Mayu's deal had been in effect, for almost a month, several days shy and it would be a full one. Per the arranged deal, Bat would bring in prey, and offer one third of it to Mayu. Rent so to speak, if rent applied to dogs. In return, Bat himself would receive one half of Mayu's prey. In essence the deal was unfair. Bat knew that the moment the female divulged it to him. Nevertheless, Bat had no choice in the matter. Mayu made it clear she didn't make negotiations. In other words, "take it or leave it".

So he took it. Then the deal commenced.

At that moment, Bat went out hunting. He brought back a reasonable amount, only to have a portion of it given to the female. In going with the deal, Mayu brought back her own prey which was divided to the male. The first day went splendidly well without any complaint, at least all complaints were kept to oneself. Bat wasn't expecting this new little addition to his life. If anything he had imagined Mayu would kick him out after their first night, and he would be on his merry way, never seeing the female again. But now he couldn't bring himself to do that. He simply attributed it to simply upholding the deal the two of them had made. Although, he wondered if he would ever have followed through in the past, in all honesty he hadn't had much "deals" so to speak. Well no deal that didn't end in double-crosses. But those were events he tried to put to rest. He kept telling himself he was doing this for an advantage of having a home. At least he thought so, he could still feel another reason, a reason he couldn't place his paw on. So he ignored it. Best not to worry about something he couldn't understand.

"My, you certainly were busy today." Mayu noted the degree of catch that Bat had brought her.

Bat couldn't help but feel a sense of pride in the praise, and that he continued to uphold his part of the bargain, very well at that. Unfortunately, he wouldn't be enjoying most of it or rather one third of it would be going to the female, once more, per the deal.

Mayu gobbled down the meat, she didn't care that she appeared greedy. It wasn't as if her roommate could see anyway. Besides, she was hungry. The arrangement had worked well in her favor. The male did his part, and she kept herself fed. A steady supply of meat had come her way, filling her belly and silencing its grumbles. She had to give Bat credit. He was good at hunting land animals, where as she….not so much. That was one skill Mayu admittedly wasn't good at, nor was she afraid to admit so.

Yet as Mayu couldn't help herself, as she tore into the rabbit and squirrel carcasses, she noticed Bat's expression had changed. In all honesty, she never noticed much expression since she had known him, and it had been almost a month. She slowed her eating pace as a flush crossed over her face. Bat seemed to be looking away, in if she had to guess, discomfort.

"But he can't see me." Mayu reasoned with herself, polishing off the rest of her meal a a fastened pace.

"You know if you eat that fast you could get the hiccups." Bat noted.

Mayu felt a small spasm in her chest. No sound escaped, but she felt a small squeak in the back of her throat. "I was hungry." Mayu pardoned herself, "I swear you're going to get me fat off the prime meat you've been giving me." Mayu joked, with the hunting and movement she did, she held no worry about gaining weight. Nope, it would never happen, not in her lifetime. She would remain trim and skinny the rest of her days!

Bat smirked at her joke, any lingering thought of discomfort he held were now washed away as he started to eat the remnants of his prey. Mayu politely waited till Bat reduced them to nothing but bones. The male licked his chops for any pieces that hung to his muzzle and teeth.

"You know you could try bringing in some birds for a change." Mayu suddenly spoke.

Bat answered with a "hmm?" Although he couldn't see, he knew the female, Mayu was smirking at him.

"Come on it's time for a lesson." The female declared, flicking her tail.

"Lesson?" Bat responded in a quizzical tone.

Mayu smirked back at him, "Bird hunting of course. You're good at hunting on land but you stink at bird catching, trust me I know."

This caught Bat by surprise. Yet he knew she spoke the truth. He had tried to catch birds several times, but those result always ended in failure. Mayu had proof to her words as she had snuck away a few times to spy on Bat's hunting, well in the early days that is. At the start, she didn't quite trust that he would uphold their deal, and would simply run off. No big loss for her, at least back then, as she would have simply gone back to her normal routine. Now however she wouldn't like the sound of Bat departing, but she didn't know why. She had watched Bat tumble and fall and managed to suppress a giggle at the attempt. But he wouldn't help but feel sympathetic on some level. It truly made her sense his handicap. He had utilized it in a certain way, yet he wasn't useless. Bat still could function just as well as any other dog, perhaps even better in some cases. As one sense went, the others grew stronger. So Mayu had heard once. Nevertheless, his bird catching skills hadn't improved.

