The winner is... Copperdogz! Hooray! Yippie! To see the characters, please go to deviantart.c om (please get rid of that space between the c and the o) and type in the search bar, Renewal Contest: ... but instead of the ... put which character you want to see. DISCLAIMER: I do not own Wolf's Rain, only the idea for this story.

Chapter 5

"Good, good! Let's get moving!"

~O~

Blaze

I didn't trust this Snipe, but I couldn't say no to Celest. She had grown on me. Us threesome were currently making our way through a dense forest. The trees loomed overhead and kept the sunlight away. Only a few spots came through the curtain. Those spots looked like small steppingstones, but that wasn't what got my attention. Several tracks were within the cold ground. There were deer tracks, some kind of bird tracks, and another set that I couldn't figure out.

I kept a close eye on the surrounding area. Whatever made the tracks hadn't gone through here too long ago. A sudden rattling of the bushes caught my attention.

"STOP!" I yelled to the others. To my embarrassment, a little sparrow flew off.

"You don't have to be so cautious. We're wolves. Only a few creatures would mess with us," Celest assured me. I did lower my guard, but I didn't stop looking around.

"Where is this pack going, by the way?" Snipe suddenly sounded.

"To Paradises," Celest happily replied.

"Paradise, ha. There is no Paradise, or at least, not anymore," Snipe mumbled the last part.

"What do you mean?" Celest asked.

"There was a Paradise. All wolves wanted to find it, so they all set out, except the smart ones. Only a few made it. After that, several Nobles didn't like that only wolves could enter, so they destroyed the entrance. Many wolves went out after that. They all wanted to prove to themselves that Paradise was still there, but none of them ever came back," Snipe finished. The mood of the area suddenly got morose.

"That's terrible. I hope that Paradise is still real," Celest broke the silence. We continued walking until I tripped on a log and it broke in half. A snake slithered out of the ruin.

~O~

Celest

"Blaze, watch out!" I yelled, but it was too late. The snake had already sunk its fangs into Blaze's leg. It sprayed its venom at Snipe and I, then it slithered off. Blaze stood there, not moving a muscle. Then he suddenly fell over. "Blaze!" I yelled at went to his side.

"I-I-I'm getting c-cold, Cel-lest. I-I can't br-reathe," Blaze managed.

"Shhhh, don't say anything," Blaze stopped speaking, but that only made me more scared. I could feel the tears sliding down my cheek. His shallow breaths slowed until a sigh approached. Blaze didn't breathe again. "Blaze. Blaze. Blaze! BLAZE!" I yelled at his lifeless body. I nuzzled his face and licked his face. Nothing worked, so I lay down beside of him. Snipe had gone off to who-knows-where, so I was all alone with Blaze's corpse.

~O~

"Oooooh! Why! I guess I have to do everything myself! Well, here go's nothing!"

~O~

Celest

Blaze hadn't moved at all. I knew he was dead, but something in me was fooled. I hadn't slept, but after Snipe came back with two rabbits, he had taken a nap.

Celest, Celest. Move away from him. A voice sung. I couldn't help it. My feet didn't respond to me anymore. The voice called to me. Once the call stopped, I stopped and couldn't move. A small light danced around the air. It fluttered its way to Blaze, or, the body. The light moved closer and closer. When it touched his fur, it disappeared. Another one came, followed by another, and another. Soon thousands of little lights flew about before they disappeared on Blaze. When the last one disappeared, Blaze opened his eyes.

"Blaze! You're alive!" I ran to him and gave him an enormous hug in our human forms. In the middle of our embrace, a growl sounded from Snipe. The two of us looked at him, and then at what he was growling at. A pitch black wolf with purple paws and a ribbon that stretched around her in a rainbow stood. I started to inspect her more closely. Her eyes were purple, but she didn't have any pupils.

"Who are you?" Blaze snarled.

"I'm... uh… Maddy!" She suddenly said.

~O~

Brook

The four of us wandered the field, creeping up upon an elk. Forest and Breeze were upfront while Copper and I stood a few feet behind them. Copper, well we met him in the city. I practically walked into him, so our pack grew a little. Copper's paws and chest are a tan color Three circles, each one smaller than the one behind it, are tan and on each side of him. His back and almost his entire face are a dark brown, whereas the rest of him is a copper color.

Forest jumped upon the elk and started to bite down on its spine. Breeze aimed for its neck, but it jerked away just in time. The elk kicked its back legs to try to knock off Forest, but it wasn't working. In an instant, Copper flew to the front and grabbed the neck of the elk. It started to lie down. When it was considerably dead, the pack chowed down to a meal.

~O~

Forest

After our meal, we set out to go into the unknown. We never really had a destination until Copper started talking about this place called Paradise. We all thought it was a good idea, so we were headed there.

"Who's tracks are these?" Brook asked.

"I'm not sure. There are bird tracks, I know that," Breeze replied.

"Deer tracks, too," I commented.

"I think they're wolf tracks," Copper spoke up. The pack stopped.

"What would wolves be doing here?" I asked.

"Maybe they're looking for Paradise," Breeze commented. We left it at that and continued walking until we came to a clearing.

"Let's rest here for the night," I announced. Everyone silently agreed and went to lie down. I hadn't told them this, and I had hoped that they wouldn't find it. There was a blood stain on the middle of the path beside a broken log. There was also a faint smell of wolf. Three wolves, that is. Two males and a female had come this way until something happened. There was also a fourth smell. It didn't really smell bad, but it also didn't smell good. It was very simple to miss. It smelled like flowers and death. Psychic

I hope you peeps like my story. I would like to thank everyone who entered the contest, but sadly, there can only be one winner.