Chapter 5:
Misunderstanding
Break lay on the cold, hard-packed snow just beyond the ledge of an overhang, chin on his paws and ears forward to discreetly listen in on the conversation currently taking place between Binde and his mate.
"Perhaps you were too hard on him, Binde."
The male shook his head, closing his eyes and sighing softly in exasperation. "No, Katana – his behavior was completely inacceptable. You know that; he will be punished for it."
"As soon as he gets back?" Katana's icy eyes glinted in the sinking moonlight. "Dear one, the moment a prodigal returns in not the time for rebuke! I for one don't want to push him further away; can we not have mercy on him?"
Binde snorted. "Again? He has had enough chances; he takes advantage of our grace and uses it to do whatever he wants. He uses us, Katana! I am sure, deep down, he truly does care, but… He should act like it if he desires to keep his privileges in the pack. A pack sticks together – even in pain, we do not run off, shirk our responsibilities just to 'think things through'. It is our unity that makes us strong, and enables us to persevere."
"I know that, Binde." Katana's soft voice began to harden. "But if we crack down on him the moment he returns, he may run off again and never return! And… I couldn't handle that, atop everything else… So much is happening… Our numbers are dwindling, Binde; as the area becomes more populated with humans, more and more of us are pushed out, or slaughtered. My father was shot down in his sleep not two months ago! And his pack has ceased to be heard of – we have no way of knowing what happened to them. I… I don't want my son to go missing as well… I can't loose him, too."
"Everyone is grieving right now, my love… We are being hard pressed; it's more difficult now than ever before to continue in our duty – to protect the Wielders of the Light."
"Yes, but if that duty gets in the way of this, our family? Binde… which is more important to you? Tell me – me and your son, or your duty as a servant of the Lightmaker*?"
There was a long pause, and Break could not see Binde's expression against the moon beyond the silhouette of his profile. Soon, the wolf lowered his head.
"You ask me to choose between two halves of myself, Katana… Do not make me answer that question."
The female stared long and hard at her mate before rising to her feet, shaking the snow from her sleek black and white body. "Perhaps I should give you time to think about it. But I do want an answer… eventually, Binde. Eventually." Without another word, she turned on her heel and padded over to the ledge that led the way up the pinnacle, to a cave a few levels higher, where she disappeared into the shadows.
Another knife of guilt plunged into his already puncture-ridden soul. It was ultimately his doing that caused this rift between the two. Koba's death led to Lotus' reaction, and Lotus' reaction was the subject of their conflict. Had he never gone after that white wolf, none of this would have ever happened. He would be sleeping soundly in his quarters in the mansion just beyond the woods, in that dozing sort of state he always did in order to listen closely to the room next door.
Sharon had occasional nightmares, ones of red-eyed wolves with gleaming fangs who came, attacked her sickly mother, and killed her. Then they would proceed to murder her grandmother, and finally come for her.
He still remembered the night she'd woken up screaming for the first time in years, when he'd rushed in to calm her, and she'd told him of her latest nightmare… The wolves came for her, and in her dream, Break himself stood between she and them. But, it was a weak, broken man that stood against them, not the 'strong guardian' she knew. And those creatures easily overpowered him… and killed him as well.
Perhaps she had returned to the mansion, gone to sleep knowing that he would slay her monster, and return to continue guarding over her as he always did. Perhaps she was even having a nightmare right this moment… And he wasn't there to come chase the foul apparition away.
And now, with everything that had happened, the nightmares… seemed more than nightmares. If Break could be transformed into a wolf, and animals could talk, and reason, and plan… Could there truly be merit to her dreams?
Or was that taking the unbelievable too far into the impossible?
*The term 'Lightmaker' belongs to James Byron Huggins, from his novel, 'A Wolf Story'.
~Guardian~
"Gilbert, Oz-kun… I'm worried."
"About what?" Oz looked up from the pastry he was nibbling on just long enough to meet Sharon's concerned gaze.
Sharon herself frowned, tensing the slightest. "What do you think? I'm worried about Break – he should have been back by now."
"You're worried about the Clown?" Alice said incredulously with a raised brow from her place sitting upside down on her chair by the tea table. "He can take care of himself! We all know that. Besides – he disappears all the time without telling you where he goes, doesn't he?"
