I don't own Tsume or Wolf's Rain. Minor cuss warning.

CHAPTER FIVE: Leap-frog

"So let me get this straight. You two are thieves, this is your… den, and you want me to join. Is that it?"

"Yes."

"… explain again."

Hurgem and Gabby sighed.

"Thieves go on raids and steal the resources of the Nobles and other gangs of thieves. Most of the resources are weaponry and jewellery- like your earrings there, and stash them. We then may sell them, trade them, or whatever. C'mon, kid, it's the best thrill in the world. You're a wolf, you should know it."

The cub stayed silent. Hurgem took a deep breath and sighed heavily (again). She began to wonder if wolves had a sense of right and wrong like humans did, or used to have.

"Just….give me a go at it first." He mumbled.

"Nup. Once you learn it, you can't unlearn it. Choose now."

"Grr… fine. But this'd better be worth my time!"

"Good! Welcome to the squad!"

Tsume was greeted with pats on the back – most thundering along his spine.

"Gab! Black roof building?" Hurgem asked. This was going to be fun.

"Sure, Hur, meet you there!" said Gabby as she stormed down the stairs outside. When Hurgem was sure she had gone, she turned to Tsume.

"Are you confident in your human form?" asked Hurgem.

"Uh… yeah," he said slowly and suspiciously; Hurgem was glad he wasn't one of those common shit-heads which rushed into something without hesitation and certainty.

"Can you jump around a lot?"

"What do you mean…?" This sure got him by surprise. To explain with emphasis her point, she leapt out of the window to land on some high railing connecting one house to another. This left a noticeably loud clanging echo under her feet. The old vibrations again, she was beginning to relive her fantastic life already.

Now she was getting annoyed. It turned out he'd never seen a 'human' jump like that. What kind of thieve gasped at some other's agility so much their face fell off?

Now the cub was rearing up, seeming to be over Hurgem's leap. When he jumped, it was much higher and wider than his elder's jump, and as a result he had to make an emergency landing on the other side of the roof. It now became apparent that wolves had natural instincts to guide them, even when their eyes sent a message to brain saying 'you're a human!'. This meant that Hurgem would not have to teach the cub as much as last thought.

"Alright! Follow me!" she yelled at him, beginning to leap with loud clangs to the Black Roof Building, the place where Gabby was waiting.

Wolves were perfect with this kind of thing. The way the cub could land with precision, accuracy, balance, swiftness, silence and of course his young age helped- it almost make her envious; but Hurgem was not so low as to envy the young, for the young are those who would have most trouble.

Sun City, reflected the bear, was a surprisingly loose place to have such rich value and population. The gangsters she knew personally, from either old deals, rivalries, or short-term friendship lived in each corner of the city. And she knew them all.

As each and every one of us know, you should not be thinking about something of almost totally no relevance in the [life-threatening] position you are currently in. Especially if; a) you have never done this before or b) you've gotten very rusty in those years 'out of service.'

== WHO WILL FALL? WHO WILL PLUMMET TO THEIR DEATH? WHO WILL SING THEIR LAST SONG AS A WILD CREATURE? Find out in the next episode of the Wolf of Sin! ==

(Um... -_-' Why did I do that? Anyway, ignore it. No one dies.)

A two-story building of stone stood abandoned close to its other twin buildings. The thing that extinguished these buildings was the colour of the roof, and in this case, the roof was black. Three living beings stood inside the black-roofed building.

"You two are pretty good at jumping like frogs," smirked Gabby. Tsume frowned and snarled, still unsure of the way humans did things. Tsume didn't notice she held back a wide giggly grin. Auntie sat in the corner stretching her legs. Both of their shot legs appeared to be better than before thanks to their healing.

"Now, Tsume, I'll teach you how to look at the city from a thief's perspective," said Gabby. Tsume narrowed his eyes slightly. The old woman continued, "And that is down by staring it down from the rooftops and ruins. This is the best spot for us as it gives us a fantastic almost-complete view."

She was right. Tsume could see across, below, above, and into almost any direction he pleased. The only problem was the danger, although this corner of the city was noticeably free of criminals. He assumed they had chosen this spot especially for those reasons.

"Do you see the buildings beside us and the ones we came from? Each has a name. They each have number codes and are known to most of the thieves within this city," then she looked at him sternly in the eye, "You would do well not to consider any of them your territory as your instincts say. Thieves may not share their loot freely but the land is shared. The headquarters are the only places truly claimed. Now then…"

Tsume took in every word. To him, it sounded as though she was bursting to tell someone this for years but had no one to tell. It also sounded to him that his territorial and killing wolf instincts would have to come to a halt or subdue greatly. At least Gabby seemed understanding… still, it annoyed him.

"We also have names which we use instead of our real ones. Hurgem's is Silvi and mine is Chloe, so please get used to calling us that when around strangers, or even fellow allies. Don't trust anyone either."

That was asking for an awful lot. So he was stuck with these two for the rest of his thieving life? What of his future pack? It suddenly occurred to him that while he was a thief, he must remain human, and that meant no pack. He'd manage, he always did.

