Chapter 13

"Mommy, what's that smell?"

Her mother's fur stood on end, and it frightened Eneres, for she had never seen her mother do that before.

"Come, darling, stay close to me and the others," Remoth whispered, herding her three month old pups together as she led them to the middle of a rough circle made by the now-aggressive pack males.

"What's going on?" whimpered Yngrina, Eneres's sister. Eneres merely stared like a scared fawn at Yngrina, and huddled closer to her, feeling the warmth of her fur against hers: it was slightly comforting.

"Who's that out there?" squealed Etah, her brother, and he tried to jump in front of his mother, trying to act like one of the protective males.

"Etah, come back!" Remoth gasped as her pup playfully dashed out towards the circle of Draggas. Etah pranced along, only to be repelled with a yelp as one of the stronger males thrust him backwards.

"Stay out of here, runt!" he snarled, and Remoth quickly gathered him up and placed him back with Eneres and Yngrina.

Eneres looked at the horizon, the small dot in the distance getting larger. It was a she-wolf, scrawny, with a white pelt that looked like it was spiked with blood, but maybe that was just its natural color. She looked weighted (and exhausted), for in her mouth there was a small, golden-colored pup, about the age of Eneres. Eneres could see her ribs; she had obviously been trying to feed the pup as best she could without starving herself.

The silver pup looked on in awe and bewilderment as the stranger walked closer, dropped the pup right in front of Eneres' pack leader, then dropped to the ground herself and did not move. Dnik sniffed the pup ungratefully as it struggled to get up in the light snow that covering the ground. The small thing gazed her deep sapphire eyes up into his, and Eneres heard her mother's sharp intake of breath. Dnik lifted the pup from the snow by its scruff, and Eneres prepared herself for a horrifying yelp and the scent of blood, but it did not come. He came over and set the pup down by Remoth, who immediately sniffed the pup over to check for malnourishment, then cuddled her close so that she was surrounded by warm fur. Yngrina became jealous and clambered over her mother to try and suckle, but Remoth snapped at her, letting the half-starved pup have her fill.

Two males helped get the pup's mother to her paws and into a small crevice that was used as the nursery. Dnik ordered half the pack to go out and hunt for the dying mother while he interrogated her, and the rest of the wolves returned to normal while the hunters were gone.

"Eneres," whispered Remoth once the noise of the suckling pup stopped. "Look at your new friend."

Eneres struggled to get on top of her mother's fluffy coat, her paws beginning to become numb from the snow; this was the longest playtime that any of the pups had ever had. The newcomer was almost the exact opposite of herself. Radiant golden fur adorned this chubby pup, and her fur was quite thick; Eneres decided that she was from this 'North' that her parents would always discuss.

"Lemme see!" cried Etah, shoving Eneres away.

"Hush, Etah, she is asleep," scolded Remoth.

Etah gazed at her curiously. "I don't see what's so special."

"She will be your new playmate," Remoth soothed, nuzzling the pup gently. "It will be fun."

"Yeah, funner than Yngrina, that's for sure," he smirked. Yngrina gave Etah a reproachful look.

"Eneres, you haven't told us what you think of her," smiled Remoth at her silver daughter.

"I think she's nice," mumbled Eneres. She did not know this pup, so how could she know what to think? "What do you think of her, mommy?"

"I think she is very special," Remoth replied, gazing at Eneres with pure love. "I think she is very special indeed."


Eneres softly opened her eyes; the dream had been a pleasurable yet sorrowful one. She tried to stand up, but fell back to the ground, fighting a yelp that was sure to wake everyone else up. She just wanted to be alone for now. After taking some time to try to stand up without using her bruised abdomen or her broken arm, Eneres meandered her way to the entrance of the fallen tower, which was where they had all slept for the night. It was now lightly snowing, small flakes fluttering to the ground then disappearing into a greater pile of their siblings.

Siblings . . . thought Eneres wistfully. Oh how she missed her sister, Yngrina, and her brother, Etah. They were just distant memories now, forever pushed away by more important matters. Eneres realized that she hadn't thought about her family for more than two years . . . so why did they come back now? Something was changing in Eneres' mind, but she couldn't quite place her paws on it. Sure, she'd had her crazy spells before, but this was different. Maybe she actually was getting closer to Paradise, or the spot it was to be opened, rather. She found it strange that she and Citegrene didn't have it hardwired into them where they were supposed to go to open it, and yet, they were supposed to know when it came upon them. Was this that feeling?

Eneres was pulled out of her reminiscence by something she had not noticed before. The odd black wolf, apparently having woken up before Eneres, was sitting about 20 yards in front of her, still as a statue. Curious as to what he was doing out in the snow, Eneres sauntered her way out by his side, her face becoming more and more surprised as she saw that he was just staring: staring out into the snow, his mouth often twitching and his throat rumbling, as if he was speaking words to some unseen figure.

