Ohu wasn't how the pups imagined it. For Wing, it was the food. He had pictured a banquet laid out for him. A smorgasbord of prey that his belly awaited to be fed. So far? He had received no such meals. The young pup sulked. He was starting to believe that his father had tricked him using his one and only weakness: food.
For Mina it was the setting. She had imagined Ohu as a terrible place. A smelly, stinky, rotten place that her parents had forced her to go. Although when she had arrived, she found her fears and expectations didn't match up. It didn't seem as bad as she initially believed. She had imagined Ohu as a desolate wasteland full of sharp rocks and weeds. No life to be found anywhere. She was wrong on all counts. Still however, she wished there were more puppies to play with. Mostly there were adults.
Kuro didn't have an opinion either way. He simply obeyed his parents wishes, being the "good" boy of his siblings. But mostly he simply wanted to make his mother happy. Today he had noticed something. His mother wasn't happy. It had all started earlier today. A huge group of dogs had gathered earlier, practically the whole pack. Their father Bat had led them through the crowd only for Kuro and his siblings to see their mother kneeling down.
She looked hurt, upset. Kuro remembered her running away when he asked her what was wrong. Kuro wasn't hurt by it, it only worried him. Even more so when he found her crying. To Kuro it was all very confusing. This was the first time he had ever seen her cry. Then in another spontaneous display, she had embraced all of them.
Something wasn't right with their mother, even Wing and Mina could tell. And that was why the three of them went to spy on their parents. They had settled down for a rest in a secluded part of Ohu. Not too far, yet not too close. After today's little mishap, the family had decided to keep away from the main group. They didn't want to rile any tempers. A soft pile of leaves served as bedding for the puppies, puppies who currently weren't sleeping.
"Get your butt out of my face!" Wing complained.
"My butt isn't in your face!" Mina retorted.
"Guys, come on, don't fight!" Kuro pleaded.
It went on like this as they snuck through the bushes and foliage. Their parents had sniffed the area for any predators. The very fact their parents left them unattended showed they were safe. That and they were close by.
"I'm sorry I didn't know about Cross." they heard the voice of their father Bat.
The three pups kept still within the brush knowing full well their father's accurate hearing would pick them up no problem.
"I'm not blaming you Bat. You couldn't have known." Mayu's voice had softened since her earlier outbreak.
"What's Mommy talking about?" asked Mina.
"How should I know?" Wing snapped. "Just shut up!"
"Don't tell me to shut up!"
"I'll do what I want!"
Kuro remained silent throughout the whole argument. He wanted to say something to keep his brother and sister silent but did nothing out of fear of alerting their parents. Apparently Mina and Wing got the idea when they noticed their father's ears twitch.
Bat stilled himself for a moment. He thought he could sense something but soon paid it no mind. "What should we tell the children?" came his question.
Mayu breathed out a scoff. "Nothing. That's how it's going to stay."
That news didn't seem to sit well with Bat. "But it's not like we can just avoid her, certainly they'll run into Cross and what then?"
Mayu appeared to consider that idea. Certainly it would be difficult, not that the puppies understood what was going on.
Bat tasted something upon his lips. It was another statement, one he was uncertain about. His mate still wasn't in the best of moods despite what her composure said.
"Despite everything, she's still their grandmother."
That was the breaking point for the saluki mother.
"Cross is not their grandmother! She'll never be their grandmother! Not as long as I'm here!" Mayu spat.
Grandmother? They had a grandmother? This was new to the pups. Their parents never talked about their family. The trio had only known their mother and father. Although they did know of their Uncle Mao. Their mother had spoken of him often enough, but not enough to really give them a clear idea of the long departed dog. But now a grandmother? This was certainly very new to them. The trio squirmed underneath the foliage with excitement at the news. More rather it was from hearing the new bit of juicy information than the fact itself. They really didn't know how else to react to a grandmother. Just what did a grandmother do anyway? All they had been told that a grandparent was a parent to their own parents.
Whatever thoughts raced through their tiny heads were cut off as their father's black paw pinned them to the ground. Bat had sensed their movements and heard their murmurs. Wing was the first to speak, looking up at his father with a sheepish grin.
"Hi Dad."
Bat lowered his sightless eyes. "Hello Wing, Mina...Kuro. Mind telling me what you're doing here?"
Wing began to stammer in his speech as he tried to think up an excuse.
"We were worried about Mommy." Kuro piped up. Wing breathed a sigh as his brother came up with a good excuse.
Mayu strode over to her children with reprimanding look. "You don't have to worry about me, young pup. Right now you three should be sleeping. You need rest." The mother was about to shepherd her children back to bed when Mina interrupted.
"Mommy? Do we have a Grandma?"
Mayu stopped. Her body became stiff.
"Yeah, we heard you and Dad talking." Wing chimed in. "Was it that old lady? Yeah! I bet it was! She looked just like mom."
Looks of realization crossed Mina and Kuro's face. A different expression appeared on Mayu's face. "That bitch is not your grandmother!"
All the pups yelped in fright at their mother's outburst. This was not something Mayu had intended. Angry as she was, she calmed herself down to a degree. "Look, that dog, Cross, I want you three to stay away from her, and the three males with her." The pups listened well to their mother's words. "Whatever she says, not matter how much she sound like she means it, it's all a lie. She doesn't care about you or me."
"But Mommy–?" Kuro piped.
"Look." Mayu interrupted her son. "All we need is each other, you three, me and your father, no one else."
Bat said nothing during this whole speech. But silently he didn't approve. Merely he hung his head with a shake.
"I think it's time we all got some sleep…..now." Mayu spoke with a command in her voice.
Bat and the pups didn't argue. There would be no way of doing so with the matriarch of the family. Per usual, Kuro trailed behind his siblings and father.
"Are you sure you're okay, Mommy?" the little pup asked turning his tiny head back.
Mayu responded by giving her son a soft push with her snout. "I'm fine baby, now go get your rest." her smile belied how she truly felt. However her smile and love towards her child was fine. Kuro at least was pleased with that.