"Yes, but not like this." Sharon looked back out, over the silver-lined garden hedges, toward the woods, in the direction she had last seen her guardian disappear to. If only she could look past all the foliage and snow, and find Break just by thinking about him… "Not after something like that. Usually, he… he'd come right back… to be sure I was all right."
Oz snorted. "Okay, that… sounds really vain, no offense to you…"
Whap!
Oz was then hiding behind Gilbert, rubbing the new welt on the back of his head with a grimace. "Sheesh! Who knew fans could hurt so much…"
Sharon clasped her fan in her hands, and looked once more out over the landscape. Then she sighed, and picked her cloak up off the table. "I'm going to look… Will you three accompany me?"
Alice shrugged, swiveling to sit up straight, as her face had begun to turn red from the amount of blood rushing to it. "I've got nothing better to do."
"And in the case of danger, me and Gil can protect you," proclaimed Oz, stepping out of his hiding place and folding his arms over his chest. "Gil never misses, and I've got some pretty sweet moves, myself. Those wolves will wish they never met you, Sharon-sama."
Sharon rolled her eyes. "Of course… Let's go." She latched the cloak about her shoulders, and stepped back inside to head down to the garden door. The others followed, and she thought she heard Gil muttering something about wolves being better than cats…
The night air was at its coldest as they traversed the gardens – it was always that way just before dawn… Sharon located the place where she met the wolf, and found that the black carcass had disappeared. But of course, she only dwelt on this for a moment before continuing on in search of signs that Break and the white wolf had been through that way. She found broken hedge limbs, scuffs on the cobblestone, settled flurries of snow. All making their way toward the brick wall that signified the end of the Rainsworth property. And soon enough, they came to said wall, where the smooth ridge of snow resting along the top was marred by a single footprint.
"They went… outside the wall?" Sharon muttered to herself, gingerly resting her fingers in the print, caressing the ridges left by the sole of her guardian's boot.
"You'd think that was obvious," Oz grumbled, and just barely dodged another whap from her fan.
"Gil, give me a boost!" Sharon waited for Gil to lock his fingers together to form a step for her, and then carefully stepped up and over the wall. "Thank you… Now, come on!"
Alice vaulted over the wall, followed by Oz, ending with Gilbert's easy jump over. Then, the foursome continued to follow the tracks – both human and wolf – up the steep hill toward the crest.
Sharon herself was wondering just how far Break had been willing to chase the animal. All the way into the woods? Why would he do such a thing? The woods were wilderness, the wolves' very own territory, which they knew by sight, sound, and scent. And between bare arching branches, and the thick greenery of the evergreens, not as much snow could blow in to the forest floor. If one wasn't careful, there was no doubt one could get lost.
So, why would Break continue on to the woods, after he'd already chased the wolf back where it belonged?
In her pondering, she'd slowed her pace, and the others, not wanting to lose momentum up the incline, continued on to the top. She saw them stop suddenly, and her smooth brow creased with a frown.
"Uh… Sharon-sama?" came Oz's wary voice. "You… might want to hurry up."
There was a foreign concern in his voice, and it was enough to make her pick up her pace again. She gripped her skirts in her fists to take longer strides, and soon found herself behind the others. She quickly followed their gazes, to see what had them spooked.
Perhaps nothing could have prepared Sharon for what she saw.
Blood. Everywhere. It bathed the snow at the edge of the tree line, staining everything within a three-meter circle crimson. Including… a pile of barely recognizable fabric.
But it was recognizable enough to her. She shoved her way between Oz and Gilbert, and stumbled forward into the blood-stained snow, not heeding it as she sank to her knees beside the shreds of cloth. She reached out to touch it, and hesitated. Her eyes began to burn.
How could this have happened?
An image, a memory of hideous starving black wolves closing in on all sides… Their clicking jaws, their bloodthirsty eyes, their flashing teeth.
They'd… They'd gotten Break… at last…
Her throat constricted. How could they have reached him? Then again… That time so long ago, it was only half a dozen. Had they brought more? Closed in more aggressively? Risking their own blood to take him as their meal?
Whatever the case… They'd won. And now, she sat in white snow stained with his blood, cradling the bloodied, shredded jacket she knew so well against her chest. She felt the tears streaming down her face, but didn't realize she was sobbing – she couldn't hear herself. All she could hear was the absence of her guardian, telling her it was all nothing more than a bad dream, that everything was all right, that everyone she knew and loved was safe and sound.
