This time, I'm going to write the story in the Polar Bear's POV, I'm sorry for dawdling. This chapter will also be in partly Tsume's POV, don't worry

Apologies for the last chapter; I didn't write a disclaimer. I do not claim ownership of Wolf's Rain or any characters (except for my own OC's).

CHAPTER 2: The Snow and the Moon

A starry and slightly cloudy night covered the sky in its delicate blanket. The red moon was waning once again and the high hills were radiating their own aura of snowy white. Nothing could ruin this display of sleek perfection.

Hurgem gently placed her paw on the cave entrance. As her large beady eyes darted from one speck of horizon to another, she noticed the pool of blood the young cub Tsume had left. As she climbed out of the den, she sniffed the ice-cold liquid with great interest. It was at times like these that her great sense of smell came in handy.

The blood smelled foreign yet so familiar from the past whiffs she'd received when travelling around wolf territory. Wolves were certainly strange; for one, they possessed as powerful a sense of smell as a polar bear, and they looked to the moon every night. Their howls would fill her ears at times- it was so beautiful that on more than one occasion she was tempted to join in.

The cub's blood was frosted but still carried a powerful magnitude of scent, and these enduring winds would carry the blood many miles to an enemy. The humans had almost no sense of smell at all, no, it was the birds of prey and other large mammals that worried her. Even Hurgem found herself questioning why she hadn't eaten the young cub in the first place.

When the great bear was satisfied that her search was complete, she walked back to the cave-den and ducked inside. The walls of ice reflected the warmth from the two living creatures' bodies and filled the entire den with warm air. It was a good way to stay alive in these times, the only problem was food. She kept the food she got from the city in a hole of ice dug in from the side. Food could be dropped in and stored for up to three or four months. All that remained now were three large fish, only enough for two days. The cub will need one every day. I'll need one at least every week. That's a problem.

Gritting her teeth in frustration, she stole a glance at the grey slab of bloodied fur lying beside her. Its breathing was different and shallow which she suspected was more than a difference between species. A scab had formed of the dried blood on the wound and covered it for the time being, but it would crack if it was moved too much. This posed yet another problem. The sleeping wolf didn't seem to have a care in the world; he was twitching his legs in his sleep, obviously dreaming about running. Hurgem decided that they would move to a city as soon as the young cub's wound healed. She would retell stories of wolves and bears she had learned in her youth and older life. For now, sleep was a tempting reward.

Tsume gently opened one slitted eye. The first thing he noticed was that Auntie was asleep right beside him. His attention then rested upon his wound, which had reduced in swelling and was now dried up. Tsume then felt the moon's rays fall upon the entrance to the den. It was beautiful to see; a colour resembling what his elders said a lunar flower looked like.

Breathing in, he gently picked himself up and crawled toward the entrance. Once his head poked out into the raw windswept land before him, he knew he was alive. The moon above smiled, seeming to forgive his past sin and healed his wound. Tsume stayed like that, basking in the moonlight with closed eyes until the moon's aura began to fade. Twilight had set in afresh, making the sky a soft pearl pink.

Sighing to himself, Tsume stepped down from where he was standing and crept back into the underground den to where Auntie was sleeping. It was boring to be alone again.

With nothing to do, the grey wolf became curious with the healing affects the moon had on his wound. He was amazed to see the wound halfway healed, although the appearance of blood did confuse him for a second. It's true what Uha said! The moon really does heal and help us survive! Us wolves have the moon on our side!

It was then that he realised Auntie was not asleep. She had just opened one eye and was examining him closely. Tsume cocked his head slightly.

"Auntie?" he asked. Auntie huffed in amusement. She sat up onto her bottom with her fore-limbs hanging by her side and large legs to suit.

"What is it, Cub?" she asked sleepily. Tsume brightened. He was wondering what other creatures thought of the moon.

"What does the moon mean to you?" he asked innocently. Auntie squinted her eyes as she thought for a moment.

"To me, it's just a large red blob in the sky. It gives me light at night and reflects the snow to my advantage." She replied, "There was a time when the moon was pure white."

This caught Tsume's interest. "Did you see the white moon, Auntie?"

"No… I'm not that old," she said plainly. Tsume nodded, then looked to the entrance of the den. Auntie seemed to be waiting for this moment.

"Ok… now that we've got a conversation going, I'm going to ask some questions," she said with a cheeky grin on her face. "First of all, how did your scar heal for quickly?"

"The moon. It healed me," he replied bluntly, still looking at the entrance. Auntie looked taken aback.

"The moon? Just the moon? What the hell would that do?" she growled suddenly. It seemed to Tsume that she did not deal well with new things.

"Wolves have a special connection to the moon. We rely on it to keep us alive when we can't manage. It can heal our injuries much faster than we ourselves would heal naturally," he murmured wisely. In truth, he was repeating the words of Uha, an elder of the pack who had lived many more years than alpha. Auntie took some time to register this new news.

"Damn wolves…" she muttered quietly. "Alright then, next question: where is your pack?"

Tsume closed his eyes tightly and gritted his teeth. "They are… they're gone…" his voice was almost a whimper. Unconscious to his drooping ears and tail, Tsume flopped down to the ground. Auntie obviously wasn't used to this kind of situation because she quickly changed the topic in her own flustered way.

"Er… erm… what were you running from?" she stammered. Tsume sank even lower and flicked his eyes to a pebble in the snow. "No reason." He fell silent. The grey wolf didn't feel ready to talk about his traitorous actions, he still hadn't fully accepted himself.

Tsume stayed like that for the next hours staring blankly at a grey pebble in from of his nose until he fell asleep, his mind filled with bloody dreams. Among the chaos that surrounded him, he saw a white moon. A pure bloodless moon with no judgment. He knew instantly that that was what he wanted.

Hurgem groaned at herself. Remember he said he got the wound from his alpha. Remember that alpha's are the lead wolves in a pack!

"What a crappy day," she muttered. "Wolves are the bad luck charms of life. Where ever you go, there's blood, howls, and a lunatic's word on the moon. What's more, now it appears what they said is real. I'm a bear. I shouldn't have to deal with this shit."

She was now dearly wishing the cub never heard her cussing. What wasn't good was a teenage wolf running around swearing at everyone's face. A Polar Bear didn't look to the moon or the stars for help, it looked to the snow for advice. The snow always hid secrets and answers, it was just her mission to find them.

It just happened to be so that she noticed a fresh pair of bare human tracks going toward the spot with blood and then swaying off to the edge to walk in the other direction toward Sun City.

As the Polar Bears say, the snow holds all the answers to all secrets.

Okay! Finally done! Tell me what you think, especially if it's too boring. I will try to involve more drama, action and Tsume in the next chapter :3