XXX
Ken and George just sat there. Alone but together. By now all of Ohu was asleep save for them. Really, sleep would be hard considering what had transpired today. A sister– no, a half-sister. Frankly it wasn't something one learned every day. The Great Dane mix looked at his brother with a look of confusion.
"Aren't you going to say something?" Ken asked.
George laid his head down upon the grass. His body moved to a relaxed position. "Got nothing to say."
Ken sprang up at his younger siblings words. "Come on! Not even after what we've been told?"
George moved slightly. Certainly it would be foolish to think he wasn't affected by the news they had received. Yet he didn't seem to care.
"Don't you think we should talk to her?" Ken suggested.
George craned his head towards his brother. This time he said something. "I don't see the point."
"Well, she's our sister." Ken argued.
"Half-sister." George corrected.
"Whatever." Ken replied. "I mean, we should talk to her after what happened today."
George breathed a noise. "I don't think she would want to talk to us. I doubt we and Mom are the ones she wants to talk with."
His brother had a point. From what their mother had told them, Mayu wouldn't want to listen to anything they said. While George could just brush it aside, Ken had more trouble doing so. Secretly he had prided himself in being the oldest. Someone his siblings could look up to, his father's heir, if one willed. While all of those were partially exaggerations, or at least simply remaining by products of his puppy days, he did find it a bit discomforting knowing he wasn't his mother's eldest anymore. Well, at least he was still his father's eldest.
"Come on, you know you want to." Ken urged.
George once more said nothing, his disinterest in the subject clearly showing. Why was that? Ken wondered. Was it because of Miney's death? Was the act of accepting another sister too hard for him?
"You know this makes us uncles now." Ken suddenly said.
There was a brief departure in George's uncaring stance. He looked up with some form of emotion within his eyes.
"Well, that and Bat is our brother in law." Ken added.
That was also true. In all honesty, George had expected Ken to find a mate, while he himself…. He never held the interest in finding a mate or even siring...puppies. In all honesty he couldn't stomach the thought of puppies crawling all over him, tugging at his ears, yipping at him at all hours. Frankly, it made him shudder.
Yet somehow his emotional lock broke away. "We talk to her tomorrow, I and go with you. I don't want you doing anything stupid."
Ken's fur riled up. "Stupid? When have I done anything stupid?"
George chuckled and returned to his former position. He didn't say a word.
"What?" Ken urged. But he got no response from his brother, only another chuckle. Ken scoffed and sat down in his own position. "Shut up." he muttered.
XXXX
She wasn't how sure she could pretend to be sick any longer.
Curled up in the shadows of her den, trying to act as if she was getting some sleep, she found her belly and heart pounding wretchedly, and her eyes still snapped wide open. She tried to ignore the buzzing of the flies and the strong smell of meat that fermented in the den, that filled the entire entrance. It was tempting. So, so tempting to eat. But she couldn't. She had said her throat was hurting– god, why had she picked that stupid excuse, out of all the excuses– and dragging some of the prey further inside her den to eat would alert the guards that she was.
Setsu winced as she heard a pebble inside her den drop.
Trying to curl up tighter, she did her best not to look at the sunlight leaking from the entrance onto the newly deposited prey. The guard had messed up again– he'd left it in the sun instead of delivering it into the shadows. Even in her pretended sleep, Setsu couldn't help but snort slightly. Fantastic. More temptation to eat, and a prey out of reach.
As Setsu listened in, thinking that she heard a noise outside, she disregarded any of the plonking or buzzing noises in her den. There was no one inside it to share it with her, so there was no point in suspecting anything. The Grandmaster had made no point to find her another Recorder after
Zakura's accident several years earlier, and so there was distinct lack of repeated praises in the den, something Setsu disliked. She had never missed Zakura, or his repeated speech, but they were quite preferable to what the grandmaster told her now.
Setsu shuddered in revulsion. Speaking of the grandmaster…
She gave up on her sleeping act and huffily rolled over, staring up at her den's dark ceiling. With her belly up, she could feel the relatively cool air that was in the cave wash across the little fur on it. It cooled her flopped back ears and helped her get a hold of her thoughts. Setsu frowned angrily, her ears trying to pull back, but the den floor prevented her from doing so. Honestly, why was the grandmaster bothering to do this? There was no need for the stupid training duties anymore; she shouldn't have to go and parade her body and skills in front of her every two or three days.
Setsu blew out a breath, trying to disturb the cool air around her and make herself feel better. She was the Container, for hell's sake! Someone in such a privileged position should be able to control their schedule and what they wanted, whenever they wanted!
A flea bit her chest. Annoyed, Setsu scratched at it with one of her paws, managing to drive it away for the moment. After it was gone, she looked at the place it had been biting. Her chest fur was rather thick this year; she hadn't been shedding as well as usual. Fleas took advantage of this. But even the fleas weren't as persistent as the grandmaster and her guards.
Setsu sourly looked up at the ceiling again. No doubt the grandmaster would have a comment to make on her shedding difficulties. She could almost see the ancient, mangy old dog beckoning her to turn around or roll over in order to get a better look at the thicker furred spots; guards watching the whole thing with their stiff postures and amused eyes. It was humiliating to her station to have those lower level guards, grandmaster's or not, eying her while the grandmaster went through her inspection. She was fine, thank you very much, and not to mention highly in shape and quite beautiful for someone who was being observed like a pup under Maria or Julia's detention. But then again, if her pretense of being sick worked, then she wouldn't have to be looked over.
Setsu sniffed angrily. After all, in addition to her other qualities, she was healthy. This whole throat-hurting business was nothing more than a charade so she could have an excuse to miss the grandmaster's inspection, that was all! Who cared that had had a spot of… stomach hurting after one of their training sessions, or had… hallucinated slightly. That… none of that mattered in the long run! She shouldn't have to deal with this, what with her being the Container and all! A high title, one that guaranteed respect, that put her above mangy guards and hunters like the lots of Mako and the up-and-growing brats under Julia's– or was it Maria's?– control. It symbolized… symbolized…
Setsu rolled over again, not wanting to look at the ceiling anymore. Well, who cared what it symbolized? It and its promotion– which was something the grandmaster had neglected to impose upon her; yet another thing the old relic had held back from her– were quite important. They guaranteed her places in the Clan, places only others could dream of.
