"I saw that day,
Lost my mind
Lord, I'm fine
Maybe in time
You'll want to be mine"

xXx

There was no telling just how far, or how long she had run. Dodging cars, busses and scared humans the white she wolf had somehow made her way back into a dense wooded area. It wasn't like the places at home, the places she had grown up but a wolf always knew how to find the wild again. You just had to follow the smell of bark, of new growth, of fire, of animals of life. But it was still so foreign to her, so alien that her heart refused to calm down to its normal rhythm. Despite its continuous pounding though, Anna could only limp her way through the underbrush. She could still hear the city hustle and bustle behind her, not but a few miles to the west from where she was now. The rain continued to smash against the earth in cold sheets, making the mist rise from the hot ground.

Her nose had caught the scent of freshwater, albeit faint and determination to wash the blood off of her was all that drove her. She hate blood, hated the way it smelled, the way it tasted, felt—everything about it. Perhaps it was from forsaking that which she was for so long, because there was a time in which Anna would have loved the taste, loved the smell. Climbing her way over a fallen tree only to come face first into the mud; instead of landing awkwardly on her front paws, her hands decided they would have been more useful. When the pressure was put on her one wrist however, she yelled out in a burst of pain and proceeded to fall to her side. It was only then did she notice her lack of clothing, as the rain made her skin soaked, and cold. Blood still seeped from the teeth marks on her shoulder's and neck, running down her alabaster skin in little rivets. Her eyes were glassy with the tears that forced themselves from their holding cells in blue, and Anna found herself unable to move any further. There was this sense of loneliness that she had not felt in a lifetime, not since the first time she was separated from her second family in Yellow Stone. She had heard their calls, the howls and yet could not return. Her heart broke equally as it did that day, afraid that if she were to ever go back that hell would only be waiting. Yes, they had been or the son had been a wolf like herself but—

"Anna! Annnaa!"

A voice pierced the heavy silence.

"Anna It's alright!"

But she still couldn't move. The shame she was feeling was unbearable. Shivering there in the mud, Anna remained silent hoping that Hana would leave and move on. Let her be here, let her rot here because that was all that she found herself good for now. She had hurt her, bitten the only person that really made her feel at home here in this foreign land. She shut her eyes tight, only to open them again when two strong arms lifted her from the ground. Anna squeezed her eyes shut, tightly holding onto the shirt of the man who was carrying her. There was a fear that opening them would cause her to vomit, and that was the last thing she wanted to deal with. The smell of blood hit her nose, not her own this time. It was accompanied by the scent of the person carrying her through the woods. Her body tensed at the recognition, waiting for the moment he would turn on her and this time kill her. But it never came.

"Relax" Ame spoke.

"Put me down"

"Why? So you can die out here?"

Anna couldn't really answer.

"Anna" He spoke "I—"

"Anna! Ame!" Hana came running from the forest's edge, "Souhei! They are over here!"

"She's still bleeding"

"C'mon, the sooner we get her home the sooner I can patch these up"

She was placed in a gentle manner in the back seat of the jeep, a jacket placed over her shivering body to suffice in the absence of a blanket. The voices became muttered, far off and hard to understand. Soon enough, the car doors slammed shut and the vehicle moved back and forward. Her eyes cracked open, watching the silhouettes of the two in the front seat with a glazed expression. From there, she felt herself become light and her vision blurred and blotched. Her hearing faded slowly after, and she was wrapped in a strange warm darkness.

xXx

In and out, in and out,

One-two-three-four-one-two-three

It was just inches from her mouth, her teeth cold from the air she inhaled with each stride. Closer and closer she came to snatching up that cotton tailed dart, moving in zigzags across the snow laden fields in which she perused it into. She could feel it, this was the time she would catch it! Extending her neck out and down her voice came out in a low gurgling growl while her teeth clamped shut and—BAM

She was rolling, snow covering her white fur. The world spun around her, the sky and snow swirling above her. She heard the squeaking of the rabbit pleading to be let go but from what? She hadn't been the one to grab it so who—

Standing up on all fours, blue met the burning yellow of the bi-colored wolf in front of her. It was the same one that had attacked her earlier, the same one that gave her the wounds on her neck—the ones that were still bleeding?! Looking down to her front paws she saw a pool of blood form.

With the way she sat up, the pain didn't register for several more moments. It came to her in sharp waves, making her body fall back down and contort a little with a wince on her face. Her head was pounding, and she shivered when her skin was kissed with the cool spring breeze. Her blue eyes scanned the room—it was her room. She was back at Hana's house but?

"Finally"

She knew that voice, all too well now.

"Is she up?"