"Tsume! Come on!" he heard Gabby say from a distance. While in his thoughts he hadn't noticed Gabby's leap to another roof building. It was shameful to have Auntie's gaze on his ears, this made him blush. What a cute little boy he was when he blushed.

The grey wolf just growled gruffly and leapt after Gabby. The two leapt from one coloured roof building to another and eventually came back to the bloody house they were in in the first place.

Gabby showed Tsume a few things within the house and told him it was their headquarters. She made a new mark on the wall, one which he assumed would tell other thieves it were claimed. She then opened a box-like object and sat the wolf down on the ground.

"These, Tsume, are earrings, merchandise." In her hand were several winking golden figures. They seemed to smile greedily at him through their patterned crosses. He outstretched a hand to feel them, and Gabby reluctantly let him examine. They felt cold and delicately hard, that was all. He saw no value in human accessories. He handed them back to Gabby.

"Would you like to trade them for your earrings?" she asked. Tsume felt the ones in his ear with his fingers, surprised when he found it hurt when they pulled. He winced slightly, but tried to ignore it. He was wondering how trading worked… he didn't like it when there was something he didn't know about, especially if it was right in his face.

"Trade?" he growled, averting his attention to the blood-stained floor.

"When an item is given for another of equal worth," she explained. The grey wolf found himself understanding her words.

"And these are worth the ones in your hand?" he asked, drawing away from her to look at the window, seemingly uninterested in looking at the shining metal any longer. Gabby's smirk didn't escape his eyes. Her stared at her a little in wait for her answer.

"No. This is just a gift I'm giving to a newbie."

In wolf form, Tsume's tail ear twitched. "How much would it really be worth?"

"Gold and diamond are the most valuable gems and metals while strong, durable metals are valued highly in weapons. Guns are a trending thing amongst us thieves but… wolves and such generally prefer a hand-weapon to a long-ranged weapon, yet the…" she babbled. Tsume's irritation slightly increased. Why must she lecture him on the simplest sight or question? Why must she ignore his question completely? Why must her every reply be long and in-depth, as though locked up and itching to get out.

Gabby continued to talk while Tsume angrily took it all in. When she finally came back to his original question, it was ten minutes into the lecture and the poor wolf's fangs were showing slightly. She repeated the question again, to which in reply Tsume somehow figured out how to stuff his earrings out without bloodying his neck; he stuffed them into Gabby's outstretched hand and grabbed the others. Once they were on, he noticed how much heavier they were, and if he had looked into a mirror, how they suited his sharp golden eyes.

Gabby opened her mouth to say something else and Tsume gave her a deadly glare.

"… Um… you know what? I think we'll do something else tomorrow, okay?" she said awkwardly, finally realising she was seconds away from being totally incapacitated. Tsume nodded stiffly and stretched his legs in wolf form. He bit back the urge to run around in the form as well and instead shifted back into his human morph to follow Gabby back across the city. Once entered the Black Roof building, as he labelled it, they were greeted by heavy snores coming from a pure white mound of fur. Gabby just snorted and lay next to it as though it were a pillow.

"You go sleep or do whatever you want," she mumbled with her eyes closer. Before Tsume could object, she had fallen asleep.

Well that's awfully convenient! Now what do I do? He hissed to himself. He may as well go practice his leap-frogging skills on the rooftops and check out the view. It sounded as though Gabby wouldn't be pleased if he wasn't capable of jumping. It would also vent some of his frustration too… that was the plan wasn't it? He snorted to himself once again.

He walked back to the window and looked. A yard before him was another building, this one shorter and older. It was crumbling like a cookie, a comparison Tsume is not capable of even today.

The railing, though, was stiff and new, as if someone hadn't forgotten about the building after all and ordered a reconstruction… of the rails? It was suspicious, yes, but Tsume didn't know that yet. He only knew how to be a wannabe leap-frog.

"Are you sure this wasn't another wolf?" whispered Gabby. Hurgem shook her head, hand stroking her hair.

"He had mingled scents, they all overlapped each other. I'm afraid I didn't get more." She answered in the same whisper. The mysterious stranger from before the city was in the center of interest and suspicion.

They were both quiet for a moment, and then their gaze fell on the black shape leap-frogging the railings, and they could not help but smile. How lucky they had all been to land with him on their side. A wolf. A real wolf with a scar to show.

EXTRA:

If you just happened to grow wings and magically fly up to the black roof building (as an angel from heaven), what you would see is two smirking grannies with torn clothes and bloody stains on the hems. One has a gun in her hand and the other a very suspiciously empty beer bottle. They also have this weird crazy glint in their eyes which makes you shrivel and freeze. Your wings lock.

CRASH

There goes the angel.

The next day the swamp-park smelled of heavenly bliss.

Oh my gosh I can't believe how long it's been since I updated. I just kinda lost interest in writing but now that I have some fresh ideas, I can write again. I hope you enjoyed the little extra of mine! ;3 Next chapter I'll try to involve the guy who got Tsume's blood, m'kay? All suggestions are helpful!