Rolling over and feigning sleep once again as she heard an approaching guard, Setsu still just wasn't sure what those places were.
XXXX
Weed found that he just couldn't get comfortable. Sighing, he lay his head down in the grass, trying to relax. But the thoughts in his head refused to let him do so.
Watching the sunlight fall through the trees from the tall and soft patch of green grass Weed was laying in, flowers blooming from nearly every crack and crevice and color ruling the world, it was hard to believe that anyone could be in strife or anger. Weed tilted his head, watching a flower petal drift down from a nearby tree. Everyone praised the spring. Whether it was Jerome looking up at the flowering trees or fields, Sasuke accidentally sniffing up some pollen or a bee, or a protesting GB getting thrown around in them by an energetic Kagetora, spring seemed to be endlessly commented by all, though not necessarily in words. More importantly, everyone was always happy.
Almost.
Unable to feel the same joy and energy at watching the flowers before, Weed scratched his nose before nuzzling it into some grass. How had things turned this way? One minute everyone was content to roughhouse and admire spring; the other, a family was ready to kill half of themselves. Since that was what they were– a family.
Frustrated, Weed put his paws his nose, beginning to feel hopeless. How was he going to keep Ohu happy and solve this problem when making one side of the issue happy would guarantee loathing and anger from the other? Well, if the loathing and anger was directed towards him, then there would be less of a problem, but to other family members? How was that going to work out?
"Thinking on something?"
"Huh?" Weed snapped his head around. Standing behind him in the flowers and grass was Gin.
"Oh, dad! I didn't… I didn't see you there," Weed said weakly, still lying in the patch of grass. Gin calmly took a few steps forward, picking his way through the flowers and grass. He sat down next to Weed, silver fur dimly shining next to the pink and white flowers.
"I didn't think you did. I had to wait a while before you finally noticed."
Weed's fur ruffled with embarrassment.
"Sorry, dad, I should've been paying more attention. I didn't… I didn't mean to leave you sitting there without saying anything for so long–"
Disregarding his son's lengthy apology, Gin faced forward, stoically watching the swaying branches in bloom and the soft sunlight play over them.
"There's no need for apologies. You were in the middle of thinking of something; I didn't want to interrupt you."
Looking away from his father sheepishly and down at his own front paws, Weed shuffled them uncomfortably. "Well, about that… about what I was thinking of… I…"
"Let me guess: you're trying to avert a family crisis."
Startled, Weed looked up at his father's quiet statement, only to see the older bearhound looking down at him with silent amusement in his eyes. It was the only signal he needed.
"How am I going to fix this?" he asked helplessly, words spilling from his mouth. "Everything… everything seems so jumbled. I mean," he said, turning to look in the direction Gin had before, "since I'm the new leader now, I know I should be learning to solve these problems on my own– without advice from you or Jerome– but this one just seems like one I can't do anything to fix by myself. I can't force them to forgive each other, or get back together, or at least stop fuming…"
Weed clawed at the grass, looking down. "I feel so helpless."
Gin watched his son silently, listening to his words. He waited for a moment after he was done, watching him stare at the grass.
"Weed," he spoke, making his son look up, "You can hardly expect the family to come back together the instant they see each other. There is no fondness for being abandoned," he said gently but firmly.
"But Cross didn't abandon them," Weed said incredulously. "She had to leave!"
"Do you think they know the same?" Gin said.
"Yes," Weed said fiercely. Gin's eyebrows rose and ears flicked to the side at the sound of the intensity in his son's voice.
"You think that they wouldn't have a single thought about the chance of being abandoned after they were left? After they had to fend on their own?"
Weed hesitated slightly, ears flattening to the side in indecision. "Well… I mean, they might've had a thought or two… but how could they ever believe their mother– or family– abandoned them? I didn't think you abandoned me and mom," he added, tilting his head and looking up at his father.
"I'm sure you didn't," Gin chuckled, putting a paw on Weed's forehead. His playful demeanor faded as he removed his paw from his son's head. "But trust can easily be broken, especially by time and those thoughts."
"Mom was alone for a long time, and she never doubted anything," Weed said quietly.
"I don't doubt that, either," Gin said, face becoming old for a moment, ears turning to the back. "But your mother was different. For a clingy pup, being left alone for a few hours is abandonment. A few days is incomprehensible."
Weed turned his face away from his father for a moment, looking down at a dip in the hill, watching the springy flowers and limbs and the insects that fluttered from one to another. Through his eyes, he had never seen so many shades of grey, black, and white in one place, or combined in so many ways. They bounced happily at the slightest breeze, sweet scents mixing, content with everything.
"But if they hate each other," he said, "then how are they ever going to be a family again?"
Gin turned in the same direction as his son, observing the bugs that flitted from plant to plant and the pleasant buzzing that the fat striped bumblebees made.
"These flowers will die in the winter," he said. "How are other flowers ever going to grow again?"
Weed blinked. He turned his eyes towards his father. "Well, that's easy. They're just going to wait for spring."
Gin watched a bird spiral through the small patches of sky that the flowers left revealed, the sky a bright blue.
"Then there's your answer. The family is simply in the middle of their winter." he said simply.
Weed stared at his father's face as he watched the flower petals fall.
"Once their winter ends and spring comes, they can grow, and become a family again." He looked at Weed. "They always do."
Gin turned and left, Weed watching his father the whole way. He kept following him until the flowers and trees swallowed up the silvery fur, completely obscuring him from view.
When he turned his head back to look at the flowers, an extra energetic wind took hold of them, blowing multiple patches of tumbling petals into the air.
One landed on Weed's nose, drooping over it.
XXXX
Ken was beginning to regret his decision.
"George?" he asked. "You there?"
