After getting a sound scolding from his grandfather for being so late for dinner, his mother also gave him a scolding for getting so dirty. None of them really even noticed the wolf cub sitting next to Harlocks feet. Harlock feelt strange as it seemed just to have the cub there next to him made getting scolded was not so bad.
His grandfather were a tall man but he seemed a bit shorter as he was bent forwards. He had long grey hair that covered his face a bit, but it did not covered the scar on his left cheek. He also had a grey moustache in his older face, he was dressed in an expensive brown dress. His hazel brown eyes looked at Harlock.
"You can't be that irresponsible, you are a pirate son. Pirates takes responsibility for their actions." His grandfather looked at him hard as he said this. His look turned down to the small cub next to Harlock as the wolf had made a small bark as he heard the word pirate. He had stood up and waving his tail a little towards them.
"So this is the cub you saved?" He said lifting the cub up by his front paws. He held the cup up too his face and looked at him. The wolf did not show any fear, or did he seen angry. He looked back at the old man, turning his head a little side ways. Harlock nodded.
"Aaw, he's cute." Harlocks mother said as she came up to get a better lock at him. She was a tall woman, her golden hair flowed behind her back as she looked over the grandfathers back. She was dressed in a sky-blue dress and white pearls around her neck. The wolf looked at her dazzled for a moment.
"It's strange. he looks just like Swift Paws." The grandfather said to himself looking at the wolf, the cub turned back at him and turned his head making a curios sound. Harlocks grandfather gave him to Harlock.
"Who?" Harlock asked and took the wolf. The wolf seemed to smile and twisted a little to get drooped down on the floor. As Harlock let him down he sat down looking up at the grandfather, eagerly listening.
"My grandfather was the last of the Harlock clan who had a wolf guardian. The wolf was named was Swift Paws. A fitting name for the wolf. Never before have I seen any thing move as quickly as him. He died trying to save his master only a few days after his pack had been killed. But this cub is like a spiting image of him. Could it be that the pack had other areas where they had cubs?" The old man though for himself, suddenly leaving them mumbling to himself.
"Well you saved him so, he is yours now. I hope you realize that having a pet gives you much responsibility now?" Harlocks mother sighed as she saw the old man leave. Harlock nodded looking down on the wolf. The cub turned his head and looked up at him with what seemed like a small smile.
"I'll take responsibility for my actions." He said. His mother smiled.
"Then you should give him some food. The poor thing does not look like he has been feed at all. Also you need to eat your dinner." She said. As she said that Harlock suddenly realized how hungry he really was. He nodded to his mother. She smiled kindly.
"Then I think I will go and read a little. Don't stay up to late, okay?" She said and turned around leaving Harlock and the cub. Harlock looked down at the cub.
"Hungry? I know I am at least." He said smiling, the cub barked once and waged his tail.
"Yosh, this way then." Harlock said going into the dining room. As he sat down one of the servants came up to him.
"Is there anything you like, young master?" The young girl asked. Harlock looked at her.
"Steak please, medium done, with rice, and and a steak in a bowl for him. As raw as new." He said and as he added the last comment, he looked down on the cub sitting next to him. She looked at him smiling as she was probably thinking something like that he was cute.
"Yes, sir. as soon as we can, sir." She said and went into the kitchen. Harlock looked down on the cub that were sniffing a bit around in the room.
He is one of a kind that's fore sure. He seems to understand everything that is said and picks up at things so quickly. Yet I have not heard him speak again since the farm, Of course I cloud have just imaged the voice but it seemed so real. Harlock thought as the cub looked up at him once, waging his tail and came back to sit right next to him. Harlock carefully stoked his head and scratched him behind the ears.
Still I am glad to have his company. He'll need a name but I don't want to rush naming him. Grandfather said that the last of the wolfs were named Swift Paws for his quick moves. At least I want him to have a name that is right for him.
Suddenly the doors upend and the young girl came back holding a plate of food in her one hand and a bowl in her left.
"Your steak, sir." She said putting the plate down. Harlock nodded and turned towards the food. He did not notice that as she sat the bowl down she carefully petted the cub on his head before leaving the room. As Harlock had started to eat the cub looked at his food. The bowl was a beauty full china bowl and in it there lay a raw steak, The cub had never seen so much meat and never smelled anything so sweet in his life. Yet he could not get himself to sink his teeth into it. Back at the farm there had always been many mouths and too little meat. So as soon as you fought your way to a piece you had to eat it quickly or someone else took it from you. Thinking back to his cage and the other cubs that were still there he lost some of his appetite. Here he was having so much to eat and were safe from the care keeper. Yet he could have feelt a lot worse. The wolfs in his cage were not his friends at all.
