Author's Note; This is just a re-posted, revised version as the last was riddled with spelling and grammatical errors. Sorry about that!
"Papa, watch!"
The small grey eyes looked over his shoulder at the delighted shout, excitement evident in her young voice. Tumbling around the in the long Kyrios grass with Blue and Ruse, giggling infectiously as the sun shone down from the light blue sky above, making her dark red hair shimmer.
The man had forgotten how long it had been since Blue; only a pup had wandered off into the woods and found the little girl. For the first day or so the whole village had congressed on what to do about the little girl, her being only a mere toddler. Quent had been dead-set on taking the small child to an orphanage in one of the large domed cities to the north, until he'd seen the way Rasika had taken a shine to the child, having taken her in for the few nights she was supposed to stay in Kyrios before being taken to the city … but that plan had died a horrible death when, on her second and supposed-to-be last night in the village, she had spoken to him.
All the while, since being found, the child hadn't uttered a single word and many had taken her for being deaf. It was late when Rasika had finally gotten the toddler Ruse off to sleep and he'd been left alone in the sitting room with the small girl, who his wife had insisted upon housing as it had been he and his dog to find her.
The small girl had sat on a seat and stared into space quite contently whilst he'd shot sideways glances at the peculiar little child. She was the cutest little girl he'd ever seen- with sparkling green eyes and dark red hair … though he'd perceived her looks were at the sacrifice of her hearing and speech, for she hadn't spoken a single word, until Blue had quietly padded into the room and sat down by the child's feet, looking up expectantly for a pat. With a sigh, the sheriff looked to the pup and spoke lowly.
"Leave the kid alone, Blue …"
"Blue; I like her name. I'm Karasuke …"
It was as her little, plump face smiled up at him that the ex-sheriff woke from the nostalgic dream, only to see the same people and the same iron bars holding them prisoner. Still at the Keep. And yet his mind continued to reel back through the memories of the life that now seemed a dream in itself.
It had been a shocker and a half - not only could the child talk, but she seemed somewhat more articulate than her age suggested.
Karasuke never moved out of that house, she grew up as the daughter of he and Rasika, a fact Quent knew his wife was thankful for. They had had Ruse late in life and it seemed that he would be their only child, up until Blue had found that small girl in the woods.
But then the damned wolves had attacked the village and his family had been lost forever. To this day Quent still travelled to the remains of Kyrios in a bid to gain closure from the two graves that resided there - Rasika and their son, Ruse. Karasuke's body had never been found … probably carried off by those murderous beasts: those wolves.
"Claire!"
Kiba was partially aware of her hand leaving his slight grip, with Karasuke already half-way across the room, a smile lighting up her features as she registered the girl standing before her - an attractive young woman with bright blond hair and clear blue eyes, maybe in her early twenties.
Within an instant the two young women were embracing, with laughter ringing around the room as numerous girls passed in and out, all sporting the same yellow bandana around their necks.
"Little Karasuke … long time no see."
The woman named Claire smiled widely as she looked down the inch or so with her blue eyes, taking in the appearance of the seventeen-year-old she had met as only a child. That was years ago at this stage, and they'd gone their separate ways, but she'd always heard tales of the gang that ran with the little ones. Just as she made to say something else, her attention shifted to the young man standing by the wall, seemingly unsure of what to make of all this.
"He's one too, isn't he?"
"Yeah … Kiba, this is Claire; a good friend, and Claire, this is Kiba."
A nod in each direction was all the two exchanged across the wide floor. It was all that was needed.
"Okay, I know which way they went."
The pale green eyes looked up to the emerald ones. Three hours she'd been gone; one of the many girls that culminated in this gang had led him to the small room, with two single beds. It seemed that the base of this group was much more than just a simple warehouse, or deserted building, as was the norm with the rampant gangs throughout the cities. This base consisted of a simple, crumbling little house, with a solitary camouflaged trap door. Beneath ground level was a whole other world as far as he was concerned - electricity was wired up and siphoned from the Nobles' supplying cables that ran at ground level, but what was most impressive were the large, hollowed caverns and numerous tunnels that could lead you to anywhere you wished within this city, all the while in total secrecy.
"Sorry I took so long … things aren't as simple as we thought. It wasn't Jaguara's troops who took them - they betrayed her and took Cheza and the guys to Darcia's Keep, northwest of here … and Jaguara is mobilizing and heading there herself."
"So we just need to get there before her … you okay?"
For some reason, Kiba found it slightly unnerving that Karasuke was now staring absently at the rough floor, being abnormally quiet as an awkward look came over her subdued face.
"Pops is there aswell."
"I see."
"Yup. Gonna be a fun trip. Claire said he was taken by the guards because of some disruption he caused them with Hubb; a detective I know from way back.
Karasuke sat beside Kiba, leaned back against the cracking rock wall and held her head in hands for a few seconds - it was easy to avoid him for all these years, but she'd never thought she'd actually have to meet Pops again after so long spent deceiving the man. Judging by her body language, it seemed quite obvious Karasuke wasn't up for any planning right now - looks like they'd have to wing it if they made it to the keep before Jaguara: it was a good thing he was getting used to doing so since she'd joined the pack.