"To your left, dumbass," someone breathed. Ken felt his fur bristle for a moment as his younger brother's voice seemed to come from nowhere. Sharply looking to his side, he saw George quietly come up from behind him, walking past him. Ken watched him go.
"Hell, George, don't do that. It always surprises me when you come out of nowhere without saying anything."
George paused for a moment, looking back. "Well? Are you going to move? Or stay standing there all day?"
Ken blinked before running after his brother. "Hey, keep your fur on, I'm coming," he said.
Both of the brothers walked between the trees, stepping through flower patches and weeds. Ken uneasily looked around, trying to smell the air. The flowers and their pollen clogged his nose, successfully hiding any nearby scents.
"Are you sure we shouldn't wait for her to come back and then just go talk to her straight out instead of trying to find her while she's out here?"
"Are you an idiot, Ken?" George snorted. "She'd more than likely jump us later if we so much as got within an inch of her brats while we were looking for her. We have to get to her before she comes back to camp."
George sniffed the air, the same as Ken had. As a result, he successfully clogged his nose with the smell of flowers in the exact same way. Trying to ignore their overpowering smell and abundance, George focused on finding the familiar smell of another dog, or of recently killed prey. He highly doubted the female– or 'Mayu'– would have caught something this early in the hunting trip, but those kind of things were unpredictable.
Ken's ears perked up. "Did you hear that?"
George looked at his brother, who was staring off into the trees and bushes, ears upright. "Hear what?" He mentally cursed his floppy ears, both a hindrance in battle and listening.
"There's something coming through the bushes up ahead."
George looked forward, lifting his ears the best he could and standing in silence. For a moment, he heard nothing, just the sounds of Ken's heartbeat and a few twittering birds. But then he became aware of the crunching sound up ahead, one that was getting louder with every minute.
"Do you think she heard us–?"
"Ssh, shut-up!" George snapped at Ken. He turned his head backs towards the crunching sounds, straining to hear them again. Silence. George tried to listen harder. Had they been merely hearing a squirrel? But no, then there came a soft, slow crunch, as if someone was taking a cautious step. A pause. Then another.
George swore under his breath as he realized what was happening. Whoever it was was trying to get their scents from the wind before they came any closer. The breeze wasn't blowing from behind them, so Mayu hadn't smelled them yet, but George doubted she would be any happier if she had to wait till she smelled them nearby before knowing they were there.
"Come on, Ken," he said, plunging into the bushes. His brother balked for only a moment.
"George–"
George no longer heard the footsteps or focused on the flower's smell. He went straight between two large bushes, making them rustle conspicuously, and didn't bother in trying to keep quiet. He could hear his older brother following behind him, swearing under his breath.
He could hear other footsteps now, Ken moving by plants behind him, and maybe– some from ahead.
George could sense the plants beginning to separate, more air coming in from in front of him. There was more light from up ahead. He barely got to see the tufts of flowers growing out of the dirty clearing, like the hide of a mangy mutt, when he saw the flash of stringy white in the bushes.
George, Ken, and Mayu stepped out into the clearing.
The instant they made eye contact, the scent of aggression filled the air.
Ken could see she hadn't caught anything– there was no blood on her jaws, or feathers clinging to her ears or neck. But her fur had began to bristle as none of them blinked or backed off. Ken felt his own fur start to stand on end as none of them broke the eye contact, as none of them blinked. He couldn't force himself to blink or look away from the black, dark, dark, brown eyes in front of him. Sheer stubbornness from past confrontations wouldn't let him do it. He almost began to growl as Mayu's lips slowly pulled back, revealing the very edges of her fangs. Next to him, he could feel George getting ready to do the same. It reminded him of what he was supposed to be doing like a slap in the face.
"George, stop it," he said, forcing his fur down, and making his ears lean forward in a less aggressive position. He tore away eye contact from Mayu, blinking several times and looking at his brother. He could feel some of the aggression in the air deflate, and sensed some surprise from her at his backing down. George had also began to stiffen and bristle slightly, but at his brother's reminder, he slowly lowered his tail from its stiff stance and stopped twitching his lips. That was that.
"…what the hell do you want?" Mayu's voice was harsh, a raw chord of warning in it. But it wasn't as close to breaking out in snarl as Ken thought it would be.
"We want to talk to you," Ken said. "That's it."
He felt some relief as Mayu's lips lowered, and her fur stopped bristling. Slightly. But she wasn't out of her hostile state yet.
"You and who?" she asked. Her eyes were stilled narrowed, and she hung back to her part of the clearing, refusing to come closer to them. George and Ken made no attempt to close the gap, being quite satisfied with space between them and their… half sister.
It suddenly occurred to George that, in all likeliness, she– Mayu, whatever her name was– didn't know who they were. Just that they were pups of Cross, and two dogs she'd have liked to beat the shit out of. At this point, he half shared her sentiments. He'd only come to make sure Ken did nothing stupid, that was all.
"Ken and George," George replied, answering before his brother could get something out of his mouth. "He's Ken."
Remembering the short, rather uneventful hunting trip a few days ago with Bink the blabbermouth– and the brawl in the middle of camp– George decided that there was no need for formal introduction.
Mayu apparently thought the same. She moved her eyes from one brother to the other, observing them as if they were rogues of some kind, trying to steal some prey from her.
"Why did you want to talk to me?" Her question sounded harsher and more guarded than her previous one, and really didn't have the air of a question at all. She knew exactly what they wanted to talk about.
"Well," Ken said, answering and slipping himself into the conversation before his brother could say something else, "we wanted to talk about a few days ago."
The fight. George could've bitten his brother for the absolute awkwardness he was giving off. But neither Ken nor he had ever had any patience for tact, and he had to admit it.
Mayu's face darkened. "About the fight?"
"No, about Cross and the fight." Ken boldly said.
Mayu's face soured. "I won't be talking about her, and that's it."
She loaded the word 'her' down with venom, spitting out the word as it poisoned her mouth. But far worse was 'her' actual name, and she had no intention of using it, even if she had just heard it.