When he had been brought to that farm he had come there with 7 others like him. They had been broth to a small forest by his dad, but he had left them telling them to wait in the forest for his return, but a human had found them before he had come back, and they were sold to the farm as new fur. His friends had been lucky and had escaped their cages but could not help him get out. Thinking back on his friends the cub wondered as he often did, if they were still alive yet he had a feeling they were. He looked up at Harlock that were sitting eating like a real gentleman should. The cub sighed low to himself and looked back at his food. His hunger in the end got to him and he carefully sank his teeth into it. As he carefully ripped a piece of, he had never tasted anything like it before. It was sweet and chewy and almost feelt like it melted in his mouth. Even as his hunger could make him just throw himself over it, he took it slow eating only a few bits, tasting every part of it. Harlock looked down and wondered why a cub coming from a place like the farm could eat so nicely, almost like he had looked on how Harlock were eating and took notice from him. Harlock smiled.
"Well, you do surprise me." He said smiling as the cub looked up at him baring once. For the rest of their meal they remained quiet, yet Harlock could not help but noticing that over half of the steak the wolf had gotten was left.
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Later Harlock returned to his room still being followed by the cub. Harlock lay down on his bed and were looking out on the stars that were shining in the sky. The cub jumped up next to him and turned his head courteously to one side as Harlock turned and looked at him. It seemed like the wolf sensed that something was on his mind.
"Tomorrow is my tenth birthday. A special day in the Harlock clan. I wanted to ask mother if she knew if dad would come but... I could not get myself to ask." He said rolling over on his back. "After all it is not so simple as to just come home. He could be on the other side of the universe by now." The wolf whimpered once looking at him. Harlock turned his head and stroked the wolfs head.
"Don't worry. I don't think he'll be here anyway. I don't really care if not. After all I am a Harlock." Harlock said pulling out the old watch again. He lay there looking at it as it turned in his hand. The skull and crossbones mark on it shined in the weak moonlight from a rising new moon. The cub was not sure what Harlock really was feeling. He noticed something shining in the moonlight under a study table in Harlocks room. Jumping down from the bed, the cub quickly made his way over to it and pulled it out. It was a book, the cover had a metal golden shield on it with a black skull and cross bones marked in to it. The cub turned his head sideways looking at it before carefully picked the book up between his teeth. Jumping back up on the bed he carefully nudged Harlock with it. Harlock turned away from the clock and took the book.
"What? This?" He said looking at him, the cub barked once. Harlock smiled."If grandfather knew I had this he would surely have my head. This is an old book that's been handed down in my family for almost a 1000 years now, My Youth In Arcadia. It was written by one of my grandfathers. My grandfather does not want me to read it yet, saying I am to young to understand it." Harlock smiled carefully going trough the pages. There was a few images here and there. The cub looked at him seeing the young boy seemed grim. He carefully nudged his arm and barked.
"What? You want me to read it?" Harlock asked looking confused. The cub barked again laying down next to him. Harlock sighed. Again cub seemed to understand everything that was said and seemed to want to hear the story. Harlock pulled himself up to the bed wall and turned on his night light. The cub came up to him and rested his head on Harlocks stomach. Harlock smiled and started to read out loud from the first page.
A few pages in the cub suddenly lifted up his head and looked to the door. Harlock stopped reading and looked at him.
"What is it?" He asked, the cub turned his head towards him and suddenly Harlock could hear the voice again.
"Grandfather." That one word was the only thing he heard. Harlock quickly hid the book under his pillow as only a few monuments after there was a knock on the door.
"Yes?" Harlock asked.
"You are still awake then?" Harlocks grandfather slowly opened the door. Harlock nodded. One of the servants followed him in caring a strange sort of basket with a pillow in it. The servant placed the basked by the window and left.
"Thought you might wanted this. Its the bed used by the previous Wolf guardians." He said as the wolf jumped down and smelled the pillow with interest. Harlock nodded again.
"Thanks, I had not really thought about that." He said looking at the wolf as he lay down and smelled the pillow again.
