Two kids were walking through the forest after collecting firewood for their house. The older child, clutching an armful of firewood while the other held small pieces of twigs and branches. Both with red hair, laughing as they walked through the forest.

"Joey, what do you think Dad's going to say when he sees all of this?" the younger child asked.

"He's going to be so proud!" Joey exclaimed. Joey looked at his younger brother, Fogul. His brown eyes big and wide, almost as wide as his smile. He skipped happily along the forest's floor, moving ahead of Joey.

"Wait Fogul! Don't go too far off!" Joey shouted. Suddenly, Fogul stopped and stared wide-eyed in front of him. Joey caught up to him, looking at him worriedly.

"Fogul? What's the matter?" Joey asked, nudging his younger brother with his shoulder.

Fogul pointed off into the distance. "Our house..." he whispered. "Mommy! Daddy!" he suddenly screamed, dropping the twigs and branches in his arms and running off.

Joey followed his line of sight, and saw that their house was on fire. He dropped the firewood he was holding, and ran after Fogul.

"Fogul, wait!" he shouted as he ran as fast as he could. Fogul was fast, however, his tiny feet covered great distance as he ran towards the house that was engulfed in flames. As he neared the house, a sudden explosion blasted him back and he cried out as his back hit the ground. Joey reached him and pulled him up.

"Mommy! Daddy!" Fogul wailed into the air. Joey was crying too, not understanding how this could all happen. Joey's eyes took in the scenery, flames and engulfed their house, windows shattered and blood stains all everywhere. He screamed out.

"Fogul? Joey?" a voice shouted from behind them. They turned around and saw that their father, a forty five year old man, walking up to them with a shotgun in his hand. He wore an old cowboy hat, a memento of his earlier days.

"Oh my god, I'm so glad you two are okay" he shouted as he ran towards them and pulled them into a hug.

"Daddy!" Fogul sobbed. "I was so scared..."

Joey pulled away from his father. "Where's mom, dad?"

Their father looked away for a moment. "Your mother...she's not here anymore..."

Fogul's eyes widened. "What do you mean daddy? Do you mean she went to a safe place to hide?"

Their father nodded slowly. "Yes...your mother is in a safe place now..."

Fogul wiped his eyes and smiled, not understanding what his father really meant. Joey clenched his fist as tears flowed from his eyes.

"Listen boys, it's not safe here anymore. We have to leave..."

"What do you mean?" Joey asked, then cut short when he heard growls and snarls from behind their burning house. Wolves started walking out, eyes that were red glowered at them as saliva dripped from their jaws. It was then that Joey and Fogul realized that they were white wolves.

Fogul screamed and hugged his dad. Joey gripped his dad's hands.

"Joey, Fogul... You two have to get out of here."

"But daddy, you're coming with us right?" Fogul sniffed, still holding onto his father. Their father looked at them for a bit with sadness in his eyes.

"Yes...I'll be coming with you. You two go ahead first and I'll find you" he said, smiling at them. He nodded at Joey. "Keep him safe, please."

Joey nodded his head, tears streaming from his eyes and onto his cheek. He gripped Fogul's hand, and ran, he looked back once to see his dad cocking the gun and firing into the wolves. There were yelps of pain, snarls, growls and the snapping of teeth. They ran, and ran...then they hid behind a tree until nightfall.

Fogul sniffed. "Where's daddy, Joey?"

Joey shook his head.

"Daddy said he'll find us... Is daddy coming?" Fogul asked.

Joey looked at his younger brother. "Daddy's...not here anymore" he said with his voice shaking.

"What do you mean? Do you mean he went and stayed with mommy?" Fogul asked.

Joey nodded his head. "We can't see them anymore, Fogul."

"Why?" Fogul cried. "Why can't we see them?"

"They're in a safe place that we can't get to" Joey explained.

"But I want to see them! I want to!" Fogul screamed and cried. Joey brought Fogul into his arms and hugged him. They both laid there, sobbing. Eventually, Fogul cried himself to sleep, but Joey stayed awake. He took off his jacket, the red jacket that his mother made him for his birthday, and covered Fogul with it.

When Fogul woke up the next time, he saw that Joey had built a fire. Joey was always the smart one, always so level headed and calm under situations.

"Let's go back" Joey said.

"Where?" Fogul asked.

"We have to go back to the house to get some things"

"I don't want to go back!" Fogul cried, memories of last night filling his head.

"Shh, it's okay" Joey said. "They're gone now."

