and Mahina's ear twitched in response to it.
They weren't alone.
From her place on the ground Mahina opened her eyes back up and scanned the area the best she could. Before she had a chance to more or say anything Kiba moved forward standing so he faced the direction of the sound and hover protectively over Mahina's weak form. His snowy white fur bristled, his tail went up straight, his lip curled upward and he bared his large fangs in a threatening growl for whoever was coming their way. Were they in danger? Mahina couldn't really tell but if they were she had to help, the she-wolf let out a slight whine as she rolled onto her stomach and attempted to push herself up.
'Stay still' Kiba commanded her sharply
'But someone's-'
'I know' Kiba's snarls grew louder and his stance became a low crouch almost completely blocking Mahina from the view of whoever was coming. The pair watched the bushes shift and rustle before them and just has a hand broke the surface Kiba sprung into action. With a loud bark followed by a spine chilling snarl the white wolf leapt the distance between him and the intruder and dove headlong into the bush taking his target down with him in a loud yell. Both Kiba and his victim fell through the bush and went tumbling through the dirt. The intruder landed hard on his back with a load grunt before yelling out and veering his head to the side narrowly missing Kiba chomping down on his face. The white wolf didn't bother to take in the appearance of the creature he attack, to his eyes it appeared human and in Mahina's weak state human's would be the certain death of her. Mahina wasn't going to die in here, as he drew back to ready another attack on the human the memory of his promise to the she-wolf came back to him. He'd get her and Cheza and the their whole pack to Paradise and with that thought he lunged downward again ready to do as much damage to the human he had pinned as he could. Again the person dodged the attack yelling and fighting Kiba all the way.
"Hey!" a familiar voice reached Kiba through his adrenaline rush "Watch it!" they veered their head away from another attack once again "Kiba! Kiba it's me!" the voice finally broke through and stopped Kiba just as he was mere inches from finally catching his victim in the face. The person's face blanched immediately, it looked frozen in horror but it was familiar. Closing his mouth, Kiba drew back to get a better look.
'Hige' He state realizing he'd just attacked the chubby male instead of the human intruder he thought he was trying to kill.
"Yea!" Hige bellowed getting over it shock, he held his hand up in surrender just in case Kiba decided he wanted to attack him again.
'What are you doing sneaking around?' Kiba questioned finally calming down and stepping off his fellow pack member 'I almost killed you'
"I wasn't sneaking around!" Hige barked out sitting up and pressing a hand against his chest "Man you scared the crap out of me, and who are you to talk about sneaking around! I was minding my own damn business and suddenly you come out of nowhere with your sneak attack and take me out!" Kiba didn't seem very bothered by the fact that he'd almost killed Hige, perhaps he did a little but like usually he showed no sign of it visibly. Now fully off the ember wolf Kiba stood up and helped him up.
"What are you doing wondering around by yourself anyway?" the white wolf questioned "I thought you were with the others, where are they?"
"I am" Hige replied rotation his shoulder in the socket for a moment before sighing and shoving his hand in his pockets "We've been looking for you and Mahi since we got away from that crazy old man but this place…" he looked at the woods around them and so did Kiba "I can't smell anything around here. We thought we'd never find you but then I thought I smelt blood and I followed it hoping I'd find-" a look of realization crossed the chubby wolf's face as he seemed to remember something "That's right!" he barked out "Mahina! We have to hurry and find her, Cheza said she's hurt and when I smell her blood I knew she had to be nearby!"
"You don't have to look far" Kiba turned away from Hige and his curiously stare gripping the bush he had just tumbled through and pulling it back so the chubby male could see the clearing Kiba had been in and revealing Mahina right where Kiba had left her. She was sitting up now gripping her left arm and panting but otherwise looking better then she had moments ago "She's right here"
"Mahina" Hige moved through the bushes and Kiba quickly followed. Mahina raised her head and half lidded eyes landed on the chubby wolf, taking in his concerned face the she-wolf offered a small smile.
"Hige, you're okay" she greeted him
"Forget about me" Hige kneel before Mahina so she wouldn't have to look up at him "Look at you! Are you okay?"
"I've been better" Mahina admitted
"She's lost a lot of blood" Kiba informed Hige "She needs to rest"
"Right" Hige nodded "let get back to the others, Cheza and the runt have been worried sick about the both of you"
"Man this place is depressing…"
It had been a while since Kiba and Mahina reunited with the group and they, as a whole, began moving together. Like before it was hard to tell just how much time had passed since they'd first entered or how long they had been walking but they kept going either way. Because Mahina was still too weak Kiba carried her on his back, though Mahina was reluctant and complained about it for the first five or six minute before giving up. Now the slender female rested her head on Kiba's shoulder with her eyes closed but listened to Hige talk from the back of the pack.
"I thought forest were supposed to be more alive you know?"
"It's the forest of death remember?" Toboe reminded the chubby male
"It's the reason we didn't have to worry about being follow" Kiba added while Mahina hummed n agreement adjusting her arms so she didn't lose her grip on the male carrying her.