"Also I came to show you this." His grandfather said holding up a picture. Harlock took it as he sat by the end of the bed. The picture was of a family standing outside the mansion on one of the stairs. A beauty full older lady in an dress standing next to a older man with a scar across his face were standing on top of the stair, below them a younger lady were sitting next to another man with the same scar but he also had one over his right eye. On the grass in front of them was a big black wolf sitting being hugged by a ten year old boy. The boy was smiling and the wolf seemed to smile as well. Harlocks grandfather sat down next to him.
"That boy is me. I was at your age back then." He smiled seeming to remember younger days. "But the reason I wanted you to see this was, look at the wolf." He said. At first look it just looked like a normal black wolf, but as Harlock was gonna say something, he came to look at the cub that were now sitting in front of him looking at him curiosity. Harlock looked back down on the picture. The wolf on the image and the cub in front of him had the same markings of lighter areas of fur.
"Seems like you noticed. It would seem like the pack of wolfs were not killed after all." His grandfather said.
"Grandfather, did you ever hear Swift paws talk?" He asked looking at the wolf. The wolf came up to him and stroked his head towards his hands. Harlock petted him wondering how to explain it.
"He seems to understand every thing that i am saying, and I know i heard him before..." Harlock tried to explain.
"Swift always understood what people said. He always were smart, and yes i did hear him speak, but not like you told me. He talked like you and I. But perhaps after every thing this cub have been trough, he does not dare to speak like that in fear of scaring you, and then get killed for talking like that. I heard my grandfather sometimes told me that he did hear his voice in his head." Harlock sighed glad to hear he had not gone crazy.
"Its getting late, you should get some sleep. Tomorrow is the big day." His grandfather said as he stood up again. Walking out of the room he turned his head a little.
"And you better take good care of that book. You know what's gonna happen if you don't." He grinned as he closed the door. Harlock and the cub exchanged looks both of confusion and worry, before the both of them were smiling little. Lying back down Harlock took up the book again and as the wolf returned to his place next him. Harlock continued to read. After a chapter Harlock put the book down and as he did the cub moved out of the bed and down into the dog bed. Laying down the cub looked up at Harlock as he turned the lights of. Harlock were looking at the cub, he was already sound asleep.
I am sure glad for your company, cub. Harlock thought as he fell asleep.
Being born a noble Harlock often had to attend party's with his parents and were often left to talk to the other children. except for Maya most of them were already talking about who was richest of them, and how they were gonna make more money as they got older. Harlock hated how they could think like that and were often walking alone. Having only Maya as his true friend Harlock were mostly alone.
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The cub was used to not get much sleep as there were always sounds in the pen, and he used to wake to the cries as the first ones got feed, as there was always much more sounds then. As he lay in the dog bed sleeping, he did not wake when Harlock left and did not wake up until the sun woke him up. He could not remember last time he had seen the sun and was confused and dazzled, as he lifted up his tired head looking around. Realizing that yesterdays happenings had not been just a sweet dream and that he really had been saved out from the pen, the cub got up looking around. Realizing that his new master was not there, he quickly followed the sent of him, following it out in the large hall. He stopped a bit the confused over how big this place was. He stood there wondering what to do. He could howl after him and wait until Harlock came to find him, but he quickly came to the concussion that doing that would only get him in trouble with the others that lived here. He decided to keep looking for Harlock himself. After all he was a wolf and could easily follow the sent trail left by his master. He moved quickly trough the house as the sent kept getting stronger. He got a few strange looks by the servants that did not know that the cub was Harlocks, and one lady servant tried to shoo him away with her broom as she believed he was a stray that had gotten into the house. The cub snared low at her and dodged the broom with no difficulty. As he ran off from her he suddenly found a track that said that Harlock was right behind the door in front of him. Carefully pushing the door open with his nose he looked in.
The room was dark as the windows were covered by some large drapes. The light in the room came from a few candle lights and the fireplace in the room. In front of the fire place Harlock sat in a chair. There was a large man standing in front of him and were bended down to Harlocks face. The cub moved silently forward, but froze as he suddenly saw a shine in a blade the man was holding. Even in the weak light the red colour on the blade was unmistakeable. Harlock sat still in the chair, his face twisted in pain and he was bleeding from the cheek. To the wolfs eyes it also seemed like he was tied down on the chair. Snaring suddenly loudly he jumped towards the man aiming for the arm that held the blade, but instead of biting down on the arm the wolf used his speed and used his fangs to cut. The man drooped the knife and were holding to his arm. The wolf landed on the floor as the man suddenly had a deep cut on his arm. The cub turned around running towards him again ready to jump up in his face.