"Really?" Fogul asked.

" I promise" Joey replied, then holding Fogul's hand, they set off. As they neared their house, the putrid scent of decaying bodies, blood, and the still lingering smell of smoke filled their noses.

"Wait here" Joey said, and he walked towards their charred house. Their house was a two story house, not that big but enough to support his family. He went into his dad's room, and took his wallet. He stuffed it in his pocket and grabbed some coats and jackets for Fogul and himself. He grabbed a brown bag and filled t with food. As he prepared to leave the house, he stepped on something. He looked down, and saw his mother. Her eyes were closed, but her throat was ripped out. Blood stained the floor she was laying on, but yet she looked so peaceful. Joey gagged and sobbed. He covered his mouth and ran outside the house.

"What's wrong?" Fogul asked as he walked over to Joey.

"Nothing" Joey responded. "We have to leave, now." He gripped Fogul's hand and began walking away from the massacre scene. He had no idea where they were going, hopefully to a town or some sort. They walked through the forest for hours on end, stopping sometimes for breaks to eat and rest. Suddenly, Joey heard something.

"Fogul, do you hear that?" he asked his younger brother.

"What?" Fogul responded.

It was like a small cry from somewhere, a whimper.

"There it is again" Joey said, standing up and walking over to where the noise was coming from. Fogul scrambled up and walked after Joey. Several leaves and bushes covered their paths, but they swatted them away. When they got closer and closer to the sound, they realized it wasn't a human sound. The sound seemed to be coming from behind a bush, and they peered over it. A small black furry animal with white pigments on its tail, paws and ears, curled in a ball behind the bush. It was whimpering and shaking, and Fogul noticed dirt and multiple wound marks on its coat. He leaned in to get a closer look.

"Wait!" hissed Joey.

"What? It looks like a dog" Fogul said.

"It's not a dog, it's a wolf" Joey tugged on Fogul's jacket. "Those things that attacked our house yesterday. Let's get out of here."

"But...it's just a little puppy" Fogul responded, going back to the small furry animal.

"Fogul..." Joey warned as his little brother went and picked up the small ball of fur. The pup stopped whimpering when Fogul picked him up and held him against his chest, his small eyes began to open slowly and stared at Fogul with blue eyes. Its small tongue licked Fogul's chin, causing the younger boy to giggle.

"Can we keep him Joey? Can we?" Fogul begged.

"I don't even know if we have enough money to feed ourselves..." Joey replied, shaking his head.

"Please? Please? " Fogul asked as he walked closer to closer to Joey, holding the pup in front of him. The pup's blue eyes stared at Joey innocently, cocking its head to look at him, almost as if he understood what Fogul was asking.

After a while, Joey gave in. "Fine, but I don't know how we can keep it once it grows bigger" Joey sighed.

"Yay!" Fogul said, jumping up and down.

"What do you want to call it?" Joey asked.

Fogul looked at the young puppy in his arms, curled up with its snout tucked into the crook of Fogul's neck.

"Let's call him Aatu."

Joey looked at the young pup asleep in Fogul's arms, and breathed a sigh. At least...something like this is a sign that things will get better for them.

"So... how did he react when they learned that you could talk?" Shiroi asked.

Aatu smiled a wolfish smile. "Well-"

"We're starting" Joey cut in. "Lyla's already in position."

"Okay, Toboe?" Shiroi looked at the younger pup.

"Yeah, I'm ready."

Joey and Fogul broke away from the rest of them. They waited in the dark alley, hidden from sight as they watched Lyla tentatively walk towards the castle's gates. Her brown hair covered by a beret, her hands clutched to her chest. The wolves leaned in to hear better.

"U-uh...excuse me" Lyla stuttered to the guards.

"What is it, miss?" one of the guards replied. They were wearing a plate armor, but nothing concealing their faces. The one that replied had a stubby face, and it seems like he hasn't shaved in days.

"I'm being chased..." Lyla whispered to him. "Please help me."

"Chased? By who?" the guard asked.

Joey and Fogul then showed up, walking towards her. Lyla cowered and clutched the guard's arms.

"Sorry, she's our sister. She kind of got lost..." Fogul explained as he walked up to her.

Lyla then gave her best impression of a scream, and the guards immediately stepped forward to meet Fogul. As they did, the three wolves snuck in behind them, and entered the castle without being noticed.

"Don't worry mam, we'll take these people in for questionin-"

The guard never finished his sentence, because Fogul punched him in the face.