Ken flicked back his ears for a second, frustration already beginning to grow. "Look, we know why the fight happened, and we were all pretty pissed off. That's all that started it, and that's all there is to it. But we're trying to make up for it. Cross, George, and I want to apologize."
Unfortunately for Ken, his blunt apology was rendered null the instant the first name had passed through Mayu's ears.
"If this is an apology coming from her, I don't accept it," she responded coldly. George felt anger making his fur prickle. He wasn't the only one.
"It wasn't her fault that this happened," Ken snapped, losing some composure, "it–"
She cut him off. "If you were going to just come and make excuses for her, you should've just stayed back in the Ohu camp. I've heard enough from her mouth already, there doesn't need to be any from yours." Mayu's voice lowered in intensity, not burning as much as before.
"You apologized for all three of you. I see what you're trying to do. Hell, I have nothing against you or your brother. You had nothing to do with it. Consider more than half of your apology accepted. But the last bit that comes from Cross– whether from her or from you FOR her– is the one I can't take."
Mayu turned around, beginning to walk away. George watched her with partially laid back ears, listening to Ken trying to pull out another genius retort. Just as he was about to say something, George stomped on his foot. His voice trailed off to quiet but violent swears.
Mayu paused, one paw positioned next to the bush she was about to walk behind. Neither George nor Ken could see her face. "Since you've already done so," she said, an odd tone to her voice, "I guess I might as well apologize for the fight… with both of you."
Mayu quietly walked off into the bushes.
After a few moments, when George could no longer hear the Saluki's disappearing footsteps, he pulled his foot off of the top of Ken's. His brother immediately turned on him, irate.
"What the hell was that for?"
George didn't answer him. Instead, he was watching the bushes were Mayu had vanished off into. He snorted. Ken began growling. "What's so funny? That entire attempt at apologizing went to total hell, and you stomped on my foot. I should bite you for that, you son of a–"
"I'm not laughing at you, bastard," George snapped at him. "In fact, I'm not laughing at all. It's just not every day you meet such a big hypocrite."
Ken's nonexistent eyebrows rose. "Hypocrite?"
"Tell me," George said darkly, voice lined with sarcasm as he still looked in the direction Mayu had taken off in, "do you think there's a single other dog in the Ohu army who ran away when they felt betrayed by something?"
XXX
Wing was bored. No, that was an understatement. He was super bored. Ohu had turned out to be a bust. His complaints about the lack of food did not go unheard. It had taken his parents warnings for him to hush up to silence him. But they didn't seem to apply with his siblings. Although in all honesty, he had found Mina and Kuro to be boring as well. They had simply wanted to play the same old games. Although Wing didn't mind so long as he was first that is. But he wanted something new. He wouldn't put his paw on it, but he just wanted a change.
So it was here he decided to stray away from his younger sister and brother.
Besides, Wing reasoned that there were plenty of dogs in Ohu who wouldn't allow any harm to befall a sweet, adorable puppy such as himself. Of course those were words he would describe himself as.
It wasn't that Mina or Kuro were not any fun, Wing just played with them all the time. He didn't really have a choice seeing as they were the only pups he had known since birth. Besides the promise of an abundance of food, Wing had hoped Ohu would have puppies his age to play with. So far he had found none.
But that wouldn't spoil his fun.
Wing let out a growl as he pounced on a stray leaf. The green plant limb was tossed in the air by the rambunctious pup. Wing would toss it only to catch it when it fell. And by catch, he would bite and toss it around some more.
"Heh not so tough now are ya?" Wing shouted to the pretend enemy. The ebony furred pup snatched up the leaf again and tossed it with all his might. His little paws kicked it along causing it to float and stick to his body.
Wing rolled about as he attempted to deleaf himself (if deleaf counted as a full on word). The young pup was so lost in his playtime that he didn't notice he bumped into something. Or rather someone.
"Hey what's the big idea?" Wing irritably asked, slightly irked that his playtime had been disrupted.
Wing jolted up only to find him face to face with someone he didn't expect. Standing before him was another puppy. Right away Wing could tell it was a male pup. The pup was a mixed breed, a Great Pyrenees Akita Inu to be precise. His fur was yellow from head to his paws, that is save for his ears which were brown. The pup looked about ready to deliver his own retort to Wing's complaint, but he looked surprised just as well.
The two boys sniffed the air for a moment, looking at each other curiously, tilting their heads from side to side. They even sniffed their butts for a moment but stopped when they noticed each other doing it.
"Wow! I didn't think there was anyone else my own age." The mixed pup exclaimed.
Wing formed a slight grin upon his face. "Yeah me neither, I thought my brother and sister were the only others."
"You got a brother and sister?" the pup asked.
"Yeah but they're kind of wimps, especially my sister. Sometimes she's just a crybaby, and don't get me started on my brother." Wing reconsidered for a moment. "But they're okay I guess."
The pup found common ground with Wing's words. "My brother is alright, but my sisters are so annoying."
"You have two sisters! Man I feel sorry for you." Wing spoke sympathetically.
This only proved to provoke a laugh from the mixed pup. A laugh that Wing joined in as well. Suddenly Wing felt himself forgetting about his earlier feelings of boredom. Today h something new. "So what's your name kid?" Wing asked.
"My name's Kin." The pup introduced himself.
"I'm Wing." Wing greeted likewise.
The two boys wagged their tails in symmetry, their grins spreading wide across their faces. "Hey ya wanna play with me?" Wing asked.
Kin seemed slightly surprised by the question but responded with and "Sure! What are we playing?"
Wing turned his attention back to the leaf. "Well I was pretending this leaf was a bear or something." A smirk appeared upon Wing's face. "And I just had it pinned!" Wing pounced upon it resuming his play. Soon Kin joined in the fun as he attempted to wrestle with the "bear". The two pups pounced around each other trying to attack their imaginary enemy. Their laughter mingled with each other as the two boys had the time of their lives. Apparently Wing wasn't the only one who wished for a friend outside his siblings. This Kin seemed to share the same feelings as his new found friend.