"WOLF! DONT!" Harlocks voice suddenly called out. The cub had already gotten good sped and his claws slipped on the floor before he finally stopped. He turned to Harlock that had stood up and were looking at him angry. He had a deep cut across his left cheek up to the other side of the nose bone, and it was bleeding badly. The cub was confused. Harlock was being hurt by this man and yet it seemed like he had done something bad?
"Grandfather, are you aright?" Harlock asked. The man turned around. He looked at the cub seeming angry, the cub realizing what he had done cringed a bit. The grand father growled a sort of yes and turned away. Harlock sat down in front of the cub.
"It's okay, every boy that is born from the Harlock clan gets this scar at their tenth birthday. That why it's so special to us. It is a sort of mark of age, you can say. He was not really trying to hurt me." He said smiling a little. The cub turned his head sideways and looked at his master both scared and worried.
"Still, he is damm fast and it feelt like I was getting cut by a knife, not fangs. You have only had him for a day and already he is risking his life to save yours. Amazing." The grandfather said coming up to them. The cub cringed under him feeling shame for attacking the old man. The old man suddenly, to the cubs surprise petted his head.
"Good job little one, I feel safe to leave my grandson in your care. You little lighting bolt." The old man laughed. Harlock stood back up.
"Yosh, lets finish this then, if you are ready." The old man said. Harlock nodded and sat back down in the chair.
As the grandfather wiped the pouring blood away and started to sow the cut back the cub sat in front of Harlock. Harlocks face showed nothing of the pain but his hands were holding painfully hard in the neck fur of the cub. Even as painful as it was to him, the cub braved the pain and sat still until they were done.
"There, now you are a real Harlock." The old man said. Harlock stood up and looked in the mirror on the wall. It was sown nicely but Harlock knew that this mark would never go away. The cub looked at him as the young boy seemed grim again.
"You two should get some food in you, I'll stay here and sow this cut up. The little fur ball did do a good job on me." The old man grinned. Harlock looked down on the cub that was not sure if he should take that remark as a good or a bad thing. Harlock smiled thanked his grandfather and left the room going into the dining room. The cub sat down next to Harlock wondering if Harlock was mad at him for attacking his grandfather. As a bowl of meat was placed before him he looked up at Harlock. The young boy smiled.
"You know? I have never seen anyone catch grandfather of guard before. You are amazing." He laughed. The cub barked, not getting any hints that Harlock was mad instead he was laughing about it. The cub sett his fangs in the meat thinking to himself that he would risk his life any time just to make sure his master were safe so that he could laugh like that.
As they were finishing up the meal Harlock looked at the clock.
"Is it so much already?" He said standing up. The cub looked at him feeling a sort of rush coming from his master.
"I am almost late." He said running out the door. The cub followed right behind him and ran nearly right into Harlocks mother as she came in the door.
"Harlock?!" She called after her son. The cub had to run quite fast to catch up to him.
"I'll be back later, mum, I have a promise to keep!" Harlock called out as he ran down the hall. His mother shook her head smiling to herself.
Harlock ran outside and jumped over the fence hurrying down the hill down towards the lake. The cub followed not to far behind wondering where Harlock was going so in a hurry.
"I cant be late. I promised." Harlock said sliding down a small hill before he kept running. As he finally came down to the lake, he looked around. Apart from the cub there was no one to be seen.
"Yosh, this way, wolf." Harlock said pushing apart some branches of a tall three that had long handing branches. Harlock quickly crept through them and disappeared. The cub looked a bit at the branches before he turned as he heard a sound behind him. Quickly jumping to the the branches, he turned around looking back up the hill where a black dressed man suddenly came running into vision. The man looked around like he was looking for something before he kept running following the road. The cub snared to himself and turned around to find Harlock again. Making his way quickly through the branches, he came to a sort of cave made by the three. Its branches covered it so you could not see it from the out side as it made a cool beauty full place. On the grass under the three were was a lot of flowers and the lake was coming right up to it. The cool blue water glimmered in the sun light. Harlock had lay down on the grass having his arms behind his head and had his closed enjoying the shade. The cub came up to him and lay down next to him. He looked at Harlocks wound and wondered if it hurt him even now. Not knowing really why, he carefully licked over it. Harlock sat up.
"What the? Don't scare me like that." He said the cub looked shame full as he looked at his master. Harlock sighed and lay back down.
