Disclaimer: This story is based on "Inuyasha," copyrighted by Rumiko Takahashi. No infringement of copyright intended or implied.

Do It!

Ginta and Hakkaku located the current patrol and sent them back. Two of the wolves with the patrol, decided to stay with the pair. Rituals of recognition and farewell finished; the quartet trotted off in a loose line, while the others turned north.

It was early evening of the next day when the lead wolf came to an abrupt halt, whining softly, her tail tucking between her legs. Ginta hurried forward. A few vocalizations, and he stiffened, sniffing. "Bird of Paradise!"

"What?" Hakkaku joined him. "I thought they were all dead!"

The two youkai stared at each other, afraid. They remembered all too clearly, the attacks the year before, which had been the first disaster to strike the pack. The bird youkai had held almost insurmountable advantages of size and mobility. Despite what Koga might say, both knew that the pack owed their survival in least partly, to the inu-tachi's efforts.

"What are we going to do?" whispered Ginta, as the two four-foots huddled against them. "The four of us aren't enough to attack one of those birds!"

Hakkaku was just as pale as Ginta, but he swallowed and answered. "We've got to find out what it's up to."

"What? But, couldn't we just change direction?"

"What if it's heading north?"

Ginta paled further, if possible. "The pack. Ayame."

"And you know what Ayame's like. Koga'll have his hands full, just trying to keep her from fighting."

"So, we go back and warn them?"

"Without having seen it? Without being able to say whether there's more than one? What's Koga going to say to that?"

Ginta nodded. "We'll never be pup-watchers, if he thinks we turned tail and ran."

"Worse than that. It's Ayame who'll have the final word. We're not from her home pack. She won't pick us, just because she thinks you're cute..."

"We have to prove the pups would be safe with us."

They stared at each other. The future they wanted wasn't something that would just happen. They would have to create that future. They would have to prove that they were the best choice-more cunning, more brave, more loyal, than the rest of the pack.

"Let's do it!"

Author's Note: This piece was written for the LiveJournal community I-B-4-Y, for the prompt "The future is not something we enter. The future is something we create." It was originally published on May 16, 2011. It took second.