Thank you to Crystal-wolf-guardian-967, Oceanarose, Direngreyrules100, theNekoPrincessofDarkness, Ocean of My Existence, and Blue Willow for the review last chapter.
To answer your questions, Ocean of My Existence, my writing is a result of a combination of all the things you thought they were. I've taken a few classes and before I got promoted at my job I did have a lot of time in between work and school. I also read a lot of books which helps me compare my style to the professionals and change my perspective on how to write certain things. For me, writing is all about putting your emotions in the moment, if you can't feel it when you're writing it how do you expect your readers to right? Really I could go on and on to answer your question but the simplest, yet vaguest, answer I can give you is to realize that most good writers drown in their work. You have to pour yourself into your work until you practically are your work more than your work is something you created. … I'm not sure that helped at all…um… if anyone has any other questions please don't be afraid to message me… I guess… I'm getting slightly embarrassed with myself now so I'm gonna just go ahead and stop now… onward to the story I guess
Chapter XII: Moving forward
Mahina's sleep was dreamless that night the noble left her and her pack bloody and wounded in that wasteland.
For the first time since this journey began Mahina was left floating in a void of absolutely nothing neither plagued by flames and mournful howls nor haunted by visions of events that never were and it was peaceful. The first night Mahina had ever spent not at Cheza's side was a peaceful one so much so that when she woke the she-wolf was almost certain her travels so far were all just a dream.
Perhaps Mahina had never been to the place called Freeze City and laid her eyes on Cheza nor had she seen the flower maiden be taken by a noble, she never met a chubby wolf name Hige and she never met a runt name Toboe, she never fought with a grouch name Tsume or ran for three straight days following a thin scent of lunar flower. Maybe she never witness an elder wolf work himself to the grave while his leader did nothing, she was never caught in a trap by humans.
It was all a dream, none of it was real.
She never saw Cheza fly.
She never heard Cheza's voice.
She never heard Cheza sing.
She never held Cheza's hand.
Cheza never bloomed
Mahina had never gotten so close to reaching paradise she could almost taste it.
A noble never took Cheza away.
It was all a dream, none of it was real.
There was never a last Hanabito.
There was no such person as Cher.
Never had there been a wolf hunter with a big black dog.
The forest of death did not exist.
The true full moon never happen
It was all a dream, none if was real.
There was no white wolf by the name Kiba.
Kiba.
The thought of that name brought Mahina's senses back to her and she became aware of her surroundings. Her wounds had closed but they hadn't healed even after laying under the full moon for however long she had Mahina felt the pain in her back and it brought her back to reality. That's right, it wasn't all just a dream, the places she'd gone and the people she'd met, the things she'd seen had all been real which meant Cheza really was gone. A noble really took the flower maiden away. Right now all Mahina could do was accept this as truth; she was in too much pain to think of it as anything else. The she-wolf's body was broken, her muscles ached with every movement she made and she had yet to find the will to open her eyes but then she heard something shift nearby. Someone else was awake, someone had survived the nobles attack. The ground shifted as they struggled to their feet and stumbled across the landscape before a shadow loomed over Mahina.
"...Mahina" this voice, the female's ears twitched at the sound of it and with some effort she opened her eyes and found herself the subject of concerned Azure eyes. When the she-wolf stared back at Kiba his features relaxed if only a bit and his hand found Mahina's slightly singed fur.
'Kiba...'
"You're alive" he observed sounding relieved by this fact. Mahina made no response to his words, she only whimpered slightly when Kiba ran his hand over her head "When I saw you get hit I wasn't sure what to do"
'I...I protected Cheza' Mahina struggled to show her pride in her selfless act but she could tell by the shine in Kiba's tired eyes that he could tell.
"I know" he said with a slight nod, his voice was getting weaker and Mahina didn't blame him for out of all of them he had been beaten the worst. He sat there for a while in silence eventually moving the she-wolf's head onto his lap and just running his hand over her fur and Mahina didn't mind it. She closed her eyes and let out a soft sigh.
'that feels really nice' she admitted calmly, it was like Cheza had never left them, like that whole attack had just been a horrible nightmare. Kiba hummed in response continuing to pet her calmly. As far as Mahina could tell everyone had survived the vicious beating; Cheza gave herself up before the noble could kill any of them leaving them battered enough to barely be able to pick themselves up immediately. If it weren't for Cheza that noble would have killed them all.
"Can you move?" Kiba asked
'I think so' Mahina replied after giving it some thought. She tried moving and though she succeeded her body ached everywhere. Kiba's finger weaved through Mahina's long hair before his palm was pressed against her cheek in a manner she could only assume was comfort. She allowed herself to relish in it for a moment nuzzling her face against it before reaching up to Kiba's face and touching the long gash left there by the noble. "Does it hurt?" Mahina couldn't help but ask; Kiba shook his head taking her hand in his free one and holding onto it tightly pressing it against his own face. "I'm glad you didn't die" she confessed "I thought that noble would..."
"I don't plan on dying so easily" Kiba remarked with a slight smirk as if what had happen had been nothing "not until I've reached paradise, not until I see it with my own eyes"
"He took her Kiba" the mention of paradise brought the reality to Mahina, Cheza was gone once again "Cheza, she's gone"
"I know" Kiba nodded his head his eyes never once looking away from Mahina's crimson orbs. He didn't look at all bothered by the fact that Cheza was gone, his face was calm serene almost and gazing at it brought an odd calmness to Mahina too.
"What are we going to do now Kiba?"
"We keep moving" Kiba replied he broke the eye contact finally tipping his head upward towards the sky and closing his eyes as if basking in the moonlight.
"But how..." Mahina had to admit she had her doubts about moving forward. This noble meant business and if he was this feral at the thought of taking Cheza back from them who knows how he may act to keep her.
"I promised you didn't I?" Kiba spoke up, his eyes stayed closed and his head tipped back to take in all the moons light "We're not going to end like this, I promised we'd make it to paradise"
"Make it to paradise..." Mahina echoed watching Kiba for a beat before her eyes found the sky once again. The moon was true and full as it had been when Cheza had bloomed earlier but there was something different about the moon.
The world truly was ending, from here on out Mahina had a feeling that only a road of death awaited them if they continued on like this. The world was giving them the signs of the end, setting the clock for every being to see.
When Cheza had bloomed the moon has been pure white full of hope and promise. Now, as Mahina lay barely able to move in the blood soaked battle field the moon over her head was a deep red.
The pack spent the rest of the night there where the noble left them recovering from the wounds inflicted upon them. The moon didn't have it usual healing powers over though; this strange, new, red moon spared them enough to get back on their feet and into the next town when they woke up. Farther south from where they last saw Cheza was yet another little town and it didn't take Kiba long to lead them to an abandoned little cove where they could rest and properly gain back their strength. It was here in their little hideaway that Mahina laid on her side her back turned to the pack thinking about the situation at hand. This next town they found was just as barren and hopeless as many of the other ones they'd been to and for once Mahina could feel herself relating to the humans she watched as she limped along side Toboe. None of these humans seemed to have anymore fight left in them; even as unaware as they were there must be something in them that made it clear they couldn't escape their fates, now all they were doing was looking for a place to die.
Was that what they were doing Mahina wondered.
They ran around like fools spouting this nonsense about a paradise for wolves and Cheza being the key and how they would be the ones to find it. Them, a pack of misfit wolves who can barely stand one another. Of the millions of packs that once existed, the two hundred years these packs wasted away trying to find it somehow thinking that they were going to reach it. From her place Mahina scuffed quietly to herself.
"Perhaps it's all just a dream" she muttered softly so no one heard her. Maybe the noble was right: this pleasant vision of the future where they all went to paradise and lived happily ever after was just a cute little dream. Perhaps in reality they were simply searching for a place to died, in truth they were almost like that old man: they knew death was coming they just hadn't found a proper place to start digging. "..." a deep frown came to Mahina face at this thought "this is depressing" she grumbled.
"You up and moving already?" Hige's voice broke the peace around them, Mahina glanced over her shoulder and spotted Kiba who struggled to sit up. The white male didn't reply to Hige, the area fell back into silence "come on guys I know we've been through a lot but why the long faces?" the chubby wolf remarked looking around at the others before looking behind him at Mahina who stared back for a moment before turning back around and letting her head drop back onto the ground.
