A/N: ok, i couldn't hold out anymore. i decided to write an epilogue and here it is! enjoy!
Epilogue
"Toboe! Don't go too far!" Liona called, Toboe and Unaru frolicking in their wolf forms around each other in the deserted land just beyond the gate of the city as she shook her head and sighed, "Those pups."
"They wanted us to meet them here?" Nikita wondered, standing with Liona in his human form as they stopped next to the gate and he leaned back on it.
"Yup," Liona nodded through a sigh. "I don't know why. It's so hot!"
"Well, it's June, Liona," he chuckled, watching Unaru pin Toboe down on the ground and lick his face.
"Whatever," she shrugged, digging a hand into her pocket and pulling out a piece of jerky and breaking it in half.
As she handed a piece to Nikita, Toboe and Unaru froze and started sniffing at the air, catching Liona's attention. Her eyes widened when she noticed the two stalking toward her, licking their lips, still in their wolf forms.
"Oh, geez," she muttered, slumping her shoulders and tried backing up, but it did her no good as she backed up against the gate and the two wolves pounced. She struggled to keep her piece of jerky as the wolves took bites of it. They finally climbed off of her and she sat up, her bleach blonde hair a mess as she held a hand up with a bite size piece of jerky in her finger tips. "Aw! You guys are evil!"
"We were hungry," Toboe excused, tilting his head to the side as he sat and Unaru laid on her stomach and set her chin on her crossed paws in front of him.
"You're lucky I brought more jerky for myself," she snapped, whipping out another piece of jerky from her pocket and tossing the bite in her other hand into the air. She ducked when she noticed a shadow leap over her and Hige caught the piece of jerky in mid air as he turned to face the others, landing in his wolf form.
"Thanks, Liona," he called, chewing on the jerky as Blue landed next to him from jumping over the gate as well.
"You're welcome," she replied sarcastically, chomping down on her jerky then tearing off a piece and tossing it to Blue.
The black wolf caught the piece of jerky and chewed on it as she said, "Thanks."
"Now we're just waiting on Kiba and Cheza," Unaru smiled as she and Toboe sat up in their human forms, side by side.
"Speak of the devil," Blue smirked, she and Hige now in their human forms as well. Just as she'd said it, Kiba landed in front of them in his human form with Cheza in his arms.
"Sorry we're late," he apologized as he set Cheza down to let her dust herself off.
"You're not late," Nikita replied, stepping toward Hige and they shared a strange handshake, making Blue shake her head in embarrassment as Unura and Liona giggled at the sight. "We all pretty much just got here."
"Sweet," Hige grinned, slinging his arm around Blue's shoulders. "We'd better get going then."
"You sure you guys remember the way?" Unaru wondered, one of her hands in Toboe's.
"It was only a month ago," Kiba reminded her. "I think between the four of us, we'll remember."
"I can't believe it's been that long," Blue mused as she and the others started walking toward the mountains ahead of them.
"I can't imagine how much Ryooshi and Tsume have changed," Nikita smiled, helping Liona up as she still chewed on her jerky and they followed the six ahead of them.
"This one supposes they have not changed at all," Cheza smiled, holding onto Kiba's arm.
"Well, we'll find out when we get there," Unaru grinned, leaning her head on Toboe's shoulder for a moment before lifting it again to kiss his cheek, making him blush.
"She taught you about the birds and bees yet, runt?" Hige smirked and Toboe's blush deepened.
"Shut up," he muttered, lowering his head as Unaru and Blue sent glares at the older wolf before Unaru nuzzled the top of her head against the crook of Toboe's neck, still holding his hand.
"Leave them alone," Blue scolded Hige and he only shrugged.
"Think Runs With Horses will make you do that ridiculous dance Ryooshi had to do when we stayed there last?" he smirked over his shoulder at Kiba.
"I doubt it," he replied. "We're not taking shelter there this time."
"I can't wait to see how Tsume and Ryooshi are doing," Toboe grinned excitedly. "I can't imagine Tsume living as a human Indian."