"That Claire seems to know a lot …"
The girl hid a slight smile: He was changing the subject again, what was with this boy? Every time things went quiet, he asked about her, and yet when she dared venture about his past, Kiba always seemed to avoid the topic somehow. Still smiling lightly, the girl looked up, maybe even grateful for the topic change - it saved her thinking about Pops, and also from remembering Blue's berating words of days ago.
"Claire has connections all over the cities. She used to live in Orkham's years ago: that's where I first met her after everything at Kyrios. She's six years older than me, so she kinda took care of me until her uncle moved to this city. Her parents had died, so she went with him, but we kinda kept in touch over the years."
The girl fidgeted for a few seconds, idly staring at her knees, as though contemplating how to deliver her next words; it was hard enough for her to explain as it was, let alone try and tell someone else of the unique ability her friend possessed.
"She knows I'm a wolf, and she knew you were one as soon as she saw you too …"
"How is that possible?"
"Don't really know … but there are some humans who carry genes that enable them to see wolves. Both of Claire's parents carried the gene, so she inherited it, and so did her brothers."
"Brothers?"
Somehow, the prospect of numerous others that could distinguish wolves at first sight without a scanner didn't seem all that promising to the pack-leader as he eyed the red-haired teen across from him, who was smiling a bit more brightly at the prospect of unnerving him.
"Well, the wolf scanners that Jaguara uses, they were made after extensive research and the capturing of 90 percent of the gene-carrying humans; using their eyes and bloodlines as materials to make the scanners … that's why Claire lived with her uncle. She's the youngest of four - her and three older brothers, who are currently employed by Jaguara and hence her connections. Jaguara killed their parents, so her brothers act as spies, sending info to Claire."
The youth broke off as another girl entered the room, a yellow bandana adorning her neck as she blushed, not having noticed the room to be occupied, and drawing the wrong conclusion from a teenage boy and girl being together in a room. As the presuming member hastily exited, Karasuke found her fingers to be automatically tracing the chain, and lightly touching her locket. Things weren't meant to be so complicated - get to Jaguara's keep and get Cheza, Hige, Tsume and Toboe; simple stuff, until the target location had changed, and the captives had multiplied.
"What is with the bandanas?"
Another change of topic at just the right moment, gaining another wry grin as Karasuke found herself back in her element; talking about gangs was the only thing she seemed good at recently.
"Each gang on this planet has a unique characteristic; a trademark. It's like a code - every gang knows all the trademarks and can identify rival and ally gangs by the mark unique to the leader at that time. Claire's gang is female and sports the bandana, I ran with little ones; I had a few people my age and older, but most of my gang were younger than me, some only little kids like Tarashi."
Kiba couldn't help but to smirk at the memory of the small girl who had sniffed them out on their arrival at the gang's base. That seemed a whole lifetime ago at this stage, not a mere couple of months. Her joining of their pack had really brought drama, to say in the least. What was he thinking that evening when they'd entered the city and he'd tripped the enraged pursuer? Wasn't he the member that had always been silent and watching, and Hige the one to act impulsively? What had she done to him?
She'd become immediate friends with Hige and Toboe, and had somehow managed to have a very good friendship with Tsume - something that the young leader still found to be surprising, for he still didn't get on with the silver-haired one all that well.
But what Kiba found most intriguing about Karasuke's assimilation into the pack was her relationship with Cheza. Whereas, once upon a time, the Flower Maiden had been closer to him than anyone else, but now the thirteen-year-old seemed to be stuck on Karasuke - always walking beside her and speaking together. Maybe it was something to do with them both being females, but he didn't mind it really - Cheza had been a lot happier since the arrival of the blonde wolf.
A slight weight leaning slightly on his shoulder caused Kiba to look to Karasuke, who had unexpectedly fallen asleep alongside him. Letting loose a smirk that nobody else would see, Kiba laughed lightly as he idly pushed some red hair back behind the teen's ear. She honestly didn't resemble any other wolves he had ever seen - her human form seemed so much more natural and suited to her. He could distinguish a wolf by first glance as was the same with their entire dwindling race, but with Karasuke, one had to perform a double-take for her human form seemed to maintain even when viewed by another wolf. With a stifled yawn, the brown-haired youth leaned back against the wall, feeling exhausted. He'd only close his eyes for a few minutes, already feeling his mind slipping into the darkness of sleep and succumbing to the dreams of a large pack of Snow wolves, amongst which he once ran, only for them to disappear and the lone cub to be taken in by the Shaman … a dream he could never escape.
"Come on Karasuke, darling …"
The blonde woman was there again, smiling down at her with her light violet eyes, laughter punctuating the air. Yet it wasn't this beautiful woman that was laughing; the low, almost monotone voice was coming from the young man leaning against the wall near the open double doors that led into the huge house.
The small slip of a girl was smiling as she stood near her employers. The haunting green eyes and dark hair watched the little toddler with hawk-like eyes; the eyes of a nanny that cared for the child when her mother was ill, something that was happening alarmingly more frequently. Kaori had served this family for years and she would stand by her beloved Lord.
Many nights, for years upon years now, these three people had haunted her dreams and yet, the seventeen-year-old felt as if she knew them.
A/n- Thanks for taking the time to read my fic, and please tell me what you think guys!! XxxxxxxxxxxxX