"Because I couldn't sleep last night" Toboe finally spoke up
"Yea well neither could I" Hige snapped back
"You slept like a dead man" Tsume spoke up with a slight snort of a laugh "Like always"
"Look, I'm just as shocked and frustrated as the rest of you" Hige remarked looking from Toboe to Kiba to Tsume and then back at Mahina again but she made no moves to respond; she was still too weak to move around much on her own and even of she could she didn't want to. When Mahina showed no sign of movement Hige turned back around to the rest of the pack "none of that's gonna help us figure out what the hell to do next. Are we just going to stay here in a stupor forever?! Some body say something dammit!" Hige sounded frustrated now and who could blame him "Kiba" the chubby wolf turned to the only other person who had yet to speak other than Mahina. The white wolf made no sign of acknowledgement to Hige's words "you haven't said a single word to any of us since everything happen"
"drop it" Tsume snapped at Hige in annoyance and Toboe wasn't far behind.
"leave him alone" the pup remarked "Kiba was hurt worst out of any of us" that was the truth and Mahina had the memory of it burned into her mind for the rest of her days. The sight of Kiba trying his best to fend off that noble and keep Cheza safe only to be beaten and blasted through the air effortlessly while that horrible noble laughed at the sight of his pain. Even so Kiba got back up, he just kept getting back up no matter how many times he was knocked down; until the ground was soaked red with his blood, until he could barely stand, until all he could do was snarl and glaring burning eyes of hate at the noble, until Cheza could take no more. All of it, it was all as bad as the she-wolf's nightmares and she found herself covering her ears where she lay just trying to block out the horrid sound of it.
"It's not that" Kiba spoke up earning looks from the other males around him. His voice broke through the chaos in Mahina's head and washed over her like a wave. Kiba was beaten but he didn't die, he promise he wouldn't let it end like that, he promised Mahina they'd reach paradise alive and it was this that made the female lower her hands and carefully push herself off the ground "It's just...I'm really pissed off" Kiba explained his silence but then became quiet once again Mahina turned around and stared at the backs of her pack mates.
All of them were beaten and bruised up, it took poor Toboe a full day to recover from his injuries and at that he still had nightmares of the experience. Tsume was quiet and brooding more than usual; there wasn't much for him to complain about at this point mainly because the object of most his complaints was gone but Mahina assumed that his opinion of Cheza had changed greatly for she couldn't recall him complaining about her since the forest of death. Hige had tried lightening the mood the best he could the past couple of days but would often fall silent as no one made any sound to encourage him. Then there was Kiba. Kiba was stubborn as ever refusing anyone's help though he clearly had trouble walking; when they found this cove to rest in Kiba laid down and hadn't moved until just now, that was a couple of days ago and Mahina had guessed that he would be like that for a couple of more days but again Kiba is stubborn. He'd want to be on the move again soon enough no doubt, off to get Cheza back of course because if it were Mahina she'd probably do the same thing.
Probably, but maybe not anymore.
As the she-wolf took in the damaged, defeated forms of her company she couldn't help but wonder the point of it all. Ever since their journey began to shape it had been nothing but violence and fighting even their departure from Freeze city had been a violent one and from there on the fighting simply grew. Mahina wondered: could a path such as theirs-this journey of seemingly endless bloodshed and fighting- truly lead to paradise? Was that the key? Were wolves really the feral beast humans always feared they were? Was that Mahina's nature? But how when the sight of so much death cause Cheza so much pain? Mahina was connected to the maiden she knew that much at this point so then how could such a beautiful peaceful creature be linked to such a beast as Mahina?
It didn't make sense.
Unfortunately Mahina didn't have time to think over why it didn't make sense because the stillness around them suddenly broken by shouting in the distance and it got everyone's attention.
"She went that way" one voice yelled
"Get her!" another declared
"She's over there!" came a third
"Come back dammit!"
Within a few moments the packs cove was being invaded by a new presence and this presence came skidding into view forcing their run to stop abruptly kicking up dirt and dust in their sudden stop. It took a second but the dust finally cleared and when it did Mahina could hear her pack taking in sharp breath at what stood before them. Her skin was tan, much darker than Mahina's creamy skin; a long, red scarf flutter behind her as she straightened herself up shifting in her thigh high black heeled boots. Kiba visibly tensed at the sight of her and Mahina couldn't blame him for she almost tensed up too. Looking past her illusion Mahina could see that her packs new company was a wolf, another one of them with fur as black as night and big blue eyes from what Mahina could see.
"…wow" Hige marveled at the sight of the new female while Mahina slowly pushed herself to her crouching position taking in the black wolf's scent "what a babe" of course Hige would take note of her gender; spending such a long time with only Mahina must get tiring after a while. No proper introduction were made, that is no one had time to make any proper introductions because the female who joined them had brought whoever she was running from with her. A man appeared in the entrance of their little hide away in a white suit- a fancy looking one if you were to look at it from a human's point of view- and a few others appeared behind him.
"Ah" he sounded taking in all the people around now "she has friends"
"Yea?" Hige jumped in just as the female tensed up ready to either run or fight her pursuers "So what's it to you?" he pressed his fist against his hips and squared his shoulders trying to act big in front of the threat.
"Hand over the girl" the human demanded
"Why should we?" Hige challenged
"Because she's our merchandise" was the answer he got and it made Mahina snort out a slight laugh. Even in the world of wolves the situation wasn't all that different: females were property, merchandise to be kept close and owned. The human nodded to his two comrades before crossing his arms smugly "You guys aren't from around here" he observed
"Yea, so what if we aren't" Hige wasn't at all scared of this human, none of them were
"There's a high demand for young bodies in this town" one of the humans explained circling the pack as a whole until he stood on one side of them.
"People would pay top dollar for healthy organs" the other went on to say taking the other side of the pack, both humans held oh so "threatening" looking poles in their hands as they drew closer. There was a pregnant pause before they moved charging Tsume and Toboe ready to knock them out with those weapons of theirs. Mahina wasn't worried though, even wounded no human could really match up to the power of a wolf let alone the speed of one. Toboe and Tsume both dodged the attacks with little to no effort making the humans stumble about.
"You didn't really expect us to give up our bodies did you?" Tsume snorted before he rushed one of them and knocked him down. Kiba was quick to follow this action taking out the other one and slamming him down hard to the ground. The leader took this chance and made a charge for their new female company but she was quick on her feet sidestepping him with ease. This was when Mahina finally made her first move since they first arrived in this forsaken city. She was in the perfect position to retaliate; with the man in his cheat looking white suit now stumbling to regain his balance Mahina pushed off from her crouched position lunging into the air and at the man faster than he had time to react to. Her paws met his shoulders effortlessly and before he knew what hit him their combined weight shifted backwards and the human's back slammed hard against the concrete pinned there by the she-wolf's added weight. He blinked, coughing briefly to regain his breath but when his eyes met Mahina's silver ones and he saw the long sharp teeth she bared dangerously at him his breath was caught in his throat. It was easy enough to scare the souls out of the three humans once their true images came out for view; their faces drained of color and their mouths dropped open in stunned silence. It was in that instant that all of Mahina's frustration began getting the better of her, she felt absolutely malicious. Humans, it was all because of humans that Mahina found herself where she was now. These feeble, weak, insignificant creatures were the sole cause of all the suffering she had and continued to experience and she wanted nothing more in that moment as she pinned this mistake of existence than to lunge down at him and rob him of the gift he-and all humans for that matter- never showed gratitude for. She wanted to and she knew if she did no one would stop her; Mahina snarled dangerously at the human and after leaning back a bit lunged forward ready to rip the cowardly humans face clean off but just as she did she found herself stopping. A mere millimeter away from his face Mahina thought of Cheza, the memory of two days ago when Cheza was forced to witness the destruction caused by a human who obviously felt the same way about wolves as Mahina had felt about humans. She recalled the raw dread and despair that washed over her as Cheza watched, tearful and helpless, as the noble restrained nothing unleashing everything upon them. It made Mahina think: was there someone like Cheza for this human back at his home? Would they scream and cry if they were standing here right now? Would they beg for his life like Cheza begged for theirs? Was this human really all that different from Mahina truthfully? The mental image of the lovely maiden stopped Mahina just in time to save this humans life for she slowly pulled back though she made no moves to climb off him. The roles were reversed here, Mahina realized, and as the thought came to her the female thought of several different things. Humans and Wolves truly were the same despite one being more feral by nature than the other; both were complex creatures clearly misunderstood by both others and their own kind, they were feared by all and both were capable of absolutely terrifying destruction. Act proud all she wished Mahina was no different from the creatures she hated so which meant she, a wolf, was not better than them. Was she truly deserving of paradise than?