"Its okay, I wanted it." He said looking up at the branches over him, But his look seemed to look ever further. The cub suddenly stood up listening towards the branches where they had come in.
"What is it?" Harlock said looking at the wolf the cub stared to snared and held his eyes where the branches started to move. Suddenly a young ten year old girl popped her head out of the branches. Her yellow hair seemed to reflect the suns says and her eyes were as clear blue as the lake. She was dressed in a white dress and smiled as she came out of the branches.
"What? Do I have bugs in my hair or something?" She asked looking at Harlocks confused look. "Oh, please tell me I don't have bugs in my hair." She said suddenly realizing what she had said. She closed her eyes and tears were coming up in the corners of her eyes.
"You don't have bugs in your hair, Maya. I was just surprised to see you dressed so nice." Harlock said as he came towards her and rested his right arm on her shoulder. Maya opened her eyes.
"Harlock, your.." She said stretching her hand out to touch the wound on his face. Harlock took her hand with his right hand and stopped her.
"It's okay Maya." He said. She nodded silently and they sat down. Seeing this girl as a friend of Harlock the cub moved slowly up to them. Maya looked at the cub and suddenly her face lighted up.
"Aww so cute." She said and held her hand out to him. The cub carefully sniffed the sweet smell she had and was never gonna forget that smell. He carefully nudged her hand and she petted him.
"Is he yours? What's his name?" Maya asked looking at Harlock as the cub lay down next to her.
"I don't know yet. I saved him from the fur farm yesterday as I was on my way home. I used the money I had saved to buy him. Greedy bastards." Harlock snared to himself.
"Still its better that you used the money to save his life than to buy something to take life instead." She said petting the wolf.
"Maya, have we already not talked about this?" Harlock said looking at the three over them. She smiled and lay down next to him.
"I still think he was a good birthday present." She said and turned her head towards him. Harlock smiled as the wolf came up to him again.
"Birthday present for myself, hmm?" He said and petted the wolfs head.
"And when we are speaking about that." Maya said and sat up again. she picked up something that she had brought with her. "Happy birthday, Harlock." She said and gave him a red rose. Harlock smiled as he sat up, and took the flower, carefully placed it in his chest pocket.
"Thank you, Maya." They both lay back down. The wolf cub was surprised as it Harlock and Maya came from rich family's, and the gift she gave him was something as simple as a red rose. He smiled as he realized that he had found two people that were happy with the small things in life.
Suddenly a duck flouted past them and the cub would not help himself from running towards it.
"Wolf wait!" Harlock called out seeing how that would go. The cub jumped strait into the lake landing with a big splash. The duck screamed out and took of as the wolf cub finally go his head over the water. Harlock shook his head holding his right hand up to his forehead and Maya was laughing so hard that she was rolling around. The cub swam up to the edge and shook of the water. Looking a little dumb as he looked back at Harlock. Harlock could not hold it back, seeing the look he got and started to laugh.
"Well, I guess you kinda needed a bath." He laughed. The cub barked once and came up to him still dripping wet.
"No, no, no, what are you doing, stop!" Harlock called as the cub stood next to them and shook his fur throwing water over them. As both Harlock and Maya got wet, Harlock stood up.
"Okay, come here you. I'll teach you a lesson." Harlock said as he ran after the cub around the place. Maya sat there laughing of them as they were running around. Harlock was not even being near to catch up to the cub.
author's note:
So this was the sequent chapter, I plan to have at least four, so more is on the way. I cant stop now with the black men coming closer, can I?
Okay so some of you may argue with me how Harlock got his scar. Since this is a story about what could have happened before the movie Arcadia of my youth, where you get to see two of Harlocks grandfathers, where both of the have the exact scar as our loved captain has. I have found at on the net, that there is two theories on why,
1. is that it is a birthmark. but I find that unlikely as you cant change the genes to have scars, right?
2. is that he got it by getting shot at. I find that more likely but still that is also unlikely, as does that mean that all Harlocks have a tendency to get shot across the face at the exact spot?
This was kinda just to say out a new theory. That All Harlocks get it at a spesial age, as a right of passage. I don't know why I chose it to be at the age of ten, that just kinda came to me.
Also i found that my Harlock does not at times seem like a ten year old child for the most part but I think Harlock and Maya had to grow up fast and kinda that made them into to who they would be later.
Hope this kinda made sense and that you liked it. Feel free to tell me how I did.
Ligthingtooth.