"There they are." Mayu whispered. She and Bat keeping their bodies low.

Sure enough, several partridges flocked. They couldn't sense the hidden dogs.

"Really it's all about stealth, speed, and step." Mayu recited her step by step list on how to catch birds. Bat listened, nodding in accordance to her words. "Hide yourself well, don't make a movement, you have to listen well, it's not just about sight, you have to smell and hear." Bat certainly could do that well. Bat didn't need his eyes to get a feel. He could feel the female getting ready, preparing herself for the strike. "Now for the speed." And Mayu was off!

Bat's mind's eye painted a picture for him. A female figure dashed across, the partridges flying the moment she appeared. Mayu kept her speed, her head straight in determination.

"Step." Bat repeated the last phrase. Certainly enough, Mayu sprang her legs. Bat could feel that new sensation vibrating into the soil. With her step, Mayu leapt into the air and caught a bird within her jaws. The other birds managed to get away as the dog descended with their fallen companion.

"Impressive." Bat admitted.

Mayu walked back to her roommate and delicately tore apart her half for him. "It's talent, nothing simple as that." She smiled.

Bat smiled back at her, unsure if the female was smiling back at him. "You seem to have a high opinion in your words." Bat went to his meal.

"When you're good, you're good my friend." Mayu spoke.

That was it, that was the emotion the both of them knew but didn't, friendship. They would not come out and say it, but they had gotten closer since their initial meeting. No longer did Mayu have any, or rather a large amount of distrust for the male, as she had before. Privately, Bat himself noted he enjoyed the female's company.

But the relationship would remain as it is. So they told themselves.

XXX

Food was scarce.

As the partridge scratched through the dry undergrowth, it didn't find a single seed or bug to satisfy itself. It cocked its small head, trying to spy a nibble of food with its beady eyes. Still, there was nothing. The bird swung its head around, cautiously observing the woods surrounding it. It was searching in the middle of a small depression in the forest floor which was surrounded by brown dead brush piles and covered with dead and decaying leaves, a scene that hid the partridge from some of the forest's more malicious eyes.

Despite the fact that there were no sounds of warning from the other forest creatures, it didn't mean there wasn't an enemy. Enemies were everywhere. They could be softly stalking through the leaves, peering from above, or padding from another direction. Those that were not cautious enough were always taken first. Even the small minded partridge knew this, and took care. But soon it returned to scratching at the ground, following the heed of its empty stomach.

A branched snapped behind it.

The partridge's head snapped up. Its feathers pressed closer against its body, losing the fluffy effect they'd held earlier. Something was about. It froze, hunkering down and remaining totally still. With its speckled feathers, it would blend in well with the dead leaves, providing camouflage from predators that would love to have a partridge snack. But the camouflage only helped when the bird was still unnoticed. For a moment, it moved its beak a fraction. Maybe…

The brush pile next to the bird exploded. As a four legged black blur shot from the torn brush, the small bird shot through the air, letting lose a panicking scream. The black creature's tail caught in the brush, catching it heavily off balance and sending it slamming into the ground right behind the terrified bird. Leaves from the newly picked over ground flew through the air. The partridge, still screaming its panicked call, winged through the air in a mass of wayward feathers and flapping. A few lose filaments floated to the ground.

The predator choked.

XXX

Bat felt a ringing and pounding sensation in his head. For a minute he was still on the ground, dazed, but then quickly jumped up to his feet. He's sworn he'd been on target that time! Bat spat out a cloying mixture of leaves and dirt. In his crash landing, he'd gotten a large amount of the loose ground into his mouth, and it left a disgusting, clingy taste behind. He opened his mouth wide, unrolling his tongue and pawing at his tongue. Dirt and leaf fragments still stuck to it and emitted their foul taste.

Bat felt disgusted and a bit angry. This was the third time he'd come upon a game bird and failed to catch it. The first two times had ended much the same way– a mouthful of dirt and a throbbing head. Bat's chest and back parts of his front legs already felt sore from crashing down on the ground twice before, and now the bottom of his jaw ached. He had known that leaping through the air to catch birds would be difficult, but not this difficult! Still, Bat kept his composure, trying to get rid of as much dirt on his tongue as possible. The last thing he needed was Miss Devil's Advocate to emerge from her vantage point and begin snickering at him, or give a little whistle at his failed jump. Mayu (his current teacher) was having a large amount of amusement at her adult pupil's suffering. She'd held down the laughter and snickering after the first disastrous attempt at bird catching, but hadn't bothered to on the second time. Now she was probably just wandering around the area of the woods, trying to catch her own prey. Thankfully she hadn't been around to see his newest f-

"Hey, Bat! Nice face plant!"