"I...I've lost my mind" the human who Kiba currently pinned down remarked with wide eyes staring up at the creature he lived his whole life believing to be extinct "no...it's the curse..." Curse? Mahina's eyes flicked towards the frightened human for a moment, what did he mean by curse? "It's the curse of the house of Darica!" he bellowed loudly screaming.
A curse, a curse...why did the humans words ring in Mahina's ears?
'Two years from today I will return for your soul'
"My soul?...why would you do that?"
'Because that is the curse of this house'
A curse, a curse of a house. The words from that dream so long ago forgotten suddenly echoed in Mahina's mind and with it a sudden pain came to her skull. Her nightmares came flashing through her mind at the mention of this curse the humans thought was happening; the flames, the humans with guns, the howls, the tank of water.
The white wolf that would claim her soul.
It all flashed before her eyes so fast and so abruptly Mahina barely had time to brace herself for it then just as fast as she was swept away by the images the she-wolf was back in the present only she wasn't. The human under her stared up with horror but when Mahina looked down at him it was like she was staring at him through the holes of a mask; as if she were inside of her body yet not. A great fear struck Mahina and dumb. Her body began to move on its own, she backed up off the human in his white suit and before she knew what she was doing the she-wolf turned and sprinted out of the once quiet little cove at full speed. In her wake the three humans screamed in horror at the thought that they almost died at the hands of creatures they once thought were no more. The sun was harsh against her eyes when she finally emerged from the darkness of the abandoned structure but she didn't stop running. From the sounds of it the others soon followed after Mahina running out of the cove and leaving their prey behind to cower in fear.
They followed Mahina deeper into town until she couldn't run anymore and they stopped. After clambering up a pile of building rubble the she-wolf dropped to her hands and knees gasping and panting for breath while the sounds of the others slowing to a stop around her. Her still barely healed wounds ached from the sudden activity after two days of lying around doing nothing but sleeping and her lungs burned. Mahina didn't look up at her pack, her crimson eyes remained fixed on the concrete beneath her palms in bewilderment and slight horror. What was that? The flashes of her nightmares, the searing pain in her head, her sudden feeling of unwelcome sensation of her own body; and all of this was in reaction to the mention of a curse.
'Because that is the curse of this house'
The words echoed in Mahina's head and the image of that white wolf from her nightmare seems to burn itself into her mind each time it did; it made the she-wolf flinch at her own thoughts and fear her own mind. What was happening to her? Mahina closed her eyes tightly trying to will this sudden rush of panic from her mind and settle her rapid heartbeat but it kept drumming on just as fast as it had been for the past few minutes.
She couldn't calm down; her mind was racing too fast.
There were too many questions left unanswered, Cheza wasn't there anymore to calm her.
Mahina had lost Cheza again; Mahina was lost and alone again.
She was spiraling downward going too fast to stop herself.
That was when the ground crunched beside Mahina, where she kneeled on her hands and knees with her head hung and gasping for air, and a hand was softly placed on her back. It broke her from her chaotic spiral and made her aware of her surroundings once more; someone was kneeling down beside her. It had to be Toboe, the pup had been very concerned about the she-wolf for the past couple of days now, so Mahina raised her head slowly swallowing a breath to assure him that she was fine-just out of breath- but her crimson eyes were met with azure and suddenly Kiba was leaning his head down to get a better look at Mahina's face. Kiba was stoic as ever, his normal facial expression was no facial expression after all, but his eyes… Mahina lifted her head higher to stare back into those deep blue orbs of his. Kiba's eyes were the doors to his mind and in an instant his concern for her washed over Mahina as if it were Cheza's emotions like a chilling wave of ice on a hot day. Still panting and gasping, Mahina took in the concern the white wolf showed her before letting her head hang again slowly closing her eyes; she stopped gasping and took a moment to take in deep, slow breaths of air. Her heart rate finally began to settle, her lungs took in more air and held it longer and the panic that had thrown Mahina into such chaos suddenly seemed like a distant memory. Kiba's hand never left its place on Mahina's back through her process of calming down and she was grateful for it; it was like an anchor to reality, a guiding light in a dark abyss. It centered Mahina and just like that, as if she hadn't been suffering a panic attack, she was okay. Slowly, Mahina raised her head again moving so that she was now sitting on the ground before looking to Kiba again. The white male gave Mahina a nod running his hand down her back in a comforting manner before standing up and turning to face the others. Mahina too looked to the members of her pack. Perhaps it was the change from a dark cove to an open space where the sun shined, maybe it was because they finally got to vent a little bit of their anger; whatever the reason was the air among the others seemed much lighter than it had been earlier in the day. Mahina could see it on everyone's faces: the pack, as a whole, was feeling much better after that encounter.
Tsume, perched on a high pile of rubble, held his head high like a mighty king and laughed.
"Did you see that stupid look on their faces?" the grey wolf snickered on
"Yea that felt amazing" Toboe beamed from where he stood, Kiba hummed his agreement before settling down beside Mahina who didn't object to how close her sat next to her.
"Are you alright Kiba?" Toboe shifted his gaze from Tsume to Kiba with a brief look of concern.
"Yea" Kiba responded with a grin while rubbing his shoulder.
"Mahi?" the pup's eyes found his only female pack mate who smiled sweetly in return.
"Don't worry about me Toboe" she hummed "I'm sore but I'm alright"
"Hey, are you alright?" Hige's voice reached Mahina's ears from a short distance away earning the she-wolfs eyes. He wasn't addressing any of them when he asked that questions instead the chubby male was talking to the new addition to their fold- the black female who had yet to introduce herself. In truth though she didn't need much of an introduction for even Mahina, who'd only seen her once, knew exactly who she was based on Kiba's descriptions and the female's scent. The black wolf stank of alcohol, gunpowder, and humans. It didn't take a fool to realize who she was but the better question was what was she doing here and why was she alone?
"I'm alright" she mused to Hige "Thanks for helping me back there"
"We didn't do it for you, you know" Tsume was the first to spit out venomously "Those idiots just happen to catch us in a bad mood that's all" and though Mahina didn't really approve of how spitefully Tsume sounded when it said this she didn't voice any disagreement to his statement. It this wolf hadn't been being chased, if those humans hadn't shown up with her this encounter could have been a lot different.
"She was just thanking us, Tsume, why do you have to be so harsh?" Hige questioned perplexed by the sudden change in everyone's demeanor "It's not like we run into girls everyday" he turned back to the female and smiled kindly at her "My names Hige by the way"
"My name's Blue" the female replied softly to Hige but then she stared past him at Kiba "…it's been a while, huh?" she added
"Wait" Hige looked from Blue to Kiba and then back to Blue "You guys know each other?"
"You could say that" Kiba shrugged casually.
"You did some pretty nasty things to us" Tsume chimed in
"You….and your human" Mahina added bitterly remembering the bullet that drunken old man had buried deep into her back long ago but not long enough for her to forget the pain and near death it had caused. The she-wolf reached up and gripped her back where Kiba had to claw out the bullet as the thoughts of that human reminded her of the wound. It wasn't perfectly healed yet but the bullet hole and claw marks from Kiba were already beginning to form a scar on her skin.
"That old man" Toboe spoke up next when no one seemed to want to say anything else "Where is he?"
"…." Blue turned away from the group before her "Something happened and we were split up"
"He was still tracking us in the last city we were in" Kiba spoke up
"I know he was" Blue nodded "That's why he was there….pops would track down a wolf to the ends of the earth" the look in her eye and the tone of her voice gave off her nostalgia of such things and it almost made Mahina snort out a laugh. Even as a wolf this one was still a hunter's dog.