"What the hell are you doing!?" yelled Eneres, figuring that she had seen enough.

He jumped, snapping out of his trance, then, becoming outraged at this interruption, turned towards Eneres with hate in his eyes. "What the hell does it look like I'm doing?!"

Eneres bristled. "Well, what the hell is that?"

"How the hell should I know?" He was obviously hiding something, and Eneres narrowed her eyes, staring at him with such intensity that his fur began to bristle. They glared at each other for the longest moment, then the mysterious black wolf looked away and trotted into the snow.

"Hey!" Eneres called after him. "Where are you going?"

He did not answer, only pulled into a run, his ears forward with anger. Eneres snorted with pride and disgust, glad that this stranger was finally gone. He could have seriously hurt her, for she was wounded, and he was not. He could have, if he wanted to. If he wanted to . . . but he seemed so angry, why did he not want to? If looks could kill, Eneres would have been thrust into fiery pits of hell. Looks . . . what was he staring at. Something was out there, Eneres decided, and she was not going to stick around to find out.

She trotted back to the tower as best she could with her broken arm, groaning when she saw that Tsume and Kiba were up now.

"Where were you?" asked Kiba.

"Out," Eneres mumbled, a bit more irritated than she meant it to sound. Kiba gave her a small scowl.

"Where's our little mysterious friend?" smirked Tsume.

"Gone."
"Can you say anything other than one-word sentences?"

"Go to hell."

Tsume's lips pulled back in a snarl, but he was silenced by the glare he got from Kiba. "She doesn't want to talk," he mouthed.

And that's how it was for three months.


Citegrene shook her head in frustration. There was only one thing left to do. She staggered onto her feet, ignoring the bullet wound in her leg and the pain from her gashed side. Slowly, she stood up, defying her muscles protests to collapse. Well, it's worth a try, she thought as she exhaled, reached out, and grasped the door handle.

Much to her surprise, it opened with a click, creaking forward as Citegrene slipped through, looking every which way. Three hallways lay before her in a T cross-section in which Cheza's scent was overpowering. Citegrene projected her human self just in case there were guards, then limped straight down the hall in front of her, following her nose.

"Lord Darcia, your presence is required on the bridge," a sweet voice echoed around. Citegrene froze, taking in her surroundings, and then continued walking along the hallway. After a time, she stopped in front of a door where Cheza's scent couldn't possibly get any stronger. Instead of a low-security doorknob, this entrance had a keypad. Citegrene bent over and sniffed around it in anxiety, looking for another way to open it. Suddenly, she saw the door swing open.

Citegrene straightened up slowly and glanced towards the doorway, smiling nervously. In a flash, she was pinned against the wall, legs dangling in thin air. Intelligent blue eyes peered at her through the mask inches from her face.

"We meet again, wolf."

"Darcia." How can he see right through my disguise?

His eyes flashed to the side of her imaginary t-shirt, soaked with blood. The blonde-haired girl whispered, "You have an intruder on your ship. He's a threat to everyone; even Cheza."

Darcia's eyes flitted back to lock onto hers. "Yes, I am aware of Rekoj's disposition. Agreeably, he's taking his . . . assignment . . . too far, though he is undoubtedly the best to take over the job."

Citegrene gave him a "what the hell?" look, then froze fearfully, feeling a slight pulse from the shock collar. Was Darcia in league with Rekoj?

"But enough talk. I'm not one to reveal the grand plan in front of my victims, especially if their death isn't guaranteed." He released Citegrene, and her feet touched ground again. "Come," he beckoned her through the doorway with gloved hands.

As Citegrene cautiously walked through the entrance, she couldn't help but think of how much Darcia reminded her of Rekoj, the only differences being that Darcia was sane enough to hold an intelligent conversation with and that Darcia (hopefully) didn't paint his face with crayons.

Cheza's scent was driving Citegrene insane by the time she was seated on a couch in the middle of the room, apparently one for luxury. There were many shelves with random trinkets, and a window was set into the wall, giving a nice view of clouds. Nowhere could Citegrene find any trace of the Flower Maiden, but there was a promising door on the opposite side of the room. There had to be a way to get to it without being caught.

Darcia sat down gracefully on the couch across from Citegrene, a circular shag rug separating the two sofas. He amiably crossed his legs, then leaned over and pressed a button on the wall behind him, speaking softly into it, "I assume my presence isn't required on the bridge, Neeze. State your message, then I will need a couple minutes alone."

"Yes, Lord Darcia. We have now achieved lowest flight altitude, as you commanded," came the sweet voice again. Darcia released the button, then turned his gaze back to Citegrene.

"Much lies ahead of you, wolf. Be prepared for horrible things to happen. This time, it will be much harder. I assure you."