Bat inwardly choked harder.

XXX

Mayu was enjoying herself immensely.

It been a while since she'd had someone else with her that couldn't hunt birds worth a damn, and the sensation of trying to guide someone who couldn't do what she could was lifting her mood greatly. From her hiding place behind a dead bunch of poison oak vines, she could quite easily see Bat's every move– including his not-so-graceful leap and descent. It had to have been the funniest thing she'd seen all day.

Still snickering a little, Mayu trotted off into the woods, leaving Bat to compose himself and find another bird. She'd be trailing him, and would watch him make the fateful strike against his prey. So far, he was having much difficultly doing this. Poor Bat was just not good at catching birds. But he refused any help from Mayu, and the two friends ended up making the lessons a competition of sorts– if Bat could catch a game bird before the end of the day, he'd proved that he was decent at bird catching. If not, then Mayu could have a little smirking "I told you so" moment by the end of the day, and she'd have to help Bat catch the birds.

Needless to say, Bat was fighting a losing battle.

Mayu wound her way around a few trees, sniffing the ground and listening to the calls of the other forest inhabitants. She was much better than Bat at catching the scent of game birds, and seeing he was after the same thing, she just had to follow the scents to end up where Bat would eventually. Mayu nosed a small sapling, taking in the smell of a deer mouse and shrew.

Bat had become a good friend of hers. A very good friend. Friend.

Mayu shook her head. She suddenly felt a bit uncomfortable. What was wrong with her? She'd never felt this kind of uncomfortable around Alucard or anyone else. Besides that, Bat was just a close friend of hers. He lived in the same den as her, for heaven's sake! A close friend, a roommate, and it wouldn't go further than that. In fact, why would she want it to go further than that? Both she and Bat were good friends now, sharing many things in common, and both having a competitive side to them. There was no reason to feel awkward about this. But still… Mayu couldn't help but wonder if she and Bat could've been something else. Could be something else.

She sidestepped around a small bush, clumsily following the trail of a grouse. Her senses would have been sharper if she'd been more focused. But yet each time she concentrated, she found it harder to quash down her wonders about her and Bat's relationship. Surely friends was the way to go, the way Mayu could still keep her wayward freedom and her fiery temper. Mates were always a controlling factor, they had always been, especially in the clan. Your life's luxury was controlled by your mate's rank, their strength, their cleverness. And Mayu didn't want that. Bat wouldn't control her, the fact that they were mates were.

Mayu's neck fur stood up a little bit. Of course, she and Bat would never be mates, just to make that clear. She needed his friendship, not his romantic involvement. And that weighed out the other one by a long shot.

The grouse's scent led to a small grove of maple trees, all closely knit together. Mayu carefully approached them, hearing several scratching and rustling noises coming from within. The noises stopped for a moment. Mayu froze, wary. After a brief pause, the rustling sounds kicked on again. With baited breath, she crept forward. Sure enough, walking around in the grove, there was a grouse. It kept cautiously peeking up from its foraging, making sure no one was sneaking up on it. After all, it lived a dangerous life.

Mayu carefully settled down on the ground, watching the bird. She was tempted to snatch it herself, but Bat would be here at any moment. And she wanted to see him eat dirt once more. For a few long minutes, nothing happened. The bird kept eating some fallen seeds and some shriveled wild grapes. Mayu was beginning to wonder if Bat had trailed another bird instead of the grouse she was now watching. And then he struck.

Bat lunged into the grove, open and ready to snap. In a flutter of movement, the grouse shot forward– running instead of taking flight! Bat's jaws closed on nothing, the bird running a jagged line before throwing itself into the air, and leaving the black Labrador behind it hopelessly frustrated and at loss.

Mayu groaned. She hated it when the birds ran instead of taking flight– it could surprise an inexperienced dog, and even throw off some unsuspecting professionals. Bat appeared to be taking it ridiculously hard, muzzle on the ground with paws over it. Mayu trotted out to sit next to him.

"Having some difficulties?"

Bat didn't raise his head.

"I said, having some difficulties?"

A small mumbling sound came from Bat's mouth. God, thought Mayu, he IS taking it hard.

"…Bat?" she asked, curiously leaning forward.

"…my tuungth."

Mayu blinked. "What?"