"But I don't get it" Toboe turned to Blue fully "aren't you a wolf too?"
She was a wolf, Mahina mused to herself, perhaps not completely but a wolf all the same; Blue had enough awareness to shift. The shift was the talent that marked one as a wolf now; domesticated dog no longer had the awareness of the ancestry to create the allusion that the wolf used to save themselves from extinction. Some dogs had it, the ones closer to wolf then they were dog had that awareness locked somewhere within them but after spending most of their lives as nothing but pets for humans that wolf in them get locked away never to be discovered. In truth Blue's situation could have easily become a scenario for Toboe had his human not pasted away and left him to fend for himself; having no one but oneself to count on to survive could easily unlock the beast that was the wolf. Others, like Blue, unlocked it by being made aware that it was there like pointing them to a door they never noticed before. That's what Cheza had done when she had encountered Blue in the last city they had been in. Mahina remembered seeing Blue briefly tied up to a post outside what looked like a bar. She remembered how a wave of curiosity and excitement took over her as Cheza stopped and walked down the alley to pet Blue and the words she had spoken opening the hunter's dog to what she truly was only to have no choice but to run away quickly before the human could get out the door and catch them.
Blue had been awakened by Cheza.
"Hey" Blue spoke up changing the subject "That girl. Isn't she with you?...you know the one you were traveling with" Even from where she sat Mahina could see Hige visibly tense at the mention of Cheza as if the topic had suddenly become taboo to speak of "…she had a…. a really strange scent"
"The girl?" Toboe echoed "…you mean Cheza?"
"Cheza?" Blue repeated and suddenly group became silent and a bit tense. Mahina couldn't help but frown and look away.
They had lost Cheza.
"Oh! Uh…" Hige jumped to his feet easily sensing the sudden change in mood among everyone "about that…let just say we shouldn't talk about that right now…I know!" the chubby wolf was quick to change the subject "why don't we all look for some food? I mean we did just bump into each other and all. Besides, there's a whole mess of danger for a girl alone in a town like this"
"Oh really?" Mahina mused, she grunted slightly before pushing herself up to her feet offering Toboe a small smile when the pup moved to help her. When she was steady the she-wolf stood tall with her hands on her hips shooting Hige a challenging look "Care to test that theory once more Hige?"
"eh…heh heh heh well…" Hige responded nervously but before he could try and talk his way out his accidental offence of Mahina Tsume was up and arms against the idea of going hunting for food with Blue.
"Not a chance, porky" he shot the idea down like it was a pesky fly buzzing around his head.
"Why not?!" Hige almost growled
"As if I'd hang around with her" Tsume all but snarl standing up as well he took a couple of step forward until he stood to Mahina's left "She was doing everything she could do hunt us down"
"Yea but-"
"You know you're only saying you're only saying that because it didn't happen to you" Toboe cut off Hige's attempt to reason with the pack.
"Hige" Mahina spoke up next still gripping her shoulder as she stared into Hige's angry eyes "Her human has been hunting us since day one…. He shot me in the back… I almost died… don't you remember that?" her words must have hit home if only a bit because Hige faltered frowning slightly at her words. "Forgive me if I don't feel too trusting towards that hunter's lapdog, wolf or not"
"Mahi…"
"Forget it, I don't want to hang out with a bunch of kids either" Blue stopped the argument before it could go any further. She turned on her heel and began walking away before anyone could, that is if any of them wanted to, stop her "See you around"
"Hey!" Hige called after her before glaring at Mahina and the rest of the pack "Don't you guys think you're being a bit harsh?"
"If that's how you feel" Mahina didn't miss a beat "Then go after her"
"…." Hige and Mahina stared at one another for a second before Hige sucked his teeth and turned tail "Hey wait!" he called after Blue as she put more distance between her and them "It's dangerous!"
"But Hige!" Toboe yelled trying to stop the chubby male but it was no use, Hige was already running to catch up to Blue. When the pair was out of sight Tsume sighed, dropping back down to his seat and the pack fell into silence again. The once light air was now made heavier by the exchange, so much for everyone being in a better mood.
"His tail wags whenever there's a girl around" Tsume voiced to the pup "let him go"
"When we were back in that city" Kiba explained calmly "she found out she was half wolf… Cheza told her"
"….Cheza…." Toboe hummed the flower maidens name like a pleasant memory, Mahina turned her head to look at the runt as he tipped his head back and looked up at the grey sky over their heads "…I wonder how she's doing…if she's okay…"
Was Cheza okay? That Mahina didn't know. For the past two days the she-wolf had actually tried to connect to the maiden; Cheza was awake now so it wasn't like she was looking for something faint like before. No, Cheza's emotions drowned Mahina now, ever since they laid eyes on each other so Mahina had thought, maybe, she'd be able to figure out where that Noble had taken her or at least figure out what direction to start. Anything was better than submitting to the idea that all hope was lost and that she might never see Cheza again. However… for the last two days Mahina had felt nothing. She could reach as far as her inner mind could ever imagine going but the flower maiden was lost to her; like the door that had been opened between them was suddenly bolted shut cutting Mahina off and leaving her in darkness alone. Mahina couldn't even sense how the maiden was feeling anymore and to have that sensation stripped from her suddenly after days of being ever embraced by it left the she-wolf feeling lost, truly lost. It dawned on Mahina that she was completely at a loss as to what she should do next and the thought made her frown.
What could she do?
"…Mahi?" Toboe seemed to be brought back to the moment when Mahina moved. The pup watched his mother figure turn away from everyone and after digging her hands into her pockets began walking away "Where are you going?"
"Stay here Toboe" was the only thing Mahina said in response not bothering to look back at the others as she walked to the edge of the ruined building they were on. The she-wolf paused for a second before stepping into open air and letting herself drop down from the high structure.
"But Mahina-" Toboe moved to go after her but Tsume stopped him
"Leave her be" the grey male spoke up halting the pups steps. Toboe glanced back at Tsume. The older wolf stared past Toboe watching Mahina as she landed gracefully on the ground below before slowly going on her way; soon she too disappeared from view and when she did Tsume stared hard at his own feet "She's had a bad couple of days."
Mahina wasn't sure how long she walked or even how far. Her mind wandered to so many different things throughout her walk but most of her thoughts were full of self-doubt and confusion. With her hands deep in her pockets the she-wolf tracked back to the events of earlier in the day.
"The curse of the house of Darcia…" she let the words roll off her tongue slowing to a stop and taking in her surroundings; Mahina had walked a good distance from where she'd left the others, she could see tall buildings of the city a short distance away. The direction she walked- which lead away from the city- was nothing but ruble and wasteland for miles. Slowly, Mahina turned her head to look at the land ahead of her and feel like it was a perfect representation of her current state" Beaten, broken, weathered down and endlessly lost.
The Noble had taken Cheza; taken her and left to somewhere far, far away where not even Mahina's connection could reach her. Would she ever see Cheza again? Where could the Mahina even start to look?
The she-wolf was back to square one again. Why did it always end up like this?
"…The curse of this house…" the words from that dream so long ago now made their way past Mahina's lips. Could that be the reason? Could she be cursed? That might explain a few things like her lack of memories of the past perhaps even her connection to Cheza. Was that the reason why everything seems to end like it did, with Mahina cold and lost and alone? Perhaps it was just a sign that she was unworthy of paradise. Maybe no matter how hard she tried to reach that place paradise had decided that she did not deserve to enter. That was why every time she got so close to paradise she could taste it her hopes and dreams were swept from under her because she was a feral beast, because she could do nothing but kill and destroy, because all she did was cause Cheza pain and make her cry. Mahina frowned deeply as she stared off into the empty plain before her.
Perhaps she should just keep walking and leave the pack behind.