"I can't imagine Tsume doing anything with humans," Liona chimed in, recalling their first meeting.
"Technically he's not living as a human," Blue reminded them. "The tribe knows he and Ryooshi are wolves."
"Well, I'm sure they'll be happy to know they were missed," Unaru smiled then turned a bright smile to Toboe and shouted, "Race you!"
The two bolted off in their wolf forms as Liona called after them.
"Not too far!"
Sunset the Next Day...
Ryooshi paced in front of the fire in her human form, her hands behind her back, the feather in her hair bouncing with each step along with her slightly longer ponytails on her shoulders. Tsume sat on the other side of the fire, flicking twigs into the blaze in boredom, a single eagle feather tied into his tiny ponytail and when he looked up at Ryooshi still pacing he smirked as he stood and walked around the fire.
She stopped and faced the canyon Runs With Horses' tribe was sitting just outside of and crossed her arms over her chest as she started tapping her foot in impatience. Tsume glanced around as he stepped behind her, making sure no one was around to watch them and placed his hands at her waist to pull her close to him, making her jump and look up at him with wide eyes before she smiled and turned back to face the canyon.
"Where are they?" she nearly whined, leaning back against him as his hands wrapped completely around her waist and she set her hands over his. "They should have been here by now."
"Maybe they got lost?" Tsume shrugged, nonchalantly. "If Porky and the runt are leading the pack, they probably are."
"Haven't lost that exterior have you?" Ryooshi sighed, turning in his arms and slipping her arms around his neck, jade eyes locking to the other's. "Big ol' softy inside, but you still have to play the tough guy, don't you?" Tsume lifted an eyebrow at her and she gave a giggle as she murmured, "Maybe we can think of something to do while we wait?"
Tsume gave a very wolfish grin as he leaned closer to her face and murmured, "I can think of a few things…"
"Mmm, me too," Ryooshi grinned, her eyes widening in delight before she closed them and lips collided followed by a light moan from Ryooshi as she felt Tsume pull her closer still.
"Whoa! Get a room!"
The two pulled away from each other as if burned at the sound of Hige's joking tone and turned to see the whole group they'd been waiting for watching them with a few smirks. Ryooshi cleared her throat, wiping the corners of her mouth before grinning and running toward the group, throwing her arms around each of them in tight, grateful hugs before gripping the first hands she could reach and dragging them toward the fire as the others followed.
"I'm glad you guys made it!" she grinned, stopping next to Tsume as he didn't move from his spot. "We were worried you got lost."
"We almost did," Liona replied, glaring at Hige who shrugged defensively.
"Hey, I didn't tell you to follow me, did I?" he retorted.
"You didn't have to go following your nose, either," Unaru snapped but Hige just shrugged.
"Anyway…" Nikita cut in trailing of with a smile to Ryooshi as he asked, "Nice of you to ask us here."
"Runs With Horses wanted to speak to all of you," Ryooshi corrected, slipping a hand into Tsume's and grinned, "Aside from that, you guys were due for a visit anyway."
"Tsume's gone native!" Toboe grinned, pointing at the feather in his hair and the older wolf glared at him.
"It's an honor to wear this feather," Tsume snapped then held his head high with pride as he rolled his shoulders, continuing, "This is the mark of a great warrior and hunter in the tribe."
"One month and he's gone native," Hige chuckled, slapping the gray wolf on the shoulder. "Never thought I'd see the day when you co-exist with humans."
"Porky, you better watch it, or I'll-!"
"Anybody hungry?" Ryooshi cut in with a grin, glancing between all of her friends.
"Starved!" Blue grinned as well, wanting to keep the two wolves from fighting as well.
She grabbed Hige's arm and pulled him toward the fire as Ryooshi tried to sooth Tsume's ruffled feathers before patting his back and letting him head toward the fire as well and urged the rest toward the fire but placed a hand on Kiba's shoulder.
"Runs With Horses wanted to speak to you alone before he spoke to the others," she murmured.