"Human's have to rely on compasses and other sorts of things to get around but for some reason nothing works when they come in the forest" she explained softly never once opening her eyes "They lose their sense of direction and get lost and then that's it….once you go in you never come out"
"That really happens?" Toboe piped up taking a few strides to gaze up at Mahina "How did you know that Mahi?" Mahina hummed in response at first, how did she know that? She couldn't recall so she made up a reason.
"I heard some human's gossiping about it when I was in town" she answered drowsily "they talk about pretty much everything"
"Well I get that" Hige spoke up "but don't you think they're be something around here? Animals? A rabbit maybe?"
"I other words you're hungry" Toboe's amusement was easy to sense
"Yea, so sue me" Hige replied defensively.
"We'll probably find a city when get out of this forest" Kiba stopped walking and turned to look back at Hige and Toboe. Mahina chose this moment to open her eyes and found them connect with Kiba's immediately "We'll get something to eat when we get there and rest for a couple of days, so just hang on until then" he was speaking to all of them but his eyes were on Mahina. From this distance, being so close and all, Mahina was certain she saw great worry in the male's eyes but she could have just as easily imagined it, she wasn't at her best at the moment after all. Mahina nodded to show that she understood.
"That's if we ever get out of here" Tsume finally spoke for the first time since the pack had all met back up, all head turned to him. The grey wolf shifted his weight and kicked something up from the ground. It bounced before rolling across the dirt and towards Toboe. It was a skull. As expected Toboe yelped loudly when he realized was stood at his feet and leapt as far back from the skull as he could go. With a startlingly loud Buzz! A bug the size of a small dog sprung forth from behind Toboe, startled by the pup, and took off into the air. It circled round and shot back in what looked like an attack directed at the pup but just before it could, probably, latch itself onto the copper wolfs face Tsume caught it. "…there are plenty of bugs though…" the grey wolf observed looking the squirming insect over as it buzzed on and tried to get free.
"I've never seen a bug like that before…" Mahina mused craning her neck past Kiba's head to get a better look at it from where she stood. It certainly was a big guy, way bigger than any bug one could ever hope to find outside these woods. Tsume stared at it a moment more before sticking it in Hige's face.
"Here" Hige flinched and took a step away from the offensive creature being stuck in his face "You're hungry aren't you? Chow down"
"Why do I have to do it?"
"'cause you have the strongest stomach" Toboe chuckled out
"I'm not your taster!" Hige protest "And who died and made you the leader anyway!" but Tsume didn't appear to really care what Hige was or wasn't. He didn't move from his position and kept the bug held out for Hige to eat. Mahina watched from her place as Hige grimaced at the thing taking it in his hands, was he really going to eat it? That was a new low even for him "I know!" he pipe up with a bright smile on his face "We'll give it to Cheza!" give what to Cheza? Mahina arched a brow at this statement and became a bit tense as the chubby male came bounding their way and stopped before Cheza with still squirming bug in hand "I bet you're hungry right?" he offered it to her
"Kiba" Mahina spoke the wolf name into his ear tightening her hold on his neck slightly; Kiba understood stepping forward and knocking the bug out of Hige's hand before he could get it too close to Cheza. The bug shot to the ground and burst falling apart from the impact of its landing.
"Hey!" Hige barked out
"Cheza does not eat bugs" Kiba informed the ember wolf re-adjusting his hold on Mahina so she didn't fall off his back.
"Well then what the hell do we feed her?"
"This one doesn't eat anything" Cheza answered Hige calmly. She had stayed by Kiba's side quietly since learning that Mahina was, though harmed, alive and had settled into walking beside the white wolf as he carried the only she-wolf of the pack.
"Nothing?" Hige repeated perplexed by the concept of not eating anything at all
"…now that you mentioned it I don't think I've ever seen her eat anything" Tsume pointed out
"She drank some water that one time…" Toboe muttered under his breath scratching his head as he tried to recall a moment when he saw Cheza eat anything but he would find anything. None of them would.
It was true, Cheza did not eat anything and she never would for she would never have a need to so long as she lived. A flower maiden she may be but she was still a flower through and through and so she was a plant in a way, just like the Hanabito she could with if not cared for and like any other flower she could flourish if she was cared for. Also, like all plants, she only needed two things to survive really.
"No matter what way you look at it Cheza is still a flower" Mahina elaborated for her confused pack members "She drinks and she basks…that's all she needs"
"Basks in what?" Kiba asked Cheza smiled at Kiba and looked up as did everyone else but there was nothing to be seen above them other than an endless tangle of tree branches blocking any form of light out and keeping it from shining down on them.
"…but not here…" Cheza breathed
"Oh I get it" Toboe hummed "The sun"
"Well that does make sense" Hige muttered and Mahina nodded her head but there was a problem.
There was no light, no moonlight no sunlight….nothing.
As they turned and moved on Mahina turned her head in Cheza's direction, Cheza was like a flower…she was a flower and flowers needed only two things to survive even if they weren't tended to by someone else: Water and light. This forest however… Mahina closed her eyes and tracked back to the feeling the forest had given her back when she and Kiba had first entered it, that emptiness and utter yearning she had felt going as deep as any of the roots of the millions of white trees that surrounded them. They would find no water in the dry, cracked, barren earth beneath their feet and they would find no light peeking through the endless tangle of branches over their heads.
