A/N: last chappie! enjoy!
Chapter 26: Keeping a Promise
"Well, I'm glad that's over," Liona sighed, shutting the door after a Wolf Hunter that had come to report he and the rest of his platoon would be leaving. It had been almost a week since Kiba and the others had left the city, and she hoped they wouldn't wait the whole month to return like they'd planned. She headed toward the kitchen and as she passed the hall she called, "You can come out now!"
She walked to the stove where she'd been cooking dinner as Cheza walked into the living room from the hall, Ame the kitten in her arms.
"Apparently, these jerks are gonna be leaving soon," Liona reported as Cheza made her way to the chair by the fire and sat down. "That's good news, right?"
"Yes," Cheza agreed, Ame now sleeping peacefully in her lap as she still stroked him. "This one has not been a burden to you?"
"Of course not!" Liona smiled. "I'm glad to have you here! Besides, without Toboe here, it would've been really lonely if you weren't here. Thanks for keeping me company."
"Thank you for taking care of this one, Liona," Cheza smiled back, slightly.
"You thirsty?" Liona wondered and the Flower Maiden nodded. Liona pulled a huge bowl from a lower cupboard and filled it with water then carefully carried it toward Cheza and set it at her feet as the Flower Maiden lifted them then set her feet inside the bowl.
"Thank you," Cheza smiled, weakly and Liona nodded, but noted the gleam of slight sorrow in her solid red eyes.
"Something wrong?" she wondered and Cheza turned her blank stare at the other girl.
"This one misses Kiba and the others," Cheza admitted and Liona smiled, reassuringly, although she wasn't sure the Flower Maiden could see it, and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"They'll be back before you know it, I'm sure," Liona assured her. "Maybe they'll catch wind that the Wolf Hunters have left and they'll come back sooner than a month? I'd bet good money that they'll do just that, too."
Cheza smiled and nodded, encouraged by the blonde's optimism and Liona gave a small nod as well before standing and going to the kitchen again. Cheza sat, still stroking Ame in her lap and drinking the water at her feet. She felt a small chill run through her, and her heart skipped, lightly. She turned to the door, sensing something there before she heard a few faint sounds at the door.
A young wolf with auburn fur ducked into the doggy door at the base of the door, silently and glanced around with wide amber eyes. Standing tall in his human form he stepped toward Cheza and grinned as he whispered in her ear to stay quiet, he wanted to surprise the blonde in the kitchen. Cheza nodded mutely and the young boy with auburn hair and amber eyes tip-toed into the kitchen.
She turned her stare to the door once more just as a black and white half-breed with slightly mismatched eyes ducked into the door silently as well, followed by another she-wolf with golden hair and a red head band across her forehead. She heard Liona squeak just a light brown wolf enter the small door, followed by a black she-wolf.
"Young Pup!" Liona grinned, excitedly as she threw her arms around Toboe's neck and hugged him close, just as a silver wolf with a scar on his chest ducked into the door, followed by another she-wolf with dark brown fur and a black necklace around her neck.
"Well, you've found some more friends, I see," Liona smirked as she stepped into the living room and Cheza sat up straighter as a white wolf with golden eyes stepped through the small door and looked straight at her.
The pack now stood in their human forms in the living room as Liona was introduced by Toboe to the newest members and Kiba instantly hurried to Cheza. He gently took the kitten from her lap and handed him to Ryooshi as she came up next to him, and he threw his arms around her, burying his face in the crook of her neck as she returned the embrace.
"I missed you," he whispered, pulling her a little closer.
"This one missed you as well," she smiled. "This one is glad you've all come back."
As they sat away from each other they gave a slight start when Unaru and Nikita started sniffing at her.
"You smell nice," Unaru smiled.
"Thank you," Cheza smiled in return, placing a hand on Unaru's head and scratching it, making Unaru grin and giggle as the Flower Maiden petted her.
"You must be Cheza," Nikita guessed. "Kiba told us all about you on our way back here."
Cheza nodded, reaching toward him and scratching under his chin, making him sigh in contentment.
"Well, looks like I've got a pack of wolves for dinner tonight," Liona grinned, her hands on her hips. "Glad you're all back, pups."
"Hey, Liona!" Ryooshi grinned, still holding the kitten as she hurried toward the blonde. "Can you make some of that delicious meat sauce with those meatballs you made when I stayed over the first time?!"
"Sure!" Liona chirped with a nod. "I'm sure you'll all like it. Hang out by the fire and I'll see if I have enough bowls to serve all of you."
"Tsume and I can share a bowl," Ryooshi smiled, turning to him. "You won't mind, right? It'll be so romantic."
"Who's the damn love-sick puppy now?" Tsume nearly growled, not wanting to show weakness in caring, even though he'd do anything for her, and didn't really care if he had his own bowl of food or shared with her. Ryooshi giggled as she walked toward him and, after handing the kitten off to Nikita, kissed Tsume's cheek making him sneer, but after the sneer he gave her a small smirk.