The thought came at random but it stuck fast to the she-wolfs mind and she let it take root and begin to grow a strong reason why it was such a good idea to just leave making her feet move on their own and slowly lead her away from the city. The pack was dissolving, Hige would probably follow Blue wherever she went and if she decided to go back to the pack Tsume wouldn't stay, both he and Kiba had enough bad memories of the hunter's dog for the grey wolf to prefer solitude over traveling with her. If Tsume left Toboe would surely follow him and Kiba…. Mahina paused in her steps at the thought of the white wolf. Kiba…Kiba would probably continue his search for Cheza. He would die for the flower maiden and anyone could see he would never be at peace if he gave up now. Even if chasing after the flower maiden meant that noble would kill him Mahina knew for sure, with a slight fondness to the thought, that when he was strong enough that was the path Kiba would go down even if it lead to death, even if Paradise did not open for him, even if he had to go alone. That was Kiba's purpose in life so why should she make it any harder lingering about at this point. Mahina glanced back at the city where her pack was; there would be no teary goodbyes, no questions as to why she was leaving in the first place, Mahina could just disappear, walk away and never look back. Now, it felt like, all that was left for Mahina to do was find her own corner of the world to wait for death to come.
"What a lonely existence" the she-wolf thought bitterly with a chuckle in her throat and a sad smile on her face "But one I have been use to… a cursed life stained with a cursed past…" and so Mahina had decided her path with a sullen resolve. It was one that she was use to by now and wasn't sure why she for a minute thought it wasn't something she was supposed to be following. Life with a pack just wasn't for her; life chasing paradise was something she was unworthy of.
That was her curse.
BANG!
Before Mahina could take another step forward the air rang out with the loudest gunshot Mahina had heard in a long time. She flinched and glance back at the city she had been so ready to leave behind. The wind suddenly picked blowing in her face as she turned to fully face the city. Mahina closed her eyes and let the wind drift into her knows, the air smell of gunpowder so someone had certainly fired one but there was something else faintly in the wind: Blood. It wasn't just any blood either and Mahina recognized it with slight fear, this was Tsume's blood. But she'd left Toboe with him! Did that mean that Toboe was in danger?! The thought of the pup having to stare death in the face almost sparked Mahina to turn back but then she stopped short. The resolve that had taken root earlier lightly tugged at the back of her mind reminding her of the path that she was destined to walk. That's right, Mahina was cursed. Tsume would not be brought down so easily and Mahina's presence would only make things worse. This would be a solid goodbye with now looking back, she could not look back. Her resolve of solitude now restored the she-wolf took a step back and with dulled eyes turned away from the city and the scent of blood that lingered around it. She would have to get used to the smell as a feral beast she would be faced with it for the rest of her life. Mahina took off forcing herself to ignore the loud gunshots that echoed through the air allowing the wind to push at her back like a sail on a ship propelling her forward and down the road she so stubbornly decided for herself but as the second gunshot rang out and shuddered through the air Mahina halted completely. It wasn't like she had planned to stop, she had shut her ears to the violence happening behind her; something had stopped her.
It was an invisible force that, without warning, wrapped its arms around her frame and held her in place with unimaginable strength. A scent rushed past Mahina being, mixing with the wind that had been pushing the she-wolf away; it mixed and mingled with the wind until it took it over and suddenly blasted Mahina's resolve out of existence. The scent was so strong it nearly knocked Mahina off her feet; this scent so sweet and tempting and thought to be lost forever. The female closed her eyes and took in a deep breath welcoming it like the old friend that it was; this… this was Cheza's scent, this was the smell of the lunar flower.
….Don't run…Don't run…Don't run.
The invisible arms that wrapped so tightly around Mahina's body gripped her even tighter. Behind Mahina's closed eyes she could imagine Cheza standing with her perfectly. She could imagine the flower maiden's little arms wrapped around her waist as she buried her face into Mahina's back. Cheza's slender fingers gripped fistfuls of the she-wolfs blouse keeping her from moving forward anymore.
Don't run away…Don't run away…
"…Cheza…" The maidens name came out of Mahina's mouth and as soon as it did the connection was cut, the scent disappeared and Cheza was once again lost to the female. Now Mahina returned to the present and found herself standing alone in the empty plain with no wind at her back like she had once imagined. The connection had be quick but it had been strong and the message had been clear, Cheza had reach for Mahina this time and she was calling to the she-wolf. Even in the brief instance Mahina felt the maiden's emotions as she was embraced; Cheza viewed none of the wolves as beast, she understood the necessity of death- truly she understood- and though it sadden her the thought of never seeing the wolves again saddened her even more. Cheza longed for them; she wasn't afraid because she knew they would come. She wanted them to come, she wanted to lead them to paradise because she felt- Cheza, with all of her heart felt-that these wolves, her wolves, deserved the utopia they searched for and she would not let them stray. All of that gripped Mahina in the short instant that Cheza was able to connect to her and it was enough to rip the weeds of doubt from the she-wolfs mind.
Tsume's scent was an easy enough thing to follow when he was bleeding, it also helped that whoever was chasing him was yelling and shooting their gun as they did. As she leapt from stone structure to stone structure Mahina could hear the echo of their footsteps below her. Ahead, she saw Kiba run out of a tunnel with Tsume not far behind him and soon after him came the three humans from earlier in the day wielding guns and shouting among them. As Mahina drew closer she saw one of them take aim. The rest of the world faded from Mahina's mind; she ran as hard as she possibly could and without hesitation took to the air leaping off the ledge she had been running towards and into the air with a feral snarl and large teeth bared. Kiba caught sight of her first and the look of shock on his face was all that the she-wolf saw before she went sailing over him, past and equally stunned Tsume and directly at the horrified looking humans chasing them. The one aiming recklessly fired and the gunshot rang throughout the tunnel but the bullet only grazed Mahina shoulder and she was strong willed enough to ignore the pain it caused her and land on the shorter one of the three pinning him to the ground. He yelled out in fear and surprise while Mahina's hands found the humans wrist and slammed them down. Her hair stood on end and her eyes grew wide fixing the human with an intense gaze; silence followed the attack allowing those around quiet to realize what had happen. The poor creature shook under Mahina barely daring to break eye contact with her as she loomed over him. He did briefly glance away, however, and Mahina caught what he looked at.
"Try it…" the she-wolf's voice came out in a calm tone; the human flinched before freezing turning his gaze back to Mahina instead of the gun he had dropped when he fall. The female's upper lip curled revealing pearly white fangs and a growl "Shall we test who is faster? You or me?" Mahina taunted "bet if you wish, I assure you: you will lose"
"Mahina" Kiba's voice reached Mahina's ears as well as the retreating steps of Tsume. It wasn't hard to understand the command; it was time to move.
"Remember" Mahina remarked to the human she had pinned "I'm faster and I always hit my target" with that said the female leapt back and she and Kiba were off after Tsume running at top speed in case the humans decided to be brave again.
After a bit of running the three found the ruins of what once must have been a bridge. Kiba, who was leading they're escape, ran straight for it without hesitation and Mahina was quick to follow with Tsume right behind them. They could duck for cover over here for a while and wait for the other to catch up; no doubt the others had heard the gunshots and smelled Tsume's blood. They were probably on their way right now. Mahina had to be honest, she was glad that Toboe didn't listen to here for once and had decided to follow Hige rather than stay with Tsume, if he had been with the grey male when the shots were first who knows what would have happen to him? Mahina wasn't sure how she would have reacted if those humans had shot the pup. As the trio found cover in the shadow of the bridge Tsume grunted in pain and slowed to a stop; both Kiba and Mahina stopped and glanced back at him at the sound.
"Are you okay?" Kiba questioned and Tsume quickly nodded his head though he held his arm with his left hand.
"You were shot" Mahina observed aloud despite how obvious the statement was; she was so close to the male now that her senses were drowning in the scent of his blood. Tsume ignored the small look of concern the she-wolf had given to him and shook his head.
"Don't worry" he remarked not seeming at all bothered by the wound on his arm "the bullet only grazed my arm."
"...What's the matter?" a new voice joined the three in the shadows and took them by surprise. Mahina spun around to face this new presence. Before them stood a frail looking old woman, there was no sense of being a threat coming from her; she gave off the air of being rather meek and gentle for a human. Even if she had been so sort of violent at one point those days were obviously past her in her old age. Her meek demeanor helped her sneak up on the wolves so easily. Her eyes were kind as she looked from Kiba to Mahina and then finally to Tsume "Have you kids been hurt?" she asked noticing how Tsume gripped his arm "are you alright?" with a kind look to her face the elderly human moved to approach them but before she could take so much as a step the loud sound of gun being cocked echoed around them. It was now that Mahina noticed a large trailer parked against the wall of the ruined bridge, the door to the mobile vehicle was thrown open and standing in the doorway was an old man who must be the partner of this old woman. However, unlike his kind and friendly looking partner, this old man was not very frail looking and it was hard to describe him as seeming meek when he was pointing a point at ones face. Just the sight of the gun made Mahina's fur bristle and a ghostly throb to come to the still fresh to memory bullet wound on her back.