Hige continued to complain as they walked on in search of a way out. He complained about being hungry, he complained about being lost, he complained about complaining too much, if there was something to complain about Hige found some way to complain about it but Mahina found that she didn't have the energy to make him stop. For a good percentage of the complaining Mahina had stayed resting on Kiba's back her eyes closed and head resting against the white male's shoulder but now, after insisting she was okay to walk, the she-wolf walked beside Cheza. Even after resting for what must have been most of the day Mahina couldn't help but feel weak.
Perhaps Kiba had been right, maybe she really did lose too much blood from that wound because something in said she needed something. She was slowly losing something in her being and as time slowly ticked by and more of this slipped away from her Mahina could barely making out anything outside of Hige's voice. She couldn't keep focus anymore and it was a surprise that she could be walking right now, her limbs trembled with every step she took but she pressed on.
She couldn't slow the pack down. Not here where sunlight and water did not exist.
Mahina raise her head and gaze as the hum of Hige's voice reached her ears again.
Was he still complaining? Really? It was bad enough they were stuck in a dead forest with a flower who only necessities they couldn't find but to add on listening to this over fed wolf complain, not even Toboe complained this much! Focusing on the chubby male ahead of her and registering what he was saying Mahina fazed back into the goings on around her. As it would turning out Hige wasn't complaining at that precise moment.
"You know, this place isn't so bad once you get use to it" he chirped happily with his hand deep into the pockets of his sweatshirt "There's nothing to fight over and the best part is there's no humans around" Mahina grimaced at the very thought of there being a human in these parts and she gently gripped her shoulder. The memory of being shot by a human was still very fresh in her mind and she agreed with Hige in that moment "We've got it all to ourselves"
"Yea, and if we get hungry there's plenty of bugs to eat" Toboe added in just as cheerful as Hige
"Fat chance pal!" Hige snorted
"Then you better not complain when we don't share them with you" Tsume chimed in making a fair point, the two things Hige was great at was complaining and eating and if he wasn't doing one he was doing the other usually. Even though the comment itself seemed harmless enough Hige didn't seem to take very kindly to it. He looked back at Tsume from over his shoulder and glared at the older male. Since he was in the front of the line up at the moment everyone had to stop walking just so Hige could start trouble. Mahina sighed as they stopped walking and tried to remain as still as she could, she was feeling like she had before again, everything was spinning before her eyes and she had to close them just to keep from falling over where she stood.
"Like I said before, who died and made you the leader" Hige shot at Tsume.
"Neither of us is the leader Hige" Kiba's calm voice spoke from the back of the pack "Ours just isn't that kind of pack"
"And what kind of pack are we?" Tsume questioned, his voice was dripping with agitation as usual.
"Come on guys, that shouldn't really matter right?" It was after Toboe had said this that Mahina lost her hearing again. With a quiet grimace the she-wolf pressed her hand against her head and pressed her lids shut. Something wasn't right here…this wasn't just a feeling of dizziness, there was no way she felt like this because of she'd lost a lot of blood. It felt more like she had eaten for days, hadn't drank water for months, spent years under a hot, merciless, sun. These feeling certainly weren't her own, it felt like she was going to faint!
"Cheza!" Mahina snapped out of it when she heard Kiba's shout with suddenly alertness to his voice and when the female was able to focus again she could see why. Cheza was on the ground, leaning against Kiba and gasping for air.
"Cheza" Mahina dropped to her knees before the maiden "are you okay?" she brushed rose hair out of the flowers face. It was like Cheza had sudden gotten a fever, sweat coated her brow and her skin felt hot to the touch that feeling of weakness rolled off Cheza running up Mahina's arm were it enter the she-wolf "you must be exhausted" Mahina sighed out pushing more hair out of Cheza's face. She had almost forgotten that Cheza hadn't basked or had water for however long they had been stuck in the death trap. She wasn't keeping of the time but it must have been a while because it felt like they had been there forever.
"We'll rest here for a while" Kiba suggested
"It is alright" Cheza panted "This one is fine"
"A bird!"
Mahina turned her eyes away from Cheza when Hige suddenly claimed this.
"Where?" Toboe questioned looking in the direction Hige was, Mahina did the same but she didn't see anything.
"It's the forest of death" Tsume stated flatly "you must be seeing things"
"No" Hige stated "I'm sure I heard the flatting of wings above us"
"Flapping of wings?" Toboe repeated
"I didn't hear anything" Mahina chimed in, if he had really heard it then all of them would have. This forest had been quiet most of their journey through it aside from the noises they were making. Even a human could hear with great precision in this place and yet Hige seemed to be the only one that heard the wings of a bird.
"It was an owl" Hige muttered to himself as if his comrades had made no sound of disapproval "and that means food!"
"Hige! Where are you going?" Mahina called as the chubby wolf went running off in the direction he had heard the bird from. "Don't go off on your own!" she yelled but still Hige didn't listen, in fact he kept on going which wasn't the smartest idea Hige has ever had. The last time Hige went shamelessly chasing after food it had almost gotten both him and Mahina killed.
"Get back here!" Tsume yelled after him yet still Hige kept going until he disappeared among the trees. "Dammit, that idiot" the grey wolf cursed, all they could hear now were Hige's retreating footsteps as he hurried after his imaginary bird "stay here" he commanded Toboe before following after Hige.