The two of them soon collapsed upon the ground, their little bellies heaving up and down as they breathed.
"Wow you're a lot of fun Wing." Kin complimented.
Wing caught a breath. "Yeah you too."
"You're new here aren't you?" Kin asked suddenly coming to that conclusion, or rather just speaking it now. "I haven't seen you around."
"Yeah my family and I just moved here, my dad used to live here but then he left." Wing explained.
Kin tried to think of anyone who had left Ohu but he couldn't find a match. "I was born here, my parents are soldiers...well my dad is, my mom's dad was a soldier."
"My dad was a soldier too!" Wing piped up. "Man we got a lot in common."
Both he and Wing rose to their feet. Indeed they did. They both had siblings whom they were stuck playing with, they both were energetic, and so far they seemed to have gotten along well enough.
Kin was about to say something when he heard a female voice call to him. "Kin!" Kin looked up to see a brown furred Akita Inu striding up to him.
"Oh...hi Mom." Kin looked a little sheepish as the female approached.
The female gave her son a rather stern look. "There you are young man! I was looking all over for you."
"Mom I was playing with my new friend." Kin whined.
For a moment, the female looked confused. "Friend?" she muttered and then noticing Wing's presence. "Why hello there little one." Reika grinned at the small puppy.
Wing could already sense a warm feeling emanating from the female. It was a little different than his own mother. Something about it just seemed kinder. Not that he was trying to put down his mother in any way, this dog seemed more pleasant.
"Um hi lady." Wing blurted out.
Reika chuckled at that. "Please call me Ms. Reika."
Wing normally wasn't one for manners, but he was in the presence of his newfound friends mother, so he at least wanted to show some class. "O-okay." he stuttered. If his mother was around he wasn't sure how he would act in regards to manners.
"His name is Wing Mom, he's new here." said Kin.
Reika had noticed Wing wasn't anyone she knew. There were not a lot of pups in Ohu. However what stood out to her was the black fur and the Saluki features. Thinking back she remembered something her mate Hiro had heard from the leader. Hadn't Bat returned with a mate and family? Furthermore that mate was a saluki but not just an everyday saluki, someone related to one of the older Ohu soldier.
"Oh you must be Cross's-." Reika trailed off before stopping herself. That and noticing the pup's bewildered expression. "Uh well in any case I hope your family enjoys it here."
Wing noticed a slight hesitation in the adult's eyes. The way she looked at him implied an uncomfortable secret within. Although Wing didn't really pay it much mind to be honest. He particularly didn't care when Kin opened his mouth.
"Hey mom? Can Wing stay for dinner?" Kin asked.
Dinner? Wing's little tail wagged at that bit of news. Slowly at first, but soon it went into full on thumping against the ground. "What kind of dinner? Bird? Squirrel? Rabbit?" Wing asked with excitement as his eyes went wide, practically bugging out of his head. Reika and Kin looked on at this with odd looks delivered toward the young puppy.
"Well...I'm certain it would be okay...if you had your parents permission that is." said Reika.
Of course that was the case. Wing silently cursed under his breath. Asking his parents just had to be the only way he could enjoy the succulent meat. He wasn't sure how his mother would answer, maybe his father would allow him? The only way to find out would be to ask.
"Wing!"
Wing winced at the voice behind him. Turning his head, he saw the approaching black shape of his father Bat. The young pup lowered his head as he faced his parent.
"H-hi dad." Wing meekly answered.
Bat lowered his blind gaze towards his son. "Don't "hi dad" me." Bat chided. "You knew very well not to stray from your brother and sister."
A gulp slid down his throat. To be honest, he had very well known not to stray away from his siblings. A fact that he had explicitly ignored.
"Uh...I forgot?" he said the excuse like a question, hoping his father would accept the excuse.
"Nice try. But you're coming home." Bat sternly said.
Wing's face fell into a pout. It wasn't just the promise of food that was making him hesitant. "But dad! I made a new friend!"
A familiar scent wafted past Bat's nose. It was that of a female, one he had met once before, but never fully acquainted with. Bat smelt something else, a smaller younger scent. At the female's legs was a puppy.
"Reika right? You're the mate of Hiro the ball snatcher?" Bat spoke his fellow Ohu soldiers full title. The pair hadn't been officially counted as friends due to their distance from each other. Either by personal choice her fate never bringing them together.
Reika nodded although she knew Bat would not be able to see her. Yet he seemed to know she nodded. In all honesty, she felt nervous being around a former soldier of Hougan. The other two, what were their names? Buruge and Kite, had sworn loyalty to Ohu, but Reika didn't want to take any chances at comfortably around them. Well in any case, she knew Hiro would protect her and their family.
"And you had pups." Bat further asked.
"Y-yes, this is my son Kin." Reika answered.
Bat lowered his head sniffing in the Kin's direction. Just like his mother, Kin felt a tad nervous being around the blind dog. Yet the pup kept up a brave front. Bat could sense that. It made him grin as he felt reminded of Wing. "So you boys are friends now?" Wing asked to both pups.
"Yes sir!" Both boys yipped.
Bat looked towards them then to Reika. Bat said nothing, only going back and forth staring at the pups and then to Reika. The grin shrank into a smirk. "Perhaps our families should meet together at some point?"
Reika blinked in surprise at the proposition. Wing and Kin looked hopefully up to her. "Well...I don't see...why not."
"YAY!" Wing and Kin happily cried.
Bat chuckled lightheartedly at the two youngsters. "We should discuss this with our respective mates first. Your husband and I haven't had the pleasure of talking civilly yet."
For a moment, Reika felt her nervousness subside. "Of course. I would love to meet your mate."
Bat chuckled once again, "I'm certain you ladies would have a lot to talk about, but for now my son and I need to have a little talk."
Wing gulped a second time when he heard that. He knew very well what the talk would entail. Reika ushered Kin to her side, she had her own talk to give her own child.