Inside the castle, a masked man with a black robe walked down the halls. Everywhere he walked, the scientists around him started falling over. Once he reached inside the lab, a lady with blue eyes and a lab coat stared at him in horror. He reached her, and cupped her face.

"You must be tired..." he said. One of his eyes, the golden one, flashed and the female scientist fell to the floor. "Sleep." The man directed his attention to the female inside the capsule. The female with red eyes and pink hair. Once their eyes made contact, the female's eyes widened and her mouth opened up in a silent scream.

Kurai groaned as he groggily lifted his head up. He felt as if he was hit by a car, sent spiraling into a tree, then landed and broke one of his legs. He took a deep breath, and noticed that his energy were no longer being sapped from him. It was dark, and the moon was brimming. His eyes stared at the moon for a while, as his markings began to dimly glow. He winced as he attempted to stand up, the hole that the bullet made near his stomach wasn't healed yet, but at least the bullet was taken out. He heard some steps and he turned his head to catch a glimpse at what was making the sound, and spotted Rain and Hail making their way towards him with a dead rabbit in their jaws.

"You're awake" Hail said, surprised. Kurai nodded. "We didn't know if you were going to make it, the bullets hit one of your vitals..."

Kurai grunted as he sat up, wincing a bit at the stinging pain. "It's going to take a lot more than a few bullets to keep me down" he responded. He noticed Rain looking away to the distance, and he looked back at Hail.

"She's been up all night for a couple of nights, watching over you" he explained. "Thinks that it's all her fault." Kurai's eyes softened at the mention of this. Hail nodded at Kurai before taking his meal to eat by a nearby tree. Kurai limped over to Rain.

"Are you okay?" she asked Kurai as he approached her, eyes averting his.

"Yeah...I feel a lot better now that we're out of the city" Kurai plopped down beside her and began licking his wounded leg. "How long was I out for?"

"Three days" Rain said, and Kurai saw tears in her eyes. "It's all my fault..."

"It's not" Kurai cut her off. "It's not your fault."

"You got shot trying to protect me" she protested.

"Listen..." Kurai whispered to her. "When there's someone that you want to protect, then it's worth getting hurt for." Their eyes met for a brief moment, before Rain returned his statement with a smile.

"How does your brother keep up with you" she giggled. "If you kept jumping in harm's way to protect someone, it's a wonder how you've lived so long."

Kurai grinned. "My brother would have done the same."

Rain's smile started to fade. "When you blocked that bullet for me...it reminded me of my parents. They sacrificed themselves to save us and I-" she broke off.

"I know Hail tries to act tough, and I do sometimes too, but not a day goes by that we don't miss them..."

She took a breath.

"In times like these...I wonder if Paradise really does exist..."

Kurai frowned a bit, before standing up and wincing at the stab of pain. "I'll show you" he said, and the area around them started glowing, gathering silver dust. They were in a flower field, millions of lunar flowers surrounding them. They were warm, protected and safe. For the first time in a long while, Rain felt happy.

A sudden snarl woke them from their vision. Hail's ears were drawn back and his lips were curled up.

"Hail? What's wrong?" Rain asked her brother.

"Hunters, they're around here..." he growled. "A bunch of them too..."

Hail, Rain and Kurai began prowling towards the scent. Peering over a hill, they spotted them. At least seven of them, armed with guns and were in a circular formation around something. Kurai leaned in to see better, and noticed that they were surrounding a white female wolf with figments of black around her paws,muzzle,back and tail. Broken pieces of chains were attached to her legs, hinting that she escaped. She was lying on her side with a bullet wound on her shoulder.

"Make sure she can't escape this time" Kurai heard one of the hunters say. It was hard to see their faces and they covered it with some sort of mask. The other hunters pulled out a leather strap, and began to bind the wolf's muzzle shut. She growled at them weakly, but couldn't muster the strength to fight them off.

"Let's take her back" another hunter said as they began dragging the female wolf by her chains into a cage that was situated nearby.

"What are we going to do?" Rain whispered.

"We can't go against them like this, Kurai's already injured" Hail whispered back. He looked back to where Kurai was, except that there was no Kurai nearby.

"Oh shit" Hail said as he caught a glimpse of Kurai's black figure leaping over the hill, and rushing at the group of hunters.

A/N: Sorry, no new characters introduced yet *^*. I'm going to start introducing them chronologically, and it's probably going to take me a few chapters to put the ones requested in. Don't worry though, they'll be put in eventually~