She clenched her fists into the leather sofa. "What do you mean, this time?"

He just stared at her, eyes twinkling with unknown knowledge. "Everything rests on you and your friend's shoulders. There can be no mistakes. No mishaps. You only have so long before Rekoj completes his assignment."

"What are you saying? You think that you and Rekoj have the job of killing me? Who told you to do this? And you still didn't answer what you mean by this time? Who the hell are you?!"

"Calm, wolf. I am saying all that I am allowed to. This job is not shared by Rekoj and I; it is his alone. I was told this by the ones who chose to reveal this knowledge to me. This time is answered by the Prophecy. And I am Lord Darcia the Third, come to give you a head start. You should appreciate this little talk we are having."

Citegrene jumped onto her feet. "Head start on WHAT?! I don't believe in any of this fake crap of a Prophecy, and I certainly don't believe that you are giving me any sort of advantage at all! Just let me live my life the way I want to!" She took a menacing step towards Darcia, her human image flickering with anger.

"Very well." His voice was smooth, his eyes twinkling.

Citegrene inhaled sharply as the world dropped from beneath her feet. The room went by in a blur of color as the shag rug opened up to the air below, replaced by gray clouds swirling around in her vision. The cold wind blasted through her thick fur as she free-fell the 30 feet between airship and earth, twisting and turning as she was buffeted. Suddenly, the choppy lake below hit her like a block of concrete, flowing up over her head as the icy cold shocked her system.

"Citty, you first!" Eneres smiled playfully, her short tail wagging.

A chubby gold-pelted pup waddled to the lake's edge, peering into the water. "Oh, I don't know, Nerry. It's too cold today." The wind was howling through the trees nearby, blowing their fur around in the frigid air.

"No, it's fine! See!" Eneres dipped her dainty paw in, then withdrew it, spraying droplets everywhere. "I can do it, so you can too! C'mon, Etah said we would be human pups if we didn't do it! We have to show him that we aren't scared of anything!"

Citegrene sighed, then crouched slowly, shaking her haunches in preparation.

"C'mon, Citty! The faster you do it, the faster we can go tell Etah to shove it where the sun don't shine."

Citegrene smiled halfheartedly, inhaled, then leaped. There was a small plop as her body entered the freezing water, and Eneres looked anxiously over the edge of the bank.

Instantly, a current tugged at Citegrene's thick fur, pulling her down to the depths. The pup struggled, yelling in the water as her large paws churned helplessly, the frigid water seeping through her skin. Her limbs became unbearably heavy with cold, her eyelids drooping. But her lungs remained aflame with the burning lack of oxygen, piercing through the cold's numbing affect. It wasn't enough. Citegrene finally gave up struggling, and slowly she sank to the river bottom, the pressure squeezing on her tiny body.

Garbled sounds reached waterlogged ears: an motherly voice yelling with anger and worry; a timid pup's voice, frightened and full of fear; a young male's voice, inquisitive and curious. Then there was a large splash, and the water swirled around Citegrene. None of it clicked in her brain. The water, it was just too cold. It was just too tempting to let it all go and just . . . go to . . . sleep. Citegrene's eyes closed, a single name of "Eneres" on her lips as a strong grip grasped her scruff to pull her from the waves.


Citegrene surfaced, gulping down air as wave after wave crashed over her head like a brick. She floundered, looking every which way to get her bearings. There! Land! She forced her weary limbs to move her forward through the water, despite its attempts to take her to the depths. This time, she wasn't going to give in.

After an eternity, Citegrene made landfall. Her forelimbs struggled to drag her body out of the surf, and she collapsed onto the ground, breathing hard. Everything was so cold. But somewhere in her mind she knew that it was fatal to just lie there, soaked as she was. Somewhere in her memory, she recalled moving towards the nearby forest, coated in snow; she remembered a hollow tree trunk, safe from the wind and warm inside; she remembered the uneasy sleep that took her, washing over her like the tides.

When she woke, it was to the perpetual snowstorm that had plagued the land for the last several days. Prey was scarce, but she managed to find enough to support her meager existence. The once radiant golden wolf fell into periodical bouts of depression and anxiety, sometimes swearing up and down that Eneres was there in the forest with her, watching over Cheza. She sometimes heard the maniacal laughter of Rekoj, or the sarcastic voice of Natas, the traitor, though she was still in the dark about how he had betrayed her.

The full moon came and went, healing her wounds up with its rays until they were just more scars on her pelt. The impossible relations between who was working with who, who was stabbing who in the back, what was going on all swirled in her mind, driving her mad. The Prophecy kept coming back, and little echoes of a time before this never-ending winter slowly drove Citegrene into the dark pits of insanity. Tor and Fenris didn't exist. There was no escaping it. There was no escaping the darkness.

And that's how it was for three months.