"Hige and I can share a bowl, too," Blue called and Liona nodded as they sat themselves in front of the fire.
"Unaru can share a bowl with me," Toboe voiced and small clatter of dishes came from the kitchen.
Liona looked from the kitchen to Toboe in the living room with wide eyes but he didn't see her as he sat with Unaru across from Hige and Blue. The blonde girl noticed Unaru place her hand between herself and Toboe, and she also noticed Toboe place his hand on top of hers. The two glanced at each other and Unaru smiled as she leaned in to press a soft kiss to his cheek, making him blush and look away.
"Young Pup," Liona smirked with an impressed tone, drawing his and Unaru's attention.
Toboe read the look and blushed a little deeper and muttered, "Oh, shut up."
Liona laughed as he turned away and she went back to bustling around the kitchen to make dinner.
"Oh, I had a visit from one of those Wolf Hunter guys," Liona called, casually, causing everyone to stiffen. "He and his men were going around and telling residents that they were leaving now. Apparently, they stopped getting orders from they're platoon leader so they figured they'd just head out."
The pack relaxed again, exchanging glances but staying silent.
"Well, Cheza," Hige grinned, drawing hers, and everyone else's attention, "we kept our promise. We all came back and even brought back a couple more with us."
"This one is very glad to see all of you," Cheza smiled. "This one is also glad to meet new friends."
"I've never met a Flower Maiden before," Nikita smiled, stroking Ame in his arms.
"Me either," Unaru chimed in. "You're everything I thought you'd be. I've heard of Flower Maidens, but I never thought I'd get to meet one in person."
"Cheza's been through a lot with us," Kiba said, next to the bowl at her feet. "She knows us from our past lives as well."
"Not me," Ryooshi corrected. "I just met you guys almost a week ago."
"Whoa, so you all had past lives, and you remember them?" Unaru wondered, looking at Toboe as she said it, but making it sound like it was directed to all listening.
"Well, some of us," Toboe corrected. "I remembered, and so did Kiba, but the others didn't."
"Yeah, we only had nagging feelings that bugged the hell out of us," Tsume retorted.
"After we met up with Cheza again we all remembered," Hige chimed in, pulling Blue closer to him as she leaned against him.
"So, do you think we had past lives too?" Nikita wondered pointedly at Ryooshi, Unaru and himself.
"Everyone does," Cheza replied. "But it's not your time to remember them. Perhaps, you are not supposed to remember."
"What do you mean?" Unaru asked.
"I think she means, we're better off where we are now," Ryooshi theorized, drawing everyone's attention to her. "If we don't ever remember, it's probably because we're not supposed to. We're better off where we are in the lives we're living now. That's what I think, anyway."
"This, coming from the one who thought she'd never be accepted for what she'd done in her past?" Tsume murmured in her ear, not wanting to embarrass her by just blurting it out for everyone to hear.
"Yes," she nodded, quietly as the others began talking amongst themselves. "But I don't care about that anymore. It's like what Runs with Horses said: My time for hiding is over. It's time for me to shine brightly again. I'm through with feeling guilty and sorry for what I did. It's done and over with now. There won't be any Wolf Hunters coming back for me, or hunting any more. I'm sure, with that headquarters gone, the others will lose control and crumble. We've done a good thing, you know?"
"Sure," Tsume muttered with a smirk, closing in on her. "Whatever you say."
"You weren't listening to a damn thing I was saying, were you?" she smiled, slightly.
"Nope," he confirmed, still closing in on her until his lips pressed against hers.
"Hey!" Hige called to them, but he was ignored as he continued, "There's a pup here! Keep all that out of sight where it belongs! The runt's not educated yet!"
"Is that so?" Unaru smirked slyly and lifted a brow at Toboe who glanced at her then blushed as he looked away from her. "Aren't you adorable?" she smiled and when he looked back at her she pounced and planted her lips to his as they fell back onto the floor.
"Hey, hey!" Liona called, spotting the two couples. "Don't go having desert before dinner!"
"Well said!" Hige grinned, holding a thumbs-up to the blonde as Blue gave a giggle as Kiba and Nikita only shook their heads, smiling in amusement.
"So tell me, what happened back there?" Liona called, still making dinner. "Where did you guys go, and how come the Wolf Hunters pulled out so quickly? You guys do something?"
"You could say that," Ryooshi smiled, and they all helped in telling their story to her.
For the pack of five, now grown to eight, the past week was nothing compared to what they'd been through before. Their pasts didn't matter so much anymore, only the present, and as the pack told Liona and Cheza the excitement that had gone on, the three new-comers felt at ease, and accepted. Three Hell-Hounds sat with six, Wild Wolves and no one felt in danger from either one. No, their pasts, in this life or the previous one, didn't matter, because each of them were starting life anew.
A/N: figured i'd start this from Liona and Cheza's POV. i could just see Cheza sitting there and Toboe crepping in frist all silent like. hee hee. anyway, thank you so much for sticking with this story to the end. and thank you for all the reviews, i appreciate it. and now, for the final time i'll ask...reviews?