The Brief Epiphany
As Tsuki opened the small door to the outer room, the runt found himself landing ungracefully on top of the fat wolