CHAPTER THREE: the Beginning of a new beginning
I do not own Wolf's Rain or Tsume (C) to Bones
Auntie had awoken Tsume from his sleep. The grey wolf wasn't that happy about it, but he suspected it involved food. The blurriness in his eyes had begun to ebb away slowly but it still wasn't enough to fight. Auntie wasn't very sympathetic.
"Get up, cub! You've already had your fill of sleep!" she growled. Tsume sat up in fear of being smacked with a giant white paw. Auntie turned to leave the den and indicated with her head that he should follow also.
Once both of them were outside on the barren sun-bleached land, Auntie told Tsume that they were about to embark on a journey.
"We're going to Sun City," she growled once again in that tone. Tsume was beginning to get curious. Thankfully, the great bear took time to explain.
"I've got three fish here with me. One for me, one for you, and another as a spare. It should be enough energy to get to Sun City."
"But we'll be not…" "I ain't finished yet, cub!" she bellowed. Tsume was reminded of their first encounter.
"We'll shift into our human forms. What else?" The grey wolf was silent for a moment. He'd never taken time to perfect his shifting skills. He was wondering which other animals possessed the shifting ability.
Auntie apparently didn't want to waste any more time. She shifted into her human form right after she stopped speaking.
The polar bear was a blonde-haired old lady with pale skin and brown eyes. She wore a shawl over her head and a scarf around her shoulders. Underneath her brown cloak was a green jumper and dusty brown pants. It was likely she would cover herself in the dusty brown cloak so as to ward off attention once entered the city.
She now looked expectedly at Tsume. He closed his eyes and willed himself into human form. It was actually the second time he had ever used it. When he looked down at himself, all he saw were strange bits of fur he assumed were called clothes. When he looked at Aunie, she was smiling.
"Yes… yes… very suited to our goal…" she said thoughtfully. The grey wolf only looked at her with a confused expression on his human face. He noticed there were things dangling from his ears. He looked back at Auntie.
"Well go on! Start walking around! Practicing!" she bellowed, taking a seat on a rock that just happened to be poking out of the snow. Tsume wasn't sure if it was a joke, but either way, he tried walking back and forth- or rather stumble around.
It was the second hour before Auntie said, "Stop!" Tsume was panting with sweat dangling from his face. To her amusement, he tried to sniff and lick it, only to recoil in disgust.
"What are these stupid things…" he muttered to himself. Hurgem took one frozen fish from her pocket and held it out to him in her human hand. He reached for it but struggled to actually take it, which she knew was because he hadn't gotten used to the human hand. For a moment, he just stared at his wriggling fingers. When he was apparently sure he was ready, he struck out his hand a little too roughly and yanked it from Hurgem's hand- too rough.
Hurgem grabbed her fingers in haste to staunch the bleeding. "Be careful with that yapper!" she growled lowly. The young cub looked confused at first, but then at second glance realised what he had done.
"Oh… so we're still ourselves…" he murmered. Hurgem nodded hurriedly.
"Yes, you'd do well to remember that!" Her curiosity was peaking about the man who had inspected the cub's blood. The food shortage was only a point to back up their reason to go to Sun City.
"Finished eating?" she mumbled through a mouthful of 'bloodied fingers' fish, not noticing Tsume's peculiar attitude toward the food. He hesitantly bit into it and drew back in disgust. With an apprehensive glance at Hurgem, he bit once again, this time finishing the fish. Hurgem herself had taken special care to eat the fish in small bites so as to preserve the flavour.
"What is this… Sun City like?" he asked with a sour look on his face (no doubt from the meal).
"It's a city under the rule Lord Orkham, although a minor one. It's… a good place to go for… jewellery and… trading. And food," she replied suspiciously plainly. The cub narrowed his eyes but didn't pursue her words.
Hurgem didn't give him any time anyway. She walked toward the puddle of frozen blood and sniffed at the prints, which had now disappeared under a thick blanket of snow. She suddenly lifted her head, pointing directly behind. This way… he went on foot. This makes no sense.
She didn't stop to dawdle; the great bear immediately launched into a fast-paced run without waiting for the younger cub. Both were still in their human forms, Tsume admittedly more wobbling than anything else.
"You'll get used to the running!" she grinned at the wind in her face. The Polar Bear and the Grey Wolf ran on, following the tracks with increasing inhuman speed. It was to be a long day. A very long day on the run from death.
Tsume noticed Auntie was breathing heavier now. He supposed that her age didn't do any good to her stamina. She suddenly halted to draw breath and sniff the snow around them. Something made her quirk her head to the left. Tsume now saw why.
Several hundred yards away was a fast approaching cargo jeep. It resembled a wagon strongly because of the tent shelter given in the back. On the jeep were shapes Tsume came to know as letters but didn't know how to read.
Auntie squinted and leaned on one knee for support.
"Act tired, hungry and cold." She whispered into his ear. She immediately flung her cloak and shawl around her body while Tsume, who wasn't familiar with human reactions, copied Auntie and hunched his back with folded arms.
The jeep slowed down as it approached them. Inside, a man with a long sagging beard stepped out and walked toward them. He had a coat wrapped around his shoulders and black gloves with large durable boots. He smiled at them
"Ah, me lady. Sun city, aye?" he asked. Auntie smiled and ndded.
"Hoho. Follow me, follow me." He winked. The bearded man shuffled to the tent coverings and opened the door to enter. Tsume was amazed to find one person already seated against a controlled fire which warmed up the whole jeep.
While Tsume was looking away, Auntie took the fish from her pocket and handed it to the man.
"For the effort and the deed. Good luck be with you," she said. The man grinned toothlessly and accepted the gift. When he went back to the driver's seat, Auntie hopped into the mobile tent and closed the doors behind her. Tsume found himself alone with a stranger, Auntie, and a fire.
Auntie took off her cloak and handed it to Tsume. "Take it, Kid," she said. Tsume knew better than to look surprised openly. This was obviously an act of importance. He took the cloak and wrapped himself in it just as Auntie had, taking note of the way it felt against his skin.
The stranger looked up. "Who is the kid, Silvi?" Tsume was taken aback by the attention he had received.
"This is Tom," Auntie said, "Tom, this is an old friend, Gabby." Tsume and Gabby nodded to each other, both taking a neutral feeling about the other.
For the rest of the journey, the two women chatted about the happenings and politics of the near world. Tsume occasionally picked up a strip of information but it never made any sense so he quit listening in. The gentle rocking of the jeep lulled him to sleep, despite the heated conversation in the corner.
The grey wolf's dreams were eccentric, wild and awesome. Forests, deserts, oceans, hills- all he places to be Tsume went. It was a déjà vu experience, and an unnecessary reminder of his insignificance to the world.
Ok, I may have confused this chapter with the next. This wasn't Tsume-like at all... at least we've finally met the minor characters that help our favourites begin ther journey ;3 Next chapter will have more... crime.