"Elmaira" the elderly male called to his female counterpart "you come over here now."
"We have no intention of hurting either one of you" Kiba explained with calm haste moving to step forward and show he meant no harm but the old man raised his gun higher turning it from Mahina to Kiba now. The white wolf froze before hold his hands up to show he meant no harm.
"Oh for heaven sakes, dear" The old woman Mahina now knew as Elmaira spoke with a sigh to her voice "put the gun down, they're only children!"
"Don't be stupid" Her partner shot back without hesitation, his gun was steady and his voice didn't shake. This old man was ready to shoot them down should any of them think they were fast enough. "They're strays and they're dangerous"
"Strays?" Mahina couldn't help but repeat the word. Strays, he was calling them strays as if they were a bunch of lost dogs… that could only mean one thing. Mahina's bristled fur relaxed ever so slightly as she stared at the old man with new found realization, those tired old eyes could see past the illusion. This human knew exactly what they were.
"What are you talking about?" Elmaira tried to convince the old man otherwise for she could only see the three of them in their human forms "Have you lost your senses?"
"Elmaira I may be an old man but I am not going senile!" The man spoke with determination in his voice "Take a good look at those three" now he was trying to convince Elmaira to see what he saw but obviously she wouldn't. To see past the illusion was to see the truth, it was like opening your eyes to the world for the first time and to do that you would have to cast aside all that you ever believed in your life. As a human being something like that became harder to do as you grew older because what you believed tethered you to your reality and no adult likes having their reality shaken. The tense silence around them was suddenly broken by the sounds of the others finally finding them. Toboe was the first to round the corner and see what was going on. The copper pup yelped in surprise skidding to a halt and causing Hige to crash into him. Hige looked past the pup and when he saw the old man with a in his hand his eyes grew wide.
"Oh crap!" he yelled out, the exclamation cause the already tense man to go over the edge. With his eyes wide with slight fear the old man spun around to face the new comers and aim his gun ready to pull the trigger but faster than Mahina could have ever reacted Blue appeared. She was the last person to round the corner and take in the scene before her and not even for a second did she hesitate. She zipped past Hige and Toboe with a speed all her own and ran straight for the trailer. The old man pulled the trigger and loud shot rang out but Blue was quick on her feet dodging the bullets in a cloud of dust that blinded everyone for a beat. When the cloud of dust finally settled Blue was sitting on the ground before the old man with her ear flat against her head and her big blue eyes staring up at him. She did snarl at him, she didn't leap up and rip him apart; Blue just sat there and stared at him with innocent eyes and it seemed like this was enough to keep the old man from firing off another round of bullets at them
"We are not gonna do anything to you so just leave us alone." Kiba took this opportunity to reason with the man and explain that none of them mean him or his female harm. They were just passing through, just trying to get away from the dangers of the humans that were hunting them. Why could no human see that? All they wanted was to be left alone and in peace, they didn't want to hurt anyone and they never went out searching with the intent of hurting humans. "I don't wanna fight if there is no reason to, I don't wanna kill." Kiba explained himself as Mahina seemed to dawn on the reality of it all, Wolves weren't feral beast out to cause bloodshed and murder, wolfs just wanted to live, wolf just wanted to go to paradise.
"Did you see the wolves?" Mahina looked back the way they came and quietly cursed to herself. Those stupid human were brave after all, well either they were brave or very stupid "Search over there!"
"Those people want to catch us and sell us to the highest bidder" Tsume spoke up now that the old man heard the sounds of shouting coming from where the pack had been running from "It's up to you whether we avoid bloodshed or not." And it truly was. The old man had two options before him right now: he could either continue to point that gun at them and keep the pack standing around until those others found them hiding here under the bridge and have the result of bloodshed and death for not only those who hunted Mahina and her pack but for himself and his female, or he could let them pass like they had intended to and pretend he never saw them. The answer was an obvious one if he wanted to live a little longer and he took it without hesitation but the other humans were far too close for the pack to escape easily so Toboe and Hige stayed outside while Elmaira rushed the rest of them into the trailer to hide. Mahina watched with a held breath from the window as Toboe and Hige lay one the ground before the trailer pretending to be dead.
As soon as the humans chasing them rounded the corner the old man pulled the trigger of his gun and started firing off rounds to the ground next to and around the pair throwing up dust and dirt so it was hard for anyone to tell if he was actually shooting them or not. The human in the cheap looking white suit, the one Mahina had almost killed earlier that morning halted upon arriving on the scene.
"Die you damn wolves!" he shouted at the top of his lung cocking his gun and firing off another round "Take this! And this!"
"Did you kill them?!" the man in the suit gapped at the scene in shock and disbelief, for a second Mahina almost doubted he would believe what he was seeing. After all he and his goons were younger than the old man before him and even they could match up to the pack so how could he believe that an old man could simply take out his gun and shoot down two of them. Mahina had to give credit where credit was due though because the old man was putting on a pretty convincing show.
"Stop it!" Elmaira yelled gripping the gun so the old man would stop shooting "That's enough!"
"They cast a spell on me!" the old man yelled out hysterically "I was only…" he yelled out and swung his gun free from his female's grip and fired another round for good measure.
"Calm down!" Elmaira yelled and began wrestle the old man for the gun
"Dammit" The thug who had been chasing them sucked his teeth and cursed loudly "those things are worthless if they're dead!" and just like that he believed what he saw. Mahina couldn't help but fall limp with relief when she saw them turn away from the bloody scene and walk away until they disappeared back around the corner that they had come from. How ironic, just this morning Mahina was in a state of murderous hatred for all human being but here she was being saved by one at the end of the very same day.
When the threat was no longer upon them Elmaira invited the pack to stay for a little while to rest. Even though she couldn't see the wolves behind the illusion they created it was obvious to her theirs was a long and tiring journey so she hoped that, even for a little bit, they had a place to rest and relax before going on their way. The kind elderly human even made them food setting a plate piled with cooked meat for them to devour. Hige took a nice helping of the food offered only sparing the others a good amount when Tsume fixed him with a hard stare. It was now after the sun had set and the night became dotted with stars that found herself sitting in a chair at the table Elmaira had place for them calmly eating the food given to them and watching Blue curiously. Ever since she had shown up on the scene she hadn't changed to her human appearance. When the threat was no longer there she stayed at the old man's side where he sat and quietly allowed him to bet her, No matter how much of a wolf she like to act like she was Mahina could see that Blue was really a dog at heart, a pet who missed moments like that.
It was something looked at with slight disgust but more envy. She couldn't honestly call Blue pathetic because she didn't know what it was like to be owned by a human; besides, it was because of Blue that the old man hadn't shot them in the first place so Mahina wasn't in a place to judge.
"Please forgive my husband" Elmaira spoke up a while later when everyone was settled in and eating comfortably, Mahina shook herself of her thoughts about the wolf hunter's dog and turned to the old woman who had offered them such kindness "I can't believe he thought you were wolves of all things." She shook her head sadly before offering Mahina a glass of water that she politely declined, Elmaira smiled at her before turning her eyes back to her husband who now focused on petting Blue. "He's starting to get more and more confused lately" she explained why she thought he had seen them as wolves though she couldn't have possibly known he was right in his assumptions "that's why we went on this little jaunt. Spent what time we have left on the road he said so now this trailer is our home as well as our coffin" At this she gained almost everyone's attention. It wasn't hard to read the expressions of those who sat around the old woman nor was it hard to remember why such looks came to pass. Mahina sat back in her chair and closed her eyes for a moment, thinking back to an elderly wolf they had met in a fallen city that held the mentality that this old woman had. Look back at it now it seemed like years ago but it had only been a few weeks since they'd passed through that fallen paradise where lunar flowers use to grow. The old man had, too, seen his demise in the distance and had decided it was time to start looking for a place for him to rest for eternity. It was such a morbid thought, something someone as young as Mahina and the rest of her pack could never begin to comprehend or even accept. For them death was something that they didn't have to worry about for years. When one was as young as Mahina it almost seemed like death would never come to her but she guessed when she reached the age that Elmaira was you were more or less just waiting for that moment when it came for you. Despite her youth the thought unnerved Mahina a bit. "We've seen such horrible things." Elmaira said with a saddened voice she looked over to the distance "That castle of the Darcias to the west of here, which must have been beautiful once, is nothing but a giant grave."