"Yeah, give her a few moments"

There was shuffling and suddenly Anna knew that she was alone in the room. This time ( after laying like that for a good five more minutes ) it was a much slower approach to getting up. Inch by inch she moved till she was sitting on her bed, looking at her hands. Her fingers moved to trace the stiches 'round her neck as her eyes looked upon in detail the white wraps around her forearms and the split on her left wrist. Anna inhaled deeply, recalling the prior events that she was thankful didn't linger in her dreamless sleep. Quietly she pulled a long sleeved black shirt over her cami, and slid on a pair of jeans instead of the running shorts she'd presently been in. It was more than strange approaching the door of her room, even stranger when she walked down the hall and it reached its height when she entered the dining area in which both Hana , and to her displeasure, Ame sat.

"Good morning!" Hana smiled at her "I'm glad to see you up and moving—are you hungry Anna?"

She blinked, arms coming to fold across her chest in a very insecure manner. Were they just going to ignore the fact she'd lied to them? Either way, Anna slowly nodded.

"Sit, sit, I'll get you something then" Hana motioned to the chair as she stood, rushing off to the kitchen.

And then the awkwardness escalated past normal levels. Quietly she moved to sit across from Ame, letting her gaze focus on the wooden table both were placed at. However, curiosity took its toll. Hadn't she torn his ear? Blue glanced up briefly to take note of the white gauze tapped to this right ear. The moment he looked back over towards her though, her gaze fell again quicker than a bullet.

"Here, " She placed a plate with sticks—kabobs of some sort—neatly arranged in linear fashion ,"I had extra. Ame would you like what's left?"

"No, that's alright"

Anna stared at her food for a long, intense moment. Inside she was dreading he conversation that she knew both were chomping at the bit to have. She couldn't be mad at them; if things had been reversed she'd want to know everything about this wolf in a stranger's body. She found herself sniffing at the food as she held it in her hand, something she hadn't done in years. Next she let her tongue taste it—boy was it good—before eating it chunk by chunk like a hungry….well like a hungry wolf. She supposed there was no hiding it now.

"Anna—"

"Ame let her eat"

She tucked her hair behind her one ear, putting her half eaten food down before drawing in a deep breath. Blue met yellow then brown, and she forced back tears. "It's alright Hana" She was surprised at how strong her voice came out. "I know I have a lot of explaining to do."

"Hold on before you go on" Ame sighed, scratching at the scruffs of his face "I want to apologize"

If it hadn't been such a serious topic, the expression on both Hana's and Anna's faces could have been considered comical.

"It was not my place to…attack you like I did." He met her gaze "I let my instincts overtake me. I felt the need to protect my family from everything. I wanted to keep my sister safe from you and—"

Anna put her hand up "You don't need to explain." She started, "I know. It was the other side of you. The same thing that ripped apart my disguise."

The one good thing in this situation was, ironically, the fact that both were wolf. And because both were wolf, that meant they understood what the other meant when referring to the instinct to protect. Something so strong it could drive even the tamest of animals to act irrationally.

"You only wanted to defend your family from strange wolf. I only wanted to defend myself. It's only natural"

For the briefest of moments, she could have sworn a small ghostly smile take hold of his lips. But her attention was given then to Hana who jutted in with a sigh "I am just glad both of you are alright—"

"Your arm!" Anna's face contorted into a look of worry and anguish.

"Don't worry Anna." She lifted it up and pulled back the sleeve to reveal the white wrappings. "It'll heal. It was barley a nip from one of your fangs"

"Are you sure?"

"She's had worse." Ame muttered. "After all, she did raise my sister and me''

It earned a laugh from his mother, and a small smile from Anna.

"How is Yuki and the baby?" Anna asked, now beginning to pick apart her food once more as the heavy feeling from before lifted off her chest.

"Doing very well. They decided to name him Hoshiko"

Anna felt her body relax at the news, and finally that last bit of weight lifted. There was no need to apologize; it was all one giant misunderstanding. For some reason she felt this was the beginning of something good and she needed something good.

"Oh no!" Hana looked at the watch around her wrist "I am late! Anna, help yourself to whatever you need. I called the university and they gave you a leave of absence for the next week to recover from your car accident—I will be back later" She smiled, quickly scrambling out the door.

Anna turned with a questioning look

"Work" Was what Ame replied and she nodded. He leaned against his fist as she ate, lost in his own thoughts and unaware of the growling of his own stomach. That was, until the late was scooted across the table to sit directly in front of him. "Hm?"

"Eat it, I can hear your stomach from here"

He raised an eyebrow.

"Just eat it"

He sighed, obliging to the order given. "You are impossible"