I'm A PureEvil: Well thank you so very much! Yes I know, she's supposed to know his name.
Fan Boy 101: I'm so glad you like it! It took me a while to think that up.
Shane Akame Ginga San: Yay!!
EyesRutherfordismyfriend: Thanks!
Yoro Inu: I'm glad you like her. She is very…..complex.
TwilightMoon416: Sure thing. I plan on it!
Sharlea North: Yeah well, you know how I work. If I took it to school, you'd be bugging me so much about it I'd never get anything done!
"I've been locked inside
Your heart-shaped box
For four whole weeks"
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Shaera walked behind the rest of the pack, setting herself apart from the others. Her eyes glowed in the last rays of sunlight.
-Do you think she's really been there?- Toboe whispered. -She said so much about it.-
-Didn't sound like she made it up, though, did it, runt?- Hige sighed. -I just wish we could find out for ourselves. That Varah chick sounded pretty amazing too, huh?-
Blue bit him.
-We will, Hige!- Toboe insisted. -We'll all go to Paradise, together.-
Tsume stiffened and looked back.
None of them had noticed the wolf walking beside Shaera. Her black fur was accented by a gray face and paws.
-And you are?-
The she-wolf growled. -I'm Kai. And who are you to talk so tough? There's no need to be so tense, we're all wolves here.-
Kiba spoke to Shaera. -Did you say the rest of your pack was coming as well?-
-I thought so. Where are the others, Kai?-
Kai huffed. -They won't be coming with us. Xiara chose to tell me—now, of all times!—that she's pregnant, and she's staying in the city with Reki.-
-What about Charisma?-
-She told me she'd catch up with us later.-
-But she doesn't know the way,- Shaera growled.
-I know. I practically begged her to come with us, but she wouldn't budge. I wonder why she's convinced herself so much to stay, anyway.-
Kiba cut in. -So it's just you two, then?-
Shaera shrugged. -I guess so. We can just leave then.-
-If you're sure.-
Cheza put her hand on Shaera's head as they started moving. "This one will walk with you for a while. Tell this one about your previous journey."
-Well…there were four of us: me and Kai, my little sister Cari and Kai's older brother, Koura. There's not much to tell until we finally got to Paradise.
Kai interrupted. -First of all, we couldn't believe we'd actually done it. I mean, we didn't think we'd ever actually get there! But when Varah told us we couldn't go in…I think Koura and Cari lost it. We worked so hard, and went so far to get there, and it was all for nothing? They wouldn't have it. So they attacked Varah.-
Shaera took over again. -That's the most senseless thing they could have done. She had no choice but to kill them, so I don't blame her for it. They just acted on instinct, and stupidly. So Kai and I went back to the city we grew up in, and we got together with some others and formed a pack. I can't believe they won't come with us—they were all so excited about going to Paradise…- She stopped.
Cheza held her hands over her heart. "This one can hear the plants in the city. The ones that belong to the nobles; they are eager to speak with this one." She looked at Shaera sadly. "They told this one what the nobles did to you."
Shaera averted her gaze to the ground. -I'll kill that noble. I'd kill them all for what he did to me.-
-We're stopping here for a while,- Kiba called back. They were at the edge of the forest.
Kai and Shaera disguised themselves and sat with their backs against a tree.
Kai brushed her dark hair out of her face. "You never told any of us…what did they do to you?"
Shaera bristled. "They captured me and imprisoned me in the most hellish place you could ever imagine. Then this noble…he…he decided to use me as an experiment. He told the soldiers to see how much damage a wolf can take. They were, of course, very willing to try."
Though pretending to listen to Hige, Tsume's thoughts went back to the cuts on Shaera's chest.
"Which one of those bastards was it?" he growled. "I'd be willing to bet it wasn't one of those cowards in the East."
"No," Shaera murmured. "It was Dante."
Tsume clicked his tongue. "That noble's a real piece of work," he said.
"You know him?" Kiba asked.
"Not really. He was the ruling noble in the city I came from. And let me tell you, from what I've heard he could almost be as bad as Jagara."
Hige snorted. "I dunno about that."
"I do," Shaera said quietly. She got up and started walking, blending in with the incoming mist.
"Well she didn't have to be so damn stingy about it," Hige complained.
"Just leave it alone, Hige," Blue said.
"I'm really sorry."
Everyone turned to look at Kai.
"I didn't mean to just pop up or anything. I'm sorry if you guys feel like I should leave."
"Don't be silly," Toboe said. "We don't care. As long as you're a wolf, we don't care. Isn't that right, Kiba? She's allowed to stay, right?"
"Yeah."
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Sorry, this one's shorter, too! I'll make sure to make the next one longer. Yeah, that's what I'll do. I was really happy with all the reviews last chapter! Thanks guys! Lyrics from "Heart-Shaped Box" by Nirvana.