As both boys held their heads low, Kin turned his head around. "See you around Wing!" he called with happiness despite the poor situation he was in. Wing turned his head to and very well matched Kin's expression. Both boys were more alike then they realized.
Although he was not too happy with his child, Bat felt some degree of pleasure that his son found a friend. He wanted the best for his children. Initially he had thought Ohu would be the place, then the family problems sprang up. That is if Mayu would consider Cross and her son's as family. The answer he assumed was "no". Yet Wing's new budding friendship showed a slight silver lining around the dark clouds that had covered their family.
Bat's grin spread into a smile. Then it lowered once he brought Wing back and gave him quite an earful.
XXX
At this point, Mina was questioning whether had this had been a good idea or not.
"Mom," she asked, trying to put the words out as carefully as possible as she hopped over a large clump of grass, "are… are you sure I'm old enough to do this?"
From up ahead, her mother turned head around and shot her an odd look, ears flicking back for a second. "Of course you are. Why wouldn't you be?"
Mina felt the hint of a scald in her mother's gaze. She desperately tried to tread water and move the conversation elsewhere. "I dunno… I just… just remembered Dad wanted us to stick together. You're sure I'm not going to get trouble for it…?"
"Not at all," Mayu replied promptly. "I've already told your father we're practicing today, so he shouldn't chew you out over it."
"He chewed Wing out."
"Wing was wandering around without permission."
Mina swallowed, trying to keep eye contact with her mother while watching where she was going. "Right. And I have permission."
"Exactly, Mina." Mayu shifted aside a patch of grass with her foot, walking farther into the forest before turning and sitting down. "You're the proper age to learn how to hunt, and we should start here."
Mina stopped in front of her mother, watching her. "What am I going to hunt? Rabbits?"
Her mother gave her another look, one that made Mina want to take her words back. "No, rabbits are too fast for you."
Stupid, stupid thing to say! Mina said to herself. She had to keep her fur from fluffing up with embarrassment. Think before you talk to mom!
"Right," Mina said, struggling to raise herself in her mother's eyes again, "so we'll be going after something smaller like mice or shrews." She held her breath, waiting to see if she'd guessed correctly.
"Right," Mayu said, sounding pleased. Mina felt herself relaxing. Whew! "Very good, Mina."
Mayu suddenly raised her head, sniffing at a small breeze. Mina looked up, copying the same motion as her mother. The sun was filtering through the tops of the trees, leaving brightening splatters everywhere. The small breeze was making some of the flowers lift up into the wind, rolling over their petals and plucking dandelions bald. Mina blinked, shaking her head as a few petals hit her in the face and tangled in her ears. After pawing them out, she quickly looked up at her mother to make sure she hadn't saw that. She needn't have worried. Mayu was still sniffing the breeze, focused entirely on whatever she was smelling.
Mina snuck a side look at her. In the light that was coming down from above, her mother's white stringy ears and long fur seemed to glow, giving her a bright white outline. The way she was posed, head up, purposefully sniffing at the air in search of something, confident in what she was doing, made her look even larger than life than she usually did whenever she and Mina were alone. From right here, Mina felt incredibly small.
She tried to quietly pull herself up– try and make herself feel bigger– but it was no use. She stared at up her mother, settling back down and choosing to feel dwarfed. Why did she feel like everything she did was just as small as she felt in her mother's eyes? It was almost like she was from a different brood than Kuro and Wing, who seemed to get compliments out of her much easier.
A quick little wind suddenly decided to blow dandelion fluff into Mina's face. The tickly little floating tufts brushed against her nose, making it itch. Accidentally snorting one up, Mina sneezed, her whole body shaking from the effort. Mayu finally looked down, done searching the air.
"This way, Mina," she said, turning and walking towards where the wind was blowing, long legs lifting her over a bush. Mina, sniffing at her still itchy nose, hastily followed her mother further into the forest.
They continued to walk– and walk– till Mina felt like they were just going in some kind of endless circle. The trees blended into one and other, all patches of flowers looking the same, the entire place united in the ever-going loop through the always falling blossoms from the trees. Finally, after a few uncomfortable small thoughts in Mina's head began to suggest that maybe, just maybe, her mother was lost, they came to stop.
"Here we are," Mayu said, sitting down. Mina gladly plopped down to next her, panting.
"We're here," Mina said, relieved, "but where's here?"
The small, bush lined clearing that they had come to didn't seem any different from all the others they'd passed by on the way here. Sunlight fell on half of it, trees slumping over the other half, and there were less blossoms here than in the rest of the forest. A warm, pleasant glow came from the bare heated dirt in the clearing.
"Here," Mayu said, "is where you're going to learn how to hunt." Mayu leaned forward, sniffing the air, and after a brief pause, Mina realized her mother was expecting her to do the same thing. Quickly leaning forward, she sniffed the air. The smell of blossoms still permeated the air, strong and sweet, but there was another faint smell under it and the aroma of heated dirt and leaves. Fur and meat. Prey.
Mina tried to pull her thoughts together, remember where she'd smelled this smell, but it seemed to fall apart just as she figured out what it was. Mayu lowered her head.
"Shrews and mice; maybe a little stray piglet. Do you know why they come here?"
Another question. Feeling her mother's eyes on her, Mina desperately looked around the clearing, trying to see what could be bringing the invisible prey here. There was no water, no holes in the ground that they could hide in– what else could they be here for? Did they eat something?
"They… come here to eat something?" Mina forced out. Mayu gave a tiny nod.
"Yes, Mina. What do they come to eat?"
Errr…
Looking around the clearing again, Mina tried to find whatever her mother was seeing. There was grass, grass and nuts in the trees, and maybe a worm or two under ground, but those couldn't be it. Nothing clicked about them, and Mina thought that if she answered with them, her mother would give her the same look she had when she'd thought they were going after rabbits. What was she missing?
"They eat…" Mina started out, sensing her mother's growing impatience, "they eat…"
She looked over the ground. Leaves, twigs, some bright little balls of something, grass– little balls?
"Berries!" Mina burst out, "they eat berries!"