That left Toboe, Kiba and Mahina to stay and watch over Cheza. Now that she had a moment to catch her breath the flower maiden had stopped panting. Her eyes were closed in what looked like a light sleep. Mahina too allowed herself to relax even for a moment. They couldn't do much with Hige off chasing hallucinations and Tsume running after him and like the ember wolf had said before no humans were anywhere near this forest so why get all worked up when it did nothing but waste much needed energy. Mahina let her head drop and she left out a soft sigh.
"A forest with no water to nurture its roots…" Kiba looked away from Cheza when Mahina spoke this softly "and no sun to help it grow yet it grows big and wide and vast. A forest with no life in it…" suddenly Mahina was feeling lightheaded again, she barely registered Toboe's yelp of her name before she felt the cold ground against her face. "This truly is a forest of death…" Even the ground held no warmth of life "and we've gotten lost in it…" everything was becoming dark again; she couldn't keep herself conscious anymore. As the world swirled away from Mahina she could have sworn she heard flapping. The flapping of wings just like Hige had said before and a few hoot to go with it.
Lost as one! Well done! Well done!
It felt like she stayed on the ground forever. Like she had fallen into a deep sleep and was only now waking from it. She stirred just a bit and slowly opened her eyes to her surroundings. The ground was cold and foreign against her face and as she groaned and pushed herself up to her hands and knees she was met with utter confusion. Where was she? She looked around at the surrounding shrubs and bushes and scattered trees but found nothing she felt was familiar to her. How did she get here? And where was here?
Pushing herself so she sat on the ground she ran a hand through her hair gripping her head with both hands. She closed her eyes and tried to remember how it was she had gotten where she was right now but she found nothing. Literally nothing. It was like looking into a black pit, there were no memories of anything in her head let alone how she got here. Who was she? Where had she come from? What happen to her? The strain of trying to recall these things made her head throb and she winced slightly letting her hands drop from her head before slumping completely in her place. She needed to relax, if she sat here panicking she'd never get anything done, she'd never learn anything. So she stopped and she breathed and she calmed herself.
Her hands went from being limp at her side to being pressed against the ground, she stretched her fingers out and clawed at the ground dragging up lines of dry dirt but the marks she left on the ground didn't look like that one would leave behind with the hand she was looking at. The prints of the ground looked like that of an animals, it was a paw print. She raised her hand to her eye level and gazed at it curiously, her digits were coated with a light layer of the dirt she had just dug up but with their shape and length they couldn't have caused such a print on the ground. Not unless she was a…
Something tugged at the back of her mind in that instant and instead of staring curiously she pressed her hand against the ground and started clawing again. It felt so natural to claw at the earth like this- no she wasn't clawing she was digging, following some natural instinct she was digging and as she dug she felt a change. Her skin prickled and her hair stood on end as if a cold chill had washed over her and she dug harder than before. Before she knew what she was really doing she was nose deep in the nose throwing dirt behind her with absolute abandon. It went everywhere, stained her face and her fur until she felt a shockwave of realization hit her and she stopped digging.
Raising her head she backed up from the shallow hole she had dug moving to a nearby body of water she now took notice to. Walking on her hands and knees, she inched closer to the edge before gazing down at her reflection. She was met with fierce looking silver eyes on face covered in grey fur dusted with specks of brown, a modest jowl and pointed black ears.
That's right, she was no human, she was a wolf.
Turning away from the water she looked up above at the glowing orb in the sky over her head. The moon was so full and bright and she reveled under it glow closing her eyes to taking in its light. The wind picked up gently and with it a scent that circled her upturned nose. There was a scent and a sort of pulling coming from it like she needed to follow it and find the person the scent belonged to. But who did it belong to? Did she know this person? It didn't matter; before she knew what she was doing she had turned in the direction of the scent.
'….Cheza' the name came to her so easily and as soon as it did she sprang forward and began running hard and fast.
Hige and Tsume hurried back to the others as soon as Toboe's terrified howl echoed through the forest knowing that he wouldn't have howled if something hadn't happened. They returned to the spot where they left the others as fast as they could.
"What happen?" Tsume yelled out when they spotted their fellow pack members were in their sights. Toboe looked up and turned to face them as much as he could his face etched with its usual worry.
"I don't know, all of a sudden Mahi just…" the pup trailed off and turned away from them looking down in his lap. Her ebony hair fanned around her head to the point that they couldn't see Toboe's lap underneath it. It was like looking at how Cheza had been a moment ago; the female was panting heavily and her face was dripping with sweat. Toboe leaned forward to check on her "She just fell over and now she won't wake up" the pup explained brushing hair out of her face hoping that she might show signs of regaining consciousness but she didn't. Hige kneeled down in front of Toboe and scanned her over as well.
"Well I can't say I'm surprised" he spoke honestly, he had seen the condition Mahina had been in before they had regrouped and it didn't look much different to what he was seeing right now. "She did lose a lot of blood when that crazy old man shot her, she almost passed a couple of times before from it and all this walking probably isn't helping" what she needed was to rest, if they kept making her move around like this she'd never regain enough strength and this forest would take its first victim from their group, the chubby male was going to suggest this but Toboe wasn't done, he looked from Mahina to Cheza.