"Why?" he wondered with a slight frown.
"Because you're the leader of the pack," Ryooshi smiled, pulling on his arm to direct him to a tent. "Don't worry, he won't bite. It'll only take a moment. You're welcome to stay the night too!"
"I'll be sure to thank him," Kiba assured her as they stopped outside Runs With Horses tent and he stopped her from ducking in ahead of him by gently gripping her arm, making her frown at him in wonder. "We've all missed you two, a lot."
Ryooshi smiled warmly and pulled him close for a tight hug, murmuring, "We missed all of you, too." She lifted her head and said, "Don't tell Tsume I told you that. Tell him I missed you."
Kiba chuckled with a nod and she giggled, both knowing Tsume too well. Ryooshi ducked into the tent, followed by Kiba as the rest of the pack began having dinner around the fire with the rest of the tribe.
Midnight...
Ryooshi and Tsume led the pack to a group of tents fit for two each they were to spend the night in after dinner and celebration.
"Toboe! Come on!" Unaru grinned, pulling on his hand toward one of the tents. "We'll share this one!"
"Hey, Young Pup!" Liona called but sighed as Nikita chuckled and tapped her shoulder to nod toward another tent, catching her gaze.
"I'll keep you company," he assured her and she smirked, looking toward the tent where Unaru and Toboe had disappeared.
Since she's taken Unaru in, Toboe had spent most of his time with her and not with Liona like he used to. Nikita, however was also living with them and always around and happy to keep her company. Still, he was no Toboe.
"Thanks Nik," she smiled, weakly and he guessed she was still feeling bad about Toboe, but said nothing as he led her to a tent and ducked inside.
"Poor Liona," Blue sighed, holding onto Hige's arm. "She misses Toboe and the pup doesn't even see it."
"Well, she could say something," Hige reminded her as they headed to a tent of their own. "The last thing the runt would want to do is make her unhappy."
"Let's hope Nikita can fill the void," Blue sighed as they disappeared into the tent.
"Hey, Kiba!" Ryooshi called before he and Cheza headed into their tent and Tsume stood next to her as the two looked up and stepped back toward the other two. "Did Runs With Horses talk to you?"
"Yeah, he did," Kiba nodded, hesitantly as Cheza gave him a subtle frown. "He told me to think about it, but I think what I need to do is talk to the others about it and see what they think."
"I knew you'd say that," Ryooshi grinned, wrapping her hands around one of Tsume's arms. "Chief told me to tell you to take all the time you need. Stay as long as you like. Our friends are his."
"Thank you, Ryooshi," he nodded and smiled very slightly as he glanced between the two before saying, "You two really have blended into this lifestyle, haven't you?"
Ryooshi grinned and nodded vigorously as Tsume gave a sneer, looking away.
"Kiba?" Cheza called, gently, drawing his attention to her and he pulled her under his arm before nodding good night to the couple and turning her toward the tent, explaining to her what they had been talking about.
Tsume and Ryooshi stood in the circle of tents and glanced around at each of them before looking at each other and Ryooshi grinned, asking, "Think they'll say 'yes'?"
"Hard to tell," Tsume shrugged slightly, lifting an arm to sling around her shoulders as they both turned to head toward their own tent. "I wouldn't try to guess though. You of all people should know how unpredictable us wolves can be."
"Yeah," Ryooshi chuckled and looked around at the empty camp before stopping them both and turning to face him as he frowned in wonder.
"What's wrong?" he wondered.
"Nothing," she shrugged cutely, shaking her head as she stepped close enough to slip her arms up his chest and around his neck. "I just wanted to finish that kiss we started earlier."
"With pleasure," he grinned his wolfish grin before planning his lips to hers.
The Next Morning...
Kiba stood in the center of the circle that was the Drifting Pack as the tribe called them and said, "The Chief spoke with me last night, and he offered to let all of us live with his tribe."
"Seriously?" Hige chirped. "We'd live with them?"