Bat pulled his paws from his muzzle. "I sth bit a ole in my tungth."

For a few seconds, Mayu didn't know what was happening– till she saw Bat's tongue, red and raw looking on one part, and Bat looking like a miserable little pup. But when she did understand what was happening, and Bat sulkily getting up, her composure failed her.

"You… you bit a hole. In your tongue."

Bat looked at the odd expression on Mayu's face with no amusement. "Godd a poblem with at?"

Mayu snickered. "No, I don't. Do you 'godd a problem with at'?"

Bat narrowed his eyes, turning away and beginning to look for more birds. "Mayu, I hate ou."

Right then, the scene was too much for her. Bat, an adult dog, looked like a sulky and irritated little puppy, tender tongue hanging out of his mouth like a giant earthworm. Still, Mayu probably wouldn't have laughed… if Bat hadn't given her one last look and opened his mouth one last time.

"Ist not funnay."

Needless to say, Mayu's laughter followed him all the way to the next bird.

XXX

The rabbit ran with all of its strength. The poor creature could feel its lungs burning as its little heart pounded against its ribcage. Any more and it was sure it would break. It wouldn't slow down, they were right behind it. Two male dogs, adults, make and female, white and black, a Labrador and a Saluki, partners they were as they went against their prey.

"Keep running!" Bat commanded, or rather instructed to the female.

Mayu looked back to her male companion, or in this case teacher. "Right!" She spoke enthusiastically. The female quickened her pace, she wouldn't fail in this, she wasn't Bat. Not to say Bat was a failure, at catching land animals, he was the best. At least the best she had seen. Three months, three whole months they had known each other by now. Their deal had gone on since then, both of them keeping their promises and their bonds growing closer, bonds in friendship that is, and nothing more, so they told themselves. All that time, Mayu had yet to see Bat improve upon his bird catching. Each and every time he attempted, he would fall flat on his face, or get a mouthful of dirt and leaves. Honestly Mayu couldn't help but laugh at her friend's, key word on "friend's", failure. Not to be mean, but she found it odd that an adult like her would have trouble catching a simple bird. But bird catching wasn't something anyone could do. It all attributed to the blood. Mayu had inherited it, Bat hadn't. After another failure, Bat had challenged Mayu to try her hand at catching something on land. Mayu had remembered their first meeting, how she had the simple trouble of catching a rabbit, although in her defense, Bat had interrupted her hunt, but he was forgiven. She didn't want to appear hypocritical, and it was a matter of pride. Just as the birds feared her, so would the rabbits.

So the role of teacher had been switched from him to her. By far, she rated Bat as a good teacher. Rating her trying that is, she would give herself a C at best. Bat had experience in this, she hadn't. That was why she always stuck with birds, when she could that is. She would hunt land animals if she had a choice.

"Don't loose focus!" Bat chided.

Mayu shook her head she had immersed herself in her thoughts. She had been momentarily distracted by them, but resumed her attention to her prey.

"Keep it up! Go with all your breath!" Bat continued to coach. He had gotten closer to the rabbit. If he wanted he could snap his jaws into its neck. But it wasn't his to kill.

Mayu pressed on, feeling her heart beating against her chest. Her lungs were starting to burn. She had to make this quick. Further and further she continued onward, growing closer. The poor lagomorph drew its last breath at that point. Mayu twisted her body as she dove. Her jaws clamped down on its neck, and by the time she got back on her feet, the rabbit was dead.

Bat widened his sliced eyes in surprise, then flashed a smirk of pride. "Very nice." He congratulated.

With a mouthful, Mayu flashed her own grin. The student had surpassed the teacher as far as she was concerned.

XXX

It was a nice moon out that night. Mayu casually chewed on her twig. The day had been good so far. Everything had gone perfectly today. Nothing had gone wrong. Pride swelled in her at the memory of her catch. The moon reflected in the river before her. Why she had come here off all places she didn't know. Perhaps she came to look again for the white shape she had seen long ago. For a moment, she thought, "could it be him?" but she chided herself "The dead can't come back", as painful as it sounded, that was the truth of the world.

"You're going to wear your teeth down chewing on those."

Despite the warning, Mayu didn't stop her chewing. She liked what she liked. Bat sat himself down next to her. He knew Mayu didn't mind.

"I don't need a nag." Mayu replied.

"Just looking out for your health." Bat countered with the utmost truth.

They said nothing for the next few moments. "Thank you." Mayu finally cut the silence.