"The castle of the Darcias?" Kiba repeated and Elmaira nodded her head
"It's as if everything in this world has given up its desire to live…" the elderly woman said sadly
"No, it hasn't." Kiba spoke up; Elmaira looked towards Kiba with a curious look as he pushed off where he sat on the ground giving everyone the cue they needed to know it was time to move out "The old man isn't confused at all. He's right, we are wolves."
"What?" Elmaira questioned stunned looking towards Mahina who rose from her seat and offered the woman a kind smile "thank you for your kindness"
"You ready to go?" Hige hummed glancing towards Toboe who nodded his head
"Hm!" the pup nodded his head
"Goodbye mister" Blue spoke up for the first time since she arrived on the scene standing up in her human illusion "take care"
"Where are you going to go?" The old man questioned
"To the castle in the west"
The pack didn't set off to this castle in the west after parting ways with Elmaira and her husband. Instead they returned to the city back to the little cove they had been resting in before they had run into Blue. There was no doubt they would encounter that noble that took Cheza when they finally found the maiden and they had to be well rested for the confrontation. Mahina didn't sleep that night though, she refused to. She sat at the entrance of the cove staring into the distance and letting the breeze touch her face. It was hard to believe that not that long ago the she-wolf was determined to leave this pack and thought of paradise behind her and yet here she was now getting ready to start anew. Mahina could have laughed at how fickle her resole seemed is she didn't know how powerful her connection to Cheza was. Even with the bond blocked from her the maiden had sensed Mahina's loss of faith and stopped her before it was too late.
Cheza still had faith so shouldn't Mahina?
The she-wolf felt like she should but even now she only barely felt even the littlest bit of hope. Mahina sighed quietly pulling her knees close to her chest and hugging them tightly. How could she hope to continue on this seemingly endless journey when she barely believed in it anymore?
In the quietness of the night someone within the cove stirred and after a moment of letting themselves wake up they shuffled to the entrance of the cove as if they sensed Mahina's restlessness and sat down right before her. The female didn't have to look up to know who was sitting in front of her but she looked up anyway. Kiba didn't look at Mahina; he sat looking out like she had with a calm expression. He didn't say anything so neither did she. For a while they sat in a somewhat familiar silence. Mahina took this time to observe the white male sitting before her.
Kiba would always be a mystery but as days passed and their journey dragged on the she-wolf was finding the little tells that revealed Kiba's emotions if only just a bit. Right now he tried to give off an air of being calm as he sat with his hands out behind him and his head tipped upward looking at the red moon overhead but his face remained stoic, as if he were in deep thought, and when he thought Mahina wasn't looking his azure eyes would shift ever so quickly to look at her. Kiba was worried and if not worried then slightly concerned and after a while of doing this Kiba finally spoke up.
"You're not sleeping?" asked the white male.
"Can't" Mahina responded "all I see now are nightmares" the female looked out at the ruined landscape Cheza was the only reason Mahina had no nightmares; with her gone the she-wolf didn't know what to expect if she surrendered to sleep and frankly she didn't want to find out.
"You should rest" Kiba tried to convince her "You'll need it for when we take Cheza back"
"Then why aren't you resting?" Mahina challenged him without hesitation and he seemed to get her point because he didn't talk any further on the matter and Mahina, grateful for the understanding silence, let the subject of sleeping drop. "…you seem so confident that we'll get Cheza back" the she-wolf spoke up after a moment earning Kiba's gaze once again.
"Aren't you?" questioned Kiba, Mahina grew quiet settling for staring down at her toes than at the azure eyes fixed on her but even as she did that the female knew she couldn't dodge Kiba's curiosity.
"Ever since that noble attacked us" Mahina spoke quietly "Ever since I woke up and she was gone I haven't… I can't sense her… I can't sense Cheza…" the statement got Kiba's full attention; he sat up a bit straighter and turned himself so he faced Mahina. His concern was evident now thought whether it was for her or Cheza the she-wolf didn't know for sure. Mahina stared back at him but eventually looked away.
"You can't sense her at all?" Kiba asked and Mahina shook her head "but… what does that mean? ... is Cheza-"
"Dead?" it didn't take a mind reader to see that was where Kiba was going in his thoughts; his already pale face grew paler and a look of horror was bubbling to the surface. Mahina shook her head "no" she said "I would know if she was"
"But you just said you can't sense her, how can you know for sure?"
"Because then I would feel nothing" Mahina remarked sharply sending Kiba a hard look that quickly softened before she stared down at her feet again "I would have felt her essence fade…" Cheza wasn't dead, Mahina had felt her earlier in the day but the she-wolf was certain she would have felt Cheza fade if she had died like when the Hanabito did but this connection to the flower was one Mahina hardly understood so she didn't expect Kiba to even begin to comprehend it. "It's like…" Mahina tried to explain anyway "it's like a wall is suddenly between us; blocking us so I can't feel her and she can't feel me…" that was the best that she could do in explaining it to Kiba and he seemed to understand that when he noticed how Mahina furrowed her eyebrow in bewilderment. "Now that I can't sense her" Mahina went on to say in a sullen voice "I feel lost… like all the doors have closed for me including the one to paradise"
"That door hasn't close yet" even after learning that Mahina couldn't sense Cheza Kiba didn't sound to have lost hope at all and when Mahina raised her head to look at the white male she could see the fire that burned in those intense eyes of his. Kiba- who had been more invested in reaching paradise than Mahina had- hadn't given up yet. The white wolf had been beaten, battered, shot at and nearly killed; faced what seemed like the universe telling him no and he simply brushed it off and kept going. Mahina was in awe at his spirit and his confident smile "Don't give up Mahina" Kiba told her "I promised you didn't I?"
"Pr…" Mahina stammered out "Promised?"
"That I would get you to paradise" Kiba reminded Mahina.
At first the she-wolf didn't respond to Kiba's words, her eyes only grew wide when she suddenly remembered the day Kiba had made that promise to her. It had been the day that they had watched that old wolf work to death and the only time Kiba had ever seen Mahina cry. Mahina remembered the sight of Kiba's beaten and batter form as well as the weight of his barely conscious body as she practically dragged him back to where everyone rested; his eyes were out of focus but that fire was still there the same blaze that she stared at right now. It was in that instant as Mahina sat there with Kiba under the glow of a bloody red moon that a curious thought pass through the she-wolf's mind. It was a realization so simple Mahina had wondered why it took such a complicated moment for it to come to her. Mahina felt a small smile come to her lips and before she knew it her forehead was resting against the side of Kiba as she let the thought take root and grow strong in her mind, strong enough to cast away any more doubts the female may have had.
This wolf, Mahina thought in the peaceful silence, is someone I can follow to the end.
"They went that way right?"
The next day the well-rested pack left the cove behind them like everything else they'd pass since freeze city and now stretched in the warmth of the morning sun. Toboe, who had returned to his lively personality, looked over his shoulder at the rest of the pack. Mahina rolled her neck a couple of times while Hige looked up at the pup from where he sat.
"They sure did" he replied
"Are we going?" Toboe went on to ask hopping down from the rail he was standing on
"Well yea" Hige replied as if the answer were and obvious on "we have to"
"So where are you guys headed?" Blue had been accompanying the pack since last night when they had run into that old human couple. When they had returned to the cove she offered to stand watch while the pack slept but eventually Mahina sent her away and took the watch herself. It was an understatement to say that Mahina still didn't fully trust Blue but… the once wolf hunter's dog did save their lives yesterday so she deserved a chance to prove herself in her newly awakened life as a wolf.
"We're all trying to make our way to paradise" Hige answered the black female's question with a cheerful look to his face
"Paradise" Blue echoed and Hige nodded, since she never knew that she was part wolf Mahina wasn't surprised that Blue didn't understand what Hige meant when he told her their goal.