"And then Cheza started to…" heads turned Cheza where she lay in Kiba's arms. She, too, had fallen unconscious but that's not what the runt was talking about.
"What is that?" Hige found himself asking drawing close enough to gaze at the brown, vain looking, line that ran up the flower maiden's neck. Those certainly hadn't been there when he had gone after that stupid owl. Tsume kneeled down to look as well.
"Is the flower…withering?" Tsume questioned, Kiba's face tensed up at the very thought.
"We have to get her some water" he told the grey wolf urgently "even sunlight will help"
"We can't" Tsume answered roughly looked up over them all at the endless branches that tangled among themselves over their heads "The forest is too thick, and the ground is too dry"
"Then we have to hurry and find water" Kiba didn't waste time placing the weak maiden on his back and standing. Hige grimaced at the thought; they couldn't just get up and leave right this minute. Mahina couldn't be moved right this minute, Hige looked down at the she-wolf as she continued to pants and sweat and if what he felt was right she was coming down with a fever.
"Wait" he spoke up before Kiba could start walking away from them "Mahina's down for the count, she needs to rest"
"If we waste time Hige" Kiba spoke sternly "if we wait Cheza might dye"
"And if we keep moving Mahina will" Hige replied just as sternly glaring lightly at the white wolf. Hige understood that Cheza was important to them, they needed her to get to paradise but at what cost? Risking Mahina's life just run around the woods lost, if she pushed herself anymore she wouldn't make it and for what? For the slim chance that they'd find water and sunlight? What if they didn't? Cheza would wither and die and they'd lose Cheza and Mahina both. Kiba stopped for a moment as if to think about what Hige had said but then he kept on walking to Hige's shock.
What was wrong with that guy? When he had crossed paths with Kiba before, when Mahina was in a similar state, the guy nearly ripped his face off trying to protect her but now it was like he didn't even care! Hige continued to glare at Kiba while Toboe held the unconscious Mahina close to him quietly pleading to Kiba to let them rest for a moment so Mahina could regain a little bit of her strength.
"Carry her Hige" Tsume intervened seeing at this point that Kiba wasn't going to bend to the idea of resting. It was clear to see that his first priority was to make sure that Cheza survived. Hell, Mahina was just as attached to the flower if not more than Kiba was, if the roles were reversed she probably would have done the same thing. Hige and Toboe looked Tsume's way but he simply gave them his usual stern face "it'll be easier on her if we just carry her, she won't have to move around and besides it's not like she can do much walking while she's unconscious" He had a point that was for sure so with a glare of resentment towards Kiba Hige sighed and hoisted the she-wolf onto his back.
Surprisingly Mahina was pretty light, though it wasn't like he'd expected her to be heavy or anything, it was almost like he wasn't carrying anything at all and when Toboe adjusted her head so it rest on Hige's shoulder and her hair rolled over with it the chubby wolf's sensitive nose was taken prisoner by her scent.
Sure Mahina smelt like blood, with how many humans she had been attacking and killing lately the scent of blood just seemed to stick to her fur, but with Hige's sharp nose he could smell what was under it. Her scent was very distinct for a wolf, it didn't smell like all wolf to Hige, it was sweet and tempting and had a supernaturally calming effect on him cooling his anger towards Kiba and clearing his head a bit. Now that he thought about it getting out of here as soon as possible was good for Mahina too, she could bask under the moon and regain more strength and with Cheza's need filled the pack could take a breather and rest while she healed. Still…that didn't mean Kiba had to be such a jerk about it all and he should have shown a little concern for Mahina.
"Do you have her?" Toboe's voice broke Hige's trail of thought and made him look at the runt. Toboe had his hands out in front of him standing in front of Hige as if he expected Mahina to going flipping forward off his back; at least someone else was worried about Mahi's health.
"I've got her" Hige confirmed adjusting a bit so the female's almost none existent weight was well balanced in his hold "Come on, let get going"
With that said they were off again on the search for sunlight, water or a way out of this damn forest. Much like they had before, the pack walked and walked for hours, days it felt like, never stopping and never slowing down from the fast pace walking Kiba had them walking in and through it all Mahina didn't stir from her sleep. Toboe would trail back every now and again to check on how she was doing, she'd stopped panting and it seemed like her fever was starting to break so that was an up to the constant down this whole trip seemed to be but she was still weak and like mentioned before still unconscious.
"How are we going to figure out which way to go?" questioned Toboe a while later "all the tree's look the same" Hige sighed leaning forward the best he could without losing his grip on Mahina and sniffing the air.
"…I say we go right" he suggested
"Huh? Do you smell water that way Hige?" Toboe questioned a shade of hope flashing across his face but Hige gave the runt a bored look rather than a happy one and shook his head.
"No" he answered honestly with a light shrug "but it standing around here isn't helping"
Here isn't helping! Here isn't helping!
Everyone looked back when they heard this voice echoing through the woods, perched on a branch high above them all was the stupid owl from earlier, the one with no scent that taunted Hige and Tsume before.
"An owl?" Kiba muttered while Tsume seethed
"The damn thing is back" he growled
It can't be helped if there is no light, it can't be help if there is no water, it can't be helped if the flower is withering.