She felt an immense wave of relief as her mother smiled, lowering her ears.
"Exactly."
An unfamiliar look of cunning and determination crossed her mother's face, suddenly reminding Mina of the coyotes which had tormented the rabbits back at their old home. Mayu leaned forward.
"You've played with prey bodies long enough with Wing and Kuro. Now it's time for the real thing. First, I'll help you find one…"
XXXX
George gnawed on what was left of the pheasant's leg, slowly grinding the bone in half. He held its stiffening claws under one paw and chewed on the upper middle, focusing on splintering it in one place. It felt calm, to be laying here and finishing off his meal without Ken yelling in ear. He had apparently had enough of George for the day, and had decided to go hang around with Kagetora for the remainder of the afternoon.
George continued to bite down on the pheasant leg, deciding to go bury the bones elsewhere for later gnawing or for the worms to have. Near the fresh prey pile and the lazy conversations and sunning taking place, it was almost too easy to decide to bury the reminder of his prey for later. Even though he'd gotten over his harsh years as a rogue, he still felt it hard to just throw out bones or food. It had taken long enough to get rid of the impulse to scavenge everything possible and keep his prey close to him at all times, and he didn't think he'd ever be able to throw prey out.
Something small and black bumbled over through the crowd, holding something in its mouth. George ignored it until it came closer, hesitating around the fresh prey pile, a limp shrew's body hanging from its mouth. Finally, it came closer, piping up.
"Hello," it said, shyly dropping the shrew at its feet, "is this… is this where all the fresh prey goes?"
For a moment, George didn't think it was talking to him until he felt its dark eyes fix his face. He looked up from his pheasant leg at the little black pup.
"Yeah. What, are you switching out the shrew you got for something else? Don't like it?"
"No, no," the little dog said, quickly straightening itself out, "I want to add my shrew to it. I caught it. By myself," it added proudly. George noticed all of the leaves sticking to its fur and scratched up nose.
It wasn't one of Reika's brats.
George felt his fur bristle and blood spike through his body for a moment, barely restraining himself from leaping up. No. No, he couldn't be running into one of them, not so soon after the argument–
"Why aren't you eating your first catch? You scratched the hell out of your nose to get it," George said. He cocked his ears, trying to listen for sounds of either of the parents approaching, trying to smell them before they saw him. If their brat had ran away in this state, they weren't far behind.
"Well– I– I wanted to put it in the fresh kill pile, like a grown-up hunter," the pup said, confusion turning into loaded sweetness. George could've swore its eyes had expanded to twice their size at the end of its sentence. "My name is Mina, by the way," it added helpfully, little tail wagging hopefully along with its bright eyes. Shit, don't tell me it's trying what I think it is, George thought.
"So your mom just let you run all the way back here and dump your prey here?" he asked. The pup apparently heard the disbelief in his voice, so it straightened up further, licking its scratched up nose with a pale pink tongue.
"Yup, she did," it said cheerfully. It tilted its head, looking at George curiously from its wide eyes. "She was just so proud of me that she let me run allll the way here." He could see its fur fluffing up the same way a little bird fluffed out its feathers before begging for food from its parent. "Do you know my mama?"
"No." George said, pinning the chewed pheasant leg to ground under one of his paws. The pup copied his actions, putting a paw over its shrew.
"Really? 'Cause you sound like you know her," it said, sweetening its tone further. George felt ready to retch behind a few bushes, the mindless display of cute was so sickening. "I mean, you kinda look like she does, and you're eating a bird…"
George pressed down on the pheasant leg harder, trying to ignore the broken skeleton and feathers lying nearby.
"Just because I 'look' like your mother doesn't mean I know her," he responded. "Now go home."
"Really?" the pup said, ignoring his last sentence. It tilted its head back up. "Because if you don't know my mother, you should be asking about her, since we're new and there's not too many other puppies around here…"
Looking at the wide, dark brown eyes, George suddenly realized the trap he'd stepped in, too late. He swore to himself mentally, cursing his carelessness. Dammit, this brat's dangerous.
"Lots of new dogs come in. I don't go looking for every one of them." he said. George clawed at the pheasant foot, raising the gnawed up section and signifying the conversation was over. The pup didn't take the hint.
"Really?" it asked, ignoring his not-too-amused posture and fluttering its sleek stubby ears, "you're sure you don't know her?"
"YES." George had to keep his jaws from grinding together. He had little patience with young of any kind, and the way this pup kept trying to heap on the syrupy fake innocent wasn't helping.
"Are you suuuure, mister?" it asked, voice turning into a long, drawn out whine, almost getting directly in George's face. He could smell the scent of Mayu now, Mayu, berries, shrew, and a whole hell of a lot of briars.
"I'm goddamn positive, alright?" he snapped, making the pup back up a step. It stepped on its shrew, blinking at him in shock.
Now expecting Mayu to come out of the forest at any time, George hoped he could come with something that would keep him from getting his throat ripped out over a stupid whelp. Looking at its shocked expression, maybe snapping at it hadn't been a good idea. It wouldn't help his case if Mayu arrived to find her brat crying.
Looking at the pup, George felt a small sense of horror as it sniffed exaggeratedly, ears flopping. It was going to cry. Shit, it was going to cry. Ken, Kagetora, and everyone else would never shut up about this for the rest of their lives if he made one of the new pups start bawling and whining over just one snap. Why the hell were they so sensitive?
The pup sniffed exaggeratedly again, a low whine entering its throat, flipping its ears back. George could sense the torrent coming, and he had no idea what to do.
Suddenly, the pup sat up straight, all traces of oncoming crying gone. "Oh-my-god-I-have-to-go-I-hear-mom."
In a few bounces it was three or four feet away before George could blink or start listening for Mayu. "Bye grumpy mister, you can have the shrew!" The pup hurriedly said, taking off across the camp. It took a few seconds for George to register what it had just said, and by the time he'd stood up to protest, it was gone.
George found himself sitting alone once again, only a squashed shrew in front of him.
He pulled his ears back.
"I hate children."