"If we want to," Kiba nodded. "We're free to choose where we go. We'd be treated as part of the tribe, like they treat Ryooshi and Tsume."
"Just you wolves, right?" Liona guessed, drawing everyone's attention to her.
"If you'd like to stay, you can," Ryooshi assured her. "Chief told me a little earlier to offer this to you as well."
Liona nodded mutely and gazed down at her lap, drawing Toboe's attention to her and he leaned over as he sat next to her to catch her gaze.
"Sissy?" he murmured, but she only shook her head.
"If you don't want to do this it's fine," Kiba continued.
"You mean, split up the pack?" Blue frowned.
"I don't want to do that, but I won't force anyone to do what they don't want to either," Kiba replied.
"Alright, I have a better way to come up with the answer to this," Unaru proposed, standing and stepping next to Kiba. "All for staying here, raise your hands."
Unaru shot her hand up with a grin and looked around as the other wolves looked around at each other as well. Hesitantly Blue lifted her hand into the air, followed by Hige, then Toboe and Liona shot a wide-eyed gaze at the young pup.
"Toboe?" she breathed, and he shot his amber eyes to meet her burnt honeys. "You're staying?"
"Well…" he trailed off a moment as everyone lowered their hands then continued, "I don't wanna be a burden to you, sissy. I won't be a pup for long, you know? I just don't wanna be in your way."
"Young Pup, you were never in my way, and you never will be," Liona replied, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I love having the three of you there! If I didn't like it I would have said something, you know that."
She glanced around at the pack and realized that she'd always felt out of place. Always felt like the black sheep. She wasn't part of the pack as she thought she could be. She could never be. She was a human, not a wolf, and part of her wished she was a wolf to spare her the pain of what she was about to do. Tears pricked her eyes as she turned her gaze back to Toboe and squeezed his shoulder.
"I get it," she breathed, softly then sniffled. "You need to be with your kind. With your pack. You can't stay cooped up in an apartment all your life." She looked to Unaru who swallowed back the lump in her throat. "And neither can you, Unaru, or you, Nikita."
"Sure I can," he shrugged, shooting her gaze wide at him. "I'm a half-breed, remember? I can stay with you as long as you'll have me, Liona. I really don't belong here anyway."
"That's not true, Nik," Hige piped up, drawing his attention. "Blue was a half-breed in her past life, and she was still part of our pack."
"Not me, man," Nikita shook his head with a small smile. "I'm stickin' with Liona." He looked back at her and suddenly in his canine form he laid down, his head in her lap, saying, "She needs someone to keep her company till you guys visit again."
Liona felt tears flow from her eyes as she stroked a hand over Nikita's soft fur on his head and Toboe threw his arms around her neck as Unaru shuffled toward the three to get into the hug as well.
"So it's settled, then?" Blue wondered, glancing around. "Pretty much everyone is staying with the tribe?"
Kiba turned to where Cheza sat and knelt down in front of her as her crimson eyes stared at him…through him, sensing his presence.
"Cheza," he murmured. "Do you want to stay? We don't have to. I'll stay with you in the city."
Cheza's painted pink lips curved into a sweet smile as she shook her head slightly and brought a hand to her heart.
"This one knows you must be with your kind as well," she replied, softly. "This one will go wherever you go, Kiba. This one will be happy as long as you are happy."
Kiba smiled warmly and pulled her into his embrace to nuzzle the crook of her neck.
"Shall I give Runs With Horses the good news?" Ryooshi smiled, drawing everyone's attention and Kiba nodded as they all stood to follow Tsume and Ryooshi.
Nikita and Liona headed back to the city, Liona almost sobbing the whole way as Nikita stayed close in his human form, holding her the whole way. When they reached the gate the next day, Liona stopped to turn back and watch the empty expanse of desert between the pack and herself that she knew would grow once the tribe moved again. But, she knew they would all be back to visit, and that made her smile.
A/N: wow, i dint think i'd make it so sad! well, at least no one died, right? lol! the true end! and now, for the last time, reviews?