Bat turned his head down from the moon, although he couldn't see the sight, he could feel the light against him. "For what?" He asked.

The twig in her mouth only affected her speech slightly, but not enough to make it noticeable. "For teaching me how to hunt rabbits. Guess it's something else I'm good at." She joked with pride.

Bat gave a light hearted chuckle at his friend's accomplishment. He actually did feel pride. Well she was his friend, that's right friend. They both felt that way, yet somehow that word felt distant. "I should be thanking you." Bat spoke.

Mayu felt surprised at that, "Why?" She asked.

"For taking me in." Bat answered.

Oh that, Mayu realized he had never thanked her for that before, "It's nothing, I was only doing the decent thing, I mean you were out there" she looked at his face for a moment, man he looked good in the moonlight. It made his masculine features stand out. Likewise, Bat found himself turning towards Mayu's direction. Only in his mind could he paint the picture of the lovely dog, or so he assumed, no he knew she was lovely. Wait! Did he just think of her as lovely? Mayu stopped herself as well, had she thought of him as handsome. Hell he was! She could no longer deny that. She could feel herself blushing.

"It meant something to me." Bet responded, "any other dog could have just left me out in the cold."

"Well I know what it's like to be in your position, believe me." Mayu answered. She had not detailed everything about her past. Only that her mother disappeared when she was young, that and her brother's death. She didn't divulge any further because of the pain those memories brought. Bat didn't press them further, and she didn't to him. Some things were better left unsaid. They respected each other that much. "I thought I would like being alone." She admitted out of the blue.

"So do I." Bat countered

This response brought on another surprise, "I've wandered on my own for as long as I can remember," ill memories played back, pain, suffering, a flash went across his face, the day he became who he was.

"Mama please!" That voice he stifled down into his brain.

"But it led me to you." Bat spoke earnestly."

Mayu felt the twig in her mouth drop to the ground, as she moved closer to Bat. Bat hadn't noticed at first, but he could sense her growing closer.

"Why is she?"

"Why am I?"

Those questions asked themselves in perfect accordance. They couldn't deny it anymore.

"I think my life led to this moment, meeting you." Mayu admitted.

For the past three months, they had been trying to hide something from each other, their instincts. Male, female, they went hand in hand together. Closer their emotions had grown in the passing time they had known each other. It was only inevitable that this would happen. Now was the time to release it. What happened next under that starry sky could only be described in two words: pleasured ecstasy.

XXX

"…god damn it Ken, can't you stop bringing back small fry? I could've caught this in my sleep!"

"You couldn't catch this on a good day, bastard."

"Hey, you two! Shut up! We're trying to eat in peace over here!"

The speckled mutt snorted before turning back to his food. "Honestly, do those two never stop heckling each other?"

Another dog nearby took a bite of pheasant. "Tch, you'll get used to it. They get their tempers from their fathers, both of them."

"Oi, speaking of fathers, have you seen my old man around here?" The first speaker, a grayish dog with dark horizontal stripes running down his back, spoke up again. "He was supposed to be on the second patrol with some of the newbies, but he's late coming back. If he doesn't hurry this pig over here is going to his kill."

"Hey," the other dog, a tawny great dane, protested.

The white dog eating the pheasant stopped plucking feathers from its belly. "I'm sure Kurotora is just talking to some old war buddies. Some of Moss's original pack arrived earlier today, and no doubt they quickly found each other."

Kagetora groaned. "I might as well eat his food and be done with it; once he gets his teeth in a war story there's no stopping him."

Ken grinned. "Do that and he'll kick your ass."

Kagetora turned back to him. "Are you saying I'm not stronger than my old man?"

Ken narrowed his eyes playfully. "That's exactly what I'm saying. I guess Kai-Kens get weaker with every generation."

The speckled mutt rolled his eyes. "Here they go again," he muttered.

The bird eating dog just continuously plucked feathers from her pheasant skillfully, leaving them littered around her prey in several neat piles. "Ken, I wouldn't be taunting the next generation if I was you. When are you going to have me some grand puppies, hm?"

Ken took another bite of food. "Mom, please."

Kagetora bolted down some more of his prey. "It's not that he doesn't want puppies, it's that no female will go near him."

Ken tore off a strip of meat. "Well, I don't see you in company of any girls."

"I don't see you, either."

"Maybe because neither of you will shut up," the speckled dog shot at them.

Both Ken and Kagetora ignored him.

Cross merely chuckled and continued eating. She wasn't expecting any grand puppies soon.

Why would she?