"It's something every wolf has to try to do" the chubby male explained vaguely
"Oh right…"
"You're gonna come with us, aren't you Blue?" Hige brought up the question everyone seemed to want to ask but didn't appear to be sure of when the right time would be to ask. Second chances or not Blue's past would never change. She was the dog of a wolf hunter and not just any wolf hunter the wolf hunter that had shot Kiba down in freeze city and the very same wolf hunter that shot Mahina in the back originally intending to shoot Cheza. Who knows if Blue was really trustworthy, what if she was just acting the part to lead her human straight to them so he could kill them all? Besides, Blue may have wolf in her but she wasn't all wolf; what if paradise didn't even let her in? What would be the point of her coming if the goal was something she couldn't touch? These thoughts must have crossed Blue's mind so Mahina was curious to see if she would even take Hige up on the offer.
"It sounds tempting" the black female responded with a hum of contemplation over the situation. She had nowhere to go after she left the side of her 'Pops' as she called him and there was no guaranty she'd ever run into another pack of wolves and did she even know how to take care of herself now that she didn't have a human feeding her when she was hungry and providing her with shelter? "but…" judging by the look in her eyes Blue seemed to come to a decision "I can't go"
"…" Hige looked Blue over in consideration before hummed in understanding "well" he said crossing his arms "if you're not going than I won't go either"
"Hige…"
"You'd probably be better off if you stayed here with the humans" from her place beside Kiba, Mahina crossed her arms tightly and looked Blue up and down "It's not too late to go back."
"Mahi" Hige stood up as soon as the words left Mahina's mouth and the chubby male sent his female pack member a glare that she returned with a look of boredom "what the hell are you saying?!"
"I have no intention of ever going back." Blue spoke up before Mahina could retort to Hige's outburst. All heads turned back to the black wolf who looked calm as ever under Mahina's intense stares "I can never return to the way I was before. I just… I need to find out what I really am"
"Well then" Kiba joined into the conversation finally "The only thing you can do is move forward"
"Yea he's right" Hige jumped in quickly offering Blue a cheerful grin "the only thing you can do is move forward. Right?" he looked to Toboe for support and then turned his attention to Tsume "Right?"
"…Right" Mahina rolled her eyes "That's why you want her to come with us, so she can keep moving forward"
"Oh yea" Tsume snorted out in agreement "I can see right through ya, porky"
"Now if only Cheza were with us" Toboe spoke up leaning against the rail he had been standing on; he looked in the direction they had originally been going before that noble had attack them all, south to paradise. Hige stiffened at the pup's words and after giving Mahina a concerned look bonked the pup on the head "Hey-ow!" Toboe yelped holding a hand to his head
"I told you not to say that." The chubby wolf growled at Toboe before laughing loudly and smiling around at the rest of the pack. "Ok! Now that that's settled!" Hige yelled loudly as if he were gathering a group of tourist around to get them moving "Time to get a move on, onward towards paradise!" the chubby male turned away from Toboe and pointed boldly south and it made sense that he would point that way, it had been the direction they had been traveling when they had the path to paradise under them but while Hige pointed south Kiba pointed west.
"We're going this way" the white wolf informed everyone earning looked of curiosity even from Mahina. Head west? But why? Mahina may have been knocked out of her senses when that noble had attacked them but she remembered enough of that night to know that the path to paradise had glowed a path southward not westward. Azure met crimson when Kiba turned back around to look at the rest of the pack and their confused faces; why west? The question was obvious from their expressions.
"Paradise isn't over there…" Toboe voiced quietly
"…No" the realization dawned on Mahina almost immediately "but Darica's keep is."
"His keep?" repeated Hige
"Yea" Kiba nodded
"Do you think Cheza's there?" Toboe asked hopefully looking toward Mahina for confirmation but the she-wolf looked to Kiba for the answer to that question rather than nod to Toboe. Only Kiba knew of her lacking link to the flower maiden. She couldn't tell them that she knew for sure that Cheza would be at the keep of the house of Darcia; if they went there was no telling what they would find there. It would have been smarter to just cut their losses and continue south but when Mahina met eyes with Kiba again the white wolf nodded his head and that ever so confident smile came to his face again.
"Kiba" Tsume said in a tone similar to a parent trying to reason with a particularly stubborn child "Cheza left us of her own free will you know"
"She only did that to protect us" Kiba replied and Tsume knew this to be the truth, if he didn't he would have argued with it immediately "she's waiting for us I know she is"
"…" a tense silence followed before Tsume spoke up again "that noble will be there too"
"I wouldn't doubt it" Kiba responded casually
"We all might get killed this time" Tsume went on
"If we're meant to die, then so be it" Kiba replied. Death seemed to be the truth that Mahina was beginning to realize might truly be their fate at the end of this journey but then again when she stopped and really thought about it that was exactly what they signed up for when the five of them left freeze city together: to reach paradise or die trying.
"When that happens" Tsume spoke ominously "You'll be on your own"
"No he won't" Mahina spoke up this time, she uncrossed her arms and looked back at Tsume crimson eyes blazing bright with a fire of determination "We aren't going to die facing anyone… we're going to paradise…" the she-wolf's gaze shifted and Blue, who had remained seated quietly through the whole conversation, gasped slightly startled when Mahina's red orbs landed on her "All of us" the she-wolf spoke with emphasize before offering her hand "…come on"
At first Blue didn't look like she was going to take Mahina's offered hand, for a while she stared at it with wide eyes not believing what she was seeing. Her deep blue eyes locked with Mahina's intense crimson ones and when the black female saw no hesitation in Mahina's eyes she smile and took the hand offered to her and stood up. It wasn't long after this exchange that the pack was off again away from the city they had taken rest in only instead of continuing south like they had for most of the journey they were heading west to the fallen keep of the house Darcia; a house that the humans thought to be cursed and the house of the noble that must have taken Cheza. As they ran Mahina couldn't help but recall what the noble had said that Cheza belonged to him, was the house Darcia the noble house that had created the flower maiden? If the ruined keep the pack had first met Cheza in, the place where Mahina too had felt so familiar and at home, was her home did that mean that it was a keep of the house Darcia as well? What did this all mean though? What connected all of the dots? Mahina didn't know but she had feeling many of her questions were going to start being answered starting now.
'Hey' Mahina was taken from her thoughts, she turned her head slightly as she ran to look beside her were Blue now ran 'about yesterday… did pops…did he really shoot you?'
'Pops' Mahina repeated before looking ahead of her again 'you're referring to your human I'm assuming'
'um…yea' Blue confirmed
'He was trying to shoot Cheza' Mahina explained calmly 'I was protecting her when your…'pops' pulled the trigger, I have the scar to prove it if you don't believe me'
'I-I believe you' Blue replied and how could she not, from where she ran she could see the pale mark on the she-wolf's back where fresh flesh was beginning to form over the healing wound 'but then why….why are you letting me come with you?'
'Huh' Mahina snorted out a chuckle and looked over at Blue once again 'you say that as if I had a choice in the matter'
'I may be new to this wolf thing but I'm not stupid' Blue was to set the record straight 'you hold more power in this pack than you let on… you and that white one… you're what pops called the Alphas'
'We have no Alphas in this pack Blue' Mahina answered calmly '…if you haven't noticed, Blue' the she-wolf said answering her question 'there aren't many other females around… you and I are two of the three females I know that exist now. We have to look out for each other, us females'
'…' a look of doubt crossed Blue's face one '…what do you want from me?' the question flashed Mahina back to the city in the sea when Mahina held a very similar conversation with the female of Zari's pack, Cole. Now that she was speak from Cole's side of the conversation Mahina couldn't help but understand why Cole found Mahina so amusing and the she-wolf found herself laughing much like Cole had back then.
'Nothing' she answered honestly 'I just…want to look out for you'
'…thank you' Blue responded starting what Mahina hoped would be the start a nice friendship between the only females in a pack full of males. It was nice to have someone to talk to other than three males for a change and the thought suddenly made the journey as light as it had been when Cheza had been traveling with them.
'Hey Blue?'
'Yea?'
'…have you ever heard of a kiss?'