Chapter 8
He's Here!
"Why isn't she waking?" Koga demanded, frustration roughening his voice. "You checked her, there's not a scratch on her."
"Humans are different from us, Koga," Jiro sighed as he shook his head again at his leader's agitated pacing. "They can exhaust themselves very easily. Mikos even more so."
"What do you mean?" asked Koga as he suddenly froze, blinking in confusion.
Jiro resisted the urge to sigh. His alpha was strong and a good leader but, the male was too young for his own good.
"I mean, she used a lot of power in the battle," the greying warrior replied. "More than I've usually seen from mikos but still more than I'd imagine she'd used in some time. It'll take time to recover."
"How much time?"
Jiro shrugged as he leaned back on his aging legs crouched beside the straw pallet the female was laying on.
"It's hard to say. Could be days, could be weeks. It'll depend on how much fight she's got in her."
That caused Koga to bristle with worry. Kagome had spirit but she didn't appear the most confrontational female. If her body was too weak to fight off exhaustion or sickness, then that meant all Koga's effort would be for nothing.
That wasn't an option.
Once she'd given the tribe a notable advantage in the surprise attack, Koga had been quick to rally the others in finishing off the fight. When the last winged monster fell beneath Ookami claws, Koga didn't waste any more time staying out in the open. Quick as he could, he'd lunged for the unconscious woman who was guarded by his two betas and raced off towards the Eastern tribe's den.
The large cave was artfully hidden by nature itself, an immense waterfall cascading over the front entrance. It prevented detection and gave a warning for any surprise attacks.
While Koga normally enjoyed the cool blast of water that rained on him every time he entered the cave, the pounding rhythm was matching the pounding of his heart and raising his irritation to great heights.
"Can we heal her quicker?"
Jiro just shook his head, "Not that kind of wound. We can let her rest and wait for her to wake. But, till then, all we can do is keep her warm and out of reach from the beasts."
To prove his point, one of the more curious pups had nosed his way passed the other to sniff tentatively at the still woman. However, Koga quickly tugged the nosy animal back by the scruff of his neck, shaking his head sharply in warning. Thankfully, the fool mutt knew better than to argue with his alpha and quickly lowered his head with a whine of submission.
"And, that's it?" Koga snarled at the old warrior as he casually guided the wolf back to the others.
Jiro wasn't a fool. Being the oldest in the tribe, the greying hunter had seen more than most in the Eastern tribe. He was also the closest any of them had to a healer.
Growling low, the old warrior rose smoothly to his feet, meeting his alpha eye to eye.
"If you need something to do, there's another trying to heal that requires your attention," Jiro groused as he cocked his head with expectancy. "You did want to speak with him, didn't you?"
The slight reddening of the tips of Koga's ears had the older male cocking a bushy brow in surprised curiosity. He had forgotten. Not willing to risk angering the young alpha, Jiro kept his gaze focused solely on the straightening warrior. He would sate his curiosity later.
With a sharp huff, Koga glanced towards his two betas. Ginta and Hakkaku had positioned themselves on either side of the small side cave's entrance. Despite the dirt and blood smeared across their bodies the two looked as alert as ever. It would seem the human had earned the loyalty of both his betas.
For some reason, that thought filled Koga was a sense of pride. The woman inspired loyalty. That meant much among the Ookami.
Snapping himself to the present, Koga quickly made his way towards the two.
"Come on," Koga ordered. "We're going to see what Katashi's been hiding."
Both Ginta and Hakkaku nodded in agreement, eyes sternly set. However, Ginta kept glancing towards Kagome, worry evident in his gaze as he tried not to shift from foot to foot.
"Uh, Koga?" Ginta asked, softly. "What do we do about…."
Koga shook his head with a grumble. "Stay if you want. Keep the others at a distance, just in case…and keep the kitsune alive."
Ginta nodded as he leaned back against the cave wall, warms crossed as watched the rest of the tribe mill about in the central cave behind the front entrance. The kit had propped himself on an upper shelving of rock, out of reach from the more playful pups that sniffed and snapped at him when they first had entered the cave.
However, Koga wasn't quick to forge the deal he had with the miko. The kit stayed alive. No ifs, ands, or buts about it.
Gesturing sharply towards one of the back caves, Koga and Hakkaku made disappeared into the waiting darkness. It was time to figure out what all this fuss was about.
The cave was warm, despite the chill in the air. Almost unnaturally so. As Koga carefully made his way towards the large pile of furs in the back of the room, the shaky groans and labored breathing became more prominent in the Alpha's ears.
The stench of sweat and dried blood hung heavy in the stale air, causing Koga to swallow the gag his nose was begging him to do. Hakkaku forced himself to stay by his leader's side but Koga could tell the scent was straining him as well.
Once the two warriors came within sensing distance of the restless male, groans soon turned to raw mutterings. However, they were so low, Koga could barely make anything out.
Crouching beside the fallen scout, Koga clenched his jaw when he spotted the wounded male was Ayumu. The young male was the newest recruit to the tribe, who'd come looking for glory in defeating their ancient enemies. He'd begged Koga to let him fight along-side him and the Alpha had decided to give him a place amongst the patrols to test him. Apparently, the test had cost the young male dearly.
"Koga…. Koga…., I need to see Koga!"
The frantic call was a result from delirium, Koga could see that. However, he needed the scout to pull it together enough to tell him what he needed.
"I'm here," the young leader responded, trying to grab the panicking male's attention. "I'm here, Ayumu. What happened? Tell me what happened."
"It's him, it's him," the hunter muttered with horror. "I need Koga!"
"Yes, I'm here," Koga demanded, gripping the young scout's head to force him to meet his alpha's eyes. "Tell me."
For a moment, it seemed the scout saw Koga before that crazed panic clouded his eyes again, causing his head to thrash back and forth.
"So close, so close," he panted. "We need him. We need Koga. It's almost too late."
"Too late for what?" Koga demanded, giving Ayumu a sharp shake. "Speak, damnit!"
"It's him."
"Who? Who is it?"
"The King Bird," the shaking hunter replied with a whimper. "The King Bird is here."