"….wha…" Hige felt slight pressure pushed down on his shoulder as the she-wolf she carried began to stir. He glanced over his shoulder at her as Mahina raised her head slightly, her crimson eyes were glazed over and her face was etched with confusion. Her nose twitched and she furrowed her eyebrows in even more bewilderment. "What's…what's going on?" her nose twitched again and she took a deep breath through it "…Hige?"
"Hey Mahi" the chubby wolf muttered to her to confirmed her curiosity "how are you feeling?"
"What's going on? Why are you carrying me?" the females glazed over eyes looked everywhere but from her facial expression it was almost like she couldn't see anything.
"You passed out a little while ago" Hige explained "We had to keep moving so I've been carrying you since"
"Kiba…" Mahina didn't finish her sentence but Hige got what she was asking: why wasn't Kiba carrying her like before?
"He's carrying Cheza" he answered
"Cheza…" Mahina stared off in a random direction for a moment before closing her eyes and letting her head rest on Hige's shoulder once more "Cheza is…withering" this caught Hige's attention. She had been unconscious when they had discovered that Cheza was withering, how could Mahina have possible known that? Btu then again now that he thought about it Mahi had some odd connection with Cheza like Kiba did. From what he'd seen the she-wolf felt the maiden's emotions like they were her own so why wouldn't she be able to tell that Cheza was withering? "Who's …talking?" Mahina's voice came out in a light voice
"Just some owl" Hige replied turning his gaze back up at the bird
"An…Owl?…I don't smell any Owl…" Mahina muttered
"I know" Hige agreed, this was strange owl in deed
"Alright tell us!" Kiba stepped forward towards the mysterious bird "What's the closest place around here that has water?"
Silence. To everyone's frustration and annoyance the owl for once had nothing to say in response. Stupid Owl, why didn't he just spit it out already! Or maybe he just wanted to see them all dye in this stupid forest.
"Stupid bird" Hige growled "cute the theatrics already! And spill it!"
"She needs….water…" Mahina spoke shifting her weight so her hands gripped Hige's shoulders rather than hung over them. Her grip tighten a bit after she said this and when Hige looked back at her again she had raised her head, her eyes seemed clearer than they had a moment ago "Cheza needs water"
"I know Mahi" Hige nodded "We're trying to get this owl to tell us where we can find some"
"…" Mahina didn't reply this time, instead she stared up at the space where the owl was.
"Do you live in these woods or not! If you do then, tell us!" Kiba yelled up at the bird glaring at it just as hard as the rest of them were "She needs water now!" the Owl didn't reply to the plea, he took off and flew away from them hooting all the way.
Go astray, Go astray my good wolves! Answers always lye in confusion!
"We can't lose him! He's the only lead we've got!" They gave chase at Tsume's declaration following the fleeing bird; he was right after all, the owl was the only lead that they had to finding water for Cheza. Both hers and Mahina's lives depended on this slim chance and considering how fast they were running after this owl they were taking it.
You'll never find what you're looking for… if the search found that which he is searching for it would become a mere object…
Finally after a while of chasing the Owl stopped and landed before the opening of a large cave with a loud hoot. What was this bird getting at? Were they supposed to go into the cave?
The answer lies within the darkness, the answer lies within confined spaces! Only those who bravely enter will be rewarded.
"Is that some kind of riddle?" Toboe questioned
"Bird brain here wants us to go into the cave" Hige elaborated blankly, he checked Mahina to see if she was okay, her forehead was pressed against Hige's shoulder but the run to catch the bird didn't seem to bother her very much. Resting against Hige wasn't at all as comfy as Kiba was but he was warm, really warm. But in that warmth Mahina felt something out in the darkness before her eyes. That feeling from earlier…it was here…they were close.
"But is it safe?" Tsume questioned
"Hige" Mahina gripped the males shoulders and raised her head "Hige out me down"
"Huh? Wha-Mahina" Hige protested but by the time he realized she was struggling the she-wolf was off Hige's back and stumbling a step or two on her feet "You shouldn't be walking around, you're far too weak"
"I'll be fine" she replied turning to face the cave "…this feeling…" she took in a deep breath and closed her eyes. Somewhere in there something was calling, it was the same call that she and Kiba had been feeling before. Opening her eyes back up again Mahina glanced at Kiba; his Azure eyes were an intense blaze of nerves "Kiba" Mahina nodded her head towards the cave. Kiba didn't need to be told twice, gripping Cheza tightly, the white wolf made his wave to the entrance of the cage.
"What, Kiba!" Hige jumped forward and grabbed Kiba's shoulder "you're not really going to go in there are you? Are you going to believe what some old owl tells you? This whole thing stinks!"
"You tell me where we can find water then!" Kiba snapped at Hige shaking the ember wolfs grip loose "Can you do that Hige?" heads turned to Hige and all watched a frown come to his face as he had no reply to the question.
"At this point we don't have any choice" Mahina spoke softly walking ahead of the two bickering males leaving the others behind without a second thought. "We don't have the luxury of turning down chances right now"
The pack moved on after this little tiff, the fighting was starting to grow in numbers between Kiba and everyone else in the pack the deeper into the cave they went. Kiba, at that present moment, was more focused on getting Cheza to some water in some light. With that goal burning in his mind he didn't care about the safety or health of himself or the rest of the pack. So far he'd gotten into two arguments with Hige over stopping to rest for Mahina but Kiba would not hear it. He wanted to press on and keep searching or else Cheza would wither. The past two times that the argument had started Mahina had to step in and insisted that she was okay to keep going and they would go on walking.
They stopped after walking for a while more and hit another fork in the road and when they stopped Mahina leaned against the nearest wall to catch her breath. Sure, she was feeling better then she had when she passed out but it was only just barely. Hige was right, Mahina still needed to stop and rest every chance that she got. Hige looked around at the two paths and sighed out in frustration
"We saw this thing a while ago" he complained
"….does that mean we've been going in circles?" Toboe questioned after staring and agreeing with Hige
"Tch" Tsume scuffed "This place is like a damn maze"
"And to make matters worse it all looks the same" Hige agreed
"We went left last time" Kiba interjected and kept moving before tripping on a rock and stumbling forward almost losing his footing in the presses. He recovered his balance just before he could fall over and cursed at his own clumsiness.
"You should take it easy Kiba" Mahina spoke up pushing herself off the wall she was leaning against "If you keep going on like this you're going to tire yourself out-" Kiba whirled around and sent Mahina a hard glare that silenced her quickly. She fell silent and turned her head away from the male and his blazing eyes.
"Kiba" Toboe jumped in before yet another fight come "You're tired right? Maybe I should carry her"
"Why?" Kiba turned and snapped at the pup "Can you carry her? Do you think you can carry her? Answer me!" the large white male snarled at poor Toboe.
"Well I-"
"I'm fine!" Kiba barked out before Toboe could fully reply "So just keep walking"
"Hey!" Mahina pushed off the wall fully, her upper lip curled into a deep snarl towards the white male that was acting so ferocious to the wolf she considered her cub "Would you cut it out! All Toboe is trying to do is help"
"We can't trust your nose anymore" Tsume stepped between Kiba and Mahina with a calm look to him "The scent of flowers has screwed it up"
"My nose is just fine!" Kiba protest
"Kiba…" despite Kiba's yelling and snarling Tsume's voice remained calm and stern as ever "Put Cheza down"
"What?" Kiba's anger calmed for a moment taken back by the command before he was seeing red again "Do you still not trust Cheza, Tsume?"
"With the way you've been acting it's you we can't trust" this time his words took everyone by surprised. Whatever lingering anger might have been around any of the wolves Kiba had ticked off disappeared at the statement. "As leader of a pack you have to be calm and detached and right now you don't have that. It's impossible for someone to be right all the time you know"
"Stay out of my way" Kiba snarled in response rather than take the older wolf's advice in the situation.
"Is that a threat?" Tsume didn't miss a beat
"You guys, come on-"
Snap!
The cave echoed with the loud snap of whatever Toboe had just stepped on and stopped him from attempting to smooth the arguing over again. The pup lifted his foot from where he had stepped, under his foot were the remains of some animal. Mahina leaned over it with Hige and Toboe and examined this bones that were sprawled across the ground.
"They're bones" Mahina observed
"Human bones?" Hige asked
"No" Toboe shook his head "They're from a bird"
"A bird" Hige leaned in closer and so did Mahina, the pup was right. Mahina reached down and picked up one of the bones turning it over in her fingers. "What do you think it is?"
"They look like they belonged to an owl" Toboe remarked
"An Owl…" that was strange…didn't a mysterious owl lead them here? Or at least that what Hige had been saying. She was going to question the chubby male about this fact but just as she was about to something sprang forth from the ground under the remains and swiftly crawled its way across the short distance and up Hige's leg. The ember wolf yelped loudly hoping on one foot and kicking the bug off sending it flying away from him. It hit the nearest wall and curled up into a ball.
It didn't look like the bug that they had encountered back in the forest and within seconds of the first one appearing a horde of them quickly followed. The nearest of them sprung forth from the ground and with a loud hiss and shockingly sharp teeth the bug chomped down on Mahina's forearm. She shrieked shaking her arm around before settling for ripping it off when she couldn't shake it off.
"Geez" Mahina snarled gripping her newest wound and backing up into the rest of the pack blood leaking through her fingers "I thought Bug were supposed to eat plants!" she glared at the creatures that now surrounded them.
"I knew we shouldn't have listened to that Owl" Tsume snarled smacking a bug away from him when it shot out for him like one had Mahina.
"We need to get out of here!" Hige declared
"But we're surrounded!" Toboe yelped taking in all of them "Where can we go?" In union, the insects began leaping at them and attacking them. One of them managed to chomp down on Cheza's back, the maiden grunted loudly in response. Toboe yanked the bug off and threw it to the ground and stomping on it.
"We have to get Cheza to safety first" Mahina snarled kicking a bug that had crawled up her leg off and smacking one that flew at her away. There was far too many of them for them to fight off and protect Cheza at the same time. Every time Mahina glanced back at the maiden to make sure she was okay one of them would spring forth and chomp down on her. Yelping Mahina ripped one off her thigh and threw it hard against the cave wall making it shatter into bit.