The guardian, to whom the last thing she said was a stab straight for his heart, meant to sting, to hurt, to ache.
She never got to apologize.
Sharon Rainsworth was near hysterical as she buried her face against the once white fabric, letting it absorb her tears. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry… Break… Break!"
~Guardian~
Break knew something was wrong the moment Gianaval approached him. He saw the tight frown ruffling the fur on that grey head, saw the intenseness of those golden eyes, and stood up straightaway.
"What's wrong?"
Gianaval stared at him grimly, and nodded out to the meadow. "Come with me. There is something you need to see."
Confused, Break simply nodded. Gianaval then turned and loped across the snow. How he didn't fall through at his harsh pace, Break had no idea, but he followed anyway, right behind him, so as not to fall through as well. They crossed the clearing, and began to weave their way through the thick woods. It wasn't long before he began to see signs of familiarity… and the long trenches in the snow were unmistakable.
They were going back to the place of Koba's death.
But why? The posse sent out an hour ago had already brought back the white wolf's body. What more could be there?
He'd left Emily back at the rock, and so he could speak freely this time.
"Where are we going, Gianaval? And why so fast?" He matched paces with the old wolf as he drew alongside him, and they raced ahead neck and neck.
Gianaval didn't glance toward him. "Ask questions later; just know we must hurry before it's too late."
Too late? Too late for what?
Break nearly burst through a wall of underbrush when Gianaval skidded to a stop. He felt the other wolf's jaws clamp down on his scruff to jerk him to a halt before he could do so, and he just barely escaped that fate. When he righted himself, he turned sheepishly to Gianaval, who only turned to peer over the brush.
He did the same, and his red eye widened at what he saw.
Pandora agents. At least six of them, not including Liam, who stood further from the tree line with… Break gasped. Raven, Oz, Alice… and a broken Sharon. All looked grim, but she… she looked devastated. Her eyes were red, and puffy from tears, and she buried her face against Liam's shoulder. Liam patted her hair with one hand, and in the other… held a too-familiar bundle of blood-stained clothing.
"What happened here?" Break said under his breath, though not really expecting Gianaval to answer. He then turned his ears forward, straining them in an effort to hear what was being said.
"It isn't hard to tell what happened…" Liam was saying, closing his eyes and bowing his head. "I'm sorry, Miss Sharon… You were right. All the evidence is clear."
Sharon choked back a sob. "Liam-san… I want a special patrol put into place. The best guns we have – Gilbert, I want you to head them up."
The determination and passion behind her next words made his heart swell, but the words themselves brought dread at the same moment.
"Kill every wolf on sight."
Liam looked a tad hesitant, but shook his head, glancing to Gilbert. He wasn't about to refuse the grieving heiress. "Very well, milady… It will be done."
"They think the Dark Ones slaughtered you, Xerxes," said Gianaval in a soft voice beside him. "They cannot see what is beyond their finite minds – they see the blood, and the tattered clothes, and the absence of your body, and that is all they know, all they can grasp. They will never guess that you are right behind the brush at this moment, listening to every word they say."
Break moved to leap into the open. "I have to-"
Weight shoved him aside and sent him sprawling a few feet back. He looked up with a surprised expression at Gianaval, who stood in his path with a hard, grim resolve.
"Did you not hear her order? Every wolf! Killed on sight! And at the moment, you look very much like a wolf. They'd kill you before you reached the wall."
Break jumped to his feet, brow furrowing into an expression just as hard. "Wolves can speak – I never knew that until tonight. I can tell them what happened!"
"And do you truly believe they would give you the chance to speak your piece before pulling the trigger?"
That stopped him. He snapped his mouth shut, swallowing the retort he was about to make. His gaze dropped to the ground, darting to and fro as if he were searching for something – an answer, perhaps?
Would they give him the moment to speak, if he jumped out right this moment?
"Kill every wolf on sight."
No… They wouldn't. His heart sank in disappointment, and frustration, while at the same time reaching out to the weeping girl a mere six yards away. He longed to be in Liam's place, comforting his charge as he was meant to.
But it was his doing that caused it, all of it. His mistake, which led to this misunderstanding. To Sharon's grieving over a dead guardian who was still very much alive. And still watching her.
A/N: Okay! Much longer chapter this time! XP What do you think of Katana? Do you have any theories of what's going to happen? Any things you'd like to see happen, now that most of the major OCs (besides the Villain) have been introduced?