"Kiba!" Tsume yelled form above "up here!" Mahina looked up; Tsume had found his way to a high ledge and looked like he wanted Kiba to throw Cheza to him. It took him less than a second to consider before he threw Cheza into the air and away from the bug. The grey wolf caught her with ease and disappeared behind the ledge.
"There's too many of them" Mahina stomped down on one that was about to crawl up her leg "We need to get to higher ground before they swarm us. Grunt in agreement the remaining four wolfs at the ground leapt up to higher ledge. Tsume joined them there.
"Are wolves gonna lose to a bunch of bugs?" he questioned once he dropped down to the left of Mahina. The she-wolf scuffed at the very thought of being over powered by insects.
"Tch" Mahina sucked her teeth, brushing dust off her pants and jacket "As if"
"Though I must admit" Toboe smirked "We both like to hang around flowers"
"Heh, nicely said runt" Hige added
"Here they come" Kiba broke the conversation of the pack and focused them on the task at hand. Mahina didn't wait for the queue, her fur began to prickle and before she knew it she had leapt into the air and dove down into the sea of bugs with the rest of her pack close behind her. As soon as her paws hit the ground she was tearing at the numerous bugs shooting through them and chomping down on any that were in her way. A sharp pain shot down her back and she yelped loudly.
"I've got you Mahi" Toboe spoke up yanking the bug that had just taken a bite out of her back and threw it away from her. Mahina stood up straight with panting hard. Blood ran down her face, arms and legs from the bites delivered from the bugs. Toboe looked just as bad as if not worse off as she did, she turned to the pup with a look of concern.
"Are you alright Toboe?" she question taking in the blood that coated the side of his face making it hard for him to see through the eye that was covered. Toboe offered Mahina a confident smile and nodded his head. "Be careful okay?"
"You too" the pup nodded turning away from Mahina and charging into bug snarling as loudly as a pup his age could snarl. Mahina was about to turn back the way she had gone before but then she heard something… a faint whisper of a sound hummed in her head. Mahina paused in her attack of the numerous bugs around her and closed her eyes.
….un…gry….Hun…gry….
With her eyes still closed Mahina turned her head to look in the direction she was hearing the whispers from. It was the calling she had kept on hearing; something was reaching out to her but who and where were they?
Hungry….we're….hungry
"Hungry?" Mahina repeated
We can help…please…we're so hungry…
"Cheza!" Mahina was taken out of her trance when she heard Kiba yell out for the maiden. Cheza had jumped from the ledge Tsume had left her in and landed in a pile of the bug.
"Ch-Cheza!" Mahina shrieked feeling her heart plummet into the pit of her stomach at the sight of the maiden. She ran through the cave, bug latching onto her cloths as she went, "Cheza where are you going?" Mahina yelped turning fully to face the direction the maiden was going in getting ready to run after the maiden but she could still hear the whispers.
Hungry…. We're hungry….
They were coming in the direction that Cheza was running and before she could stop herself Mahina was charging through the bugs, the rest of her packs close behind her. Cheza kept running until she arrived at an opening Mahina hadn't noticed before. Yelping her name the she-wolf managed to grab onto Cheza's arm just before both of them dove into the open space and tumbled down it.
"Cheza!" Mahina could hear Kiba in the distance as their tumbling stopped. From where they lay Mahina pulled Cheza close and hugged her as tightly as she could. From among Kiba's yelling Mahina could heard the hissing of the bugs, no doubt a few of them followed them down here, and Mahina would not let them take another bite out of Cheza. The hissing drew close but eventually passed her and Cheza but then abruptly stopped with a loud Crunch! Mahina drew away from the maiden allowing her to pull her head away.
"Cheza" the maiden looked up at her with a calm look "are you okay?"
"This one is alright" Cheza replied weakly with an even weaker smile to go with it.
"Thank goodness" Mahina sighed sitting up and letting Cheza lean against her so they could both look at what had caused the crunching they had heard earlier. The pack gazed on in wonder as the bug crawled onto a red surface then suddenly the surface would snap shut around them with a loud crunch. "They're plants…" Mahina muttered quietly watching at they ate the bugs that came to them.
"This one heard them" Cheza explained "They said they were hungry"
Plants that ate insects. That was the calling that Mahina had felt and heard, so in a forest of death there was still life. That could only mean one thing…
"Hey guys!" Toboe stood in the opening of another tunnel "I see light down here!" he exclaimed pointing down the tunnel and looking back at them with a look of absolute joy. "I think it's the way out!" A way out was a heaven sent and none of the pack wasted time gathering themselves and making their way down the tunnel. Toboe was the first to make it out of the path telling with glee as he did "Look guys there's water! And there moon light too!"
"We… we did it" Mahina breathed out closing her eyes and letting the cool night air hit her face, she was already starting to feel better and she wasn't even directly under the moon light yet. She pushed off the tunnel opening she was using for support and moved out into the opening until she stood beside Kiba. As Cheza stepping into the lake and began to glow under the moonlight as she basked. Now that she was no longer withering Kiba's shoulder were less tense and looked visibly calmer than before. Azure met crimson under the light of the full moon.
Even though they were covered in blood and dirt, even though Mahina was sore in every inch of her body the she-wolf smiled brightly up at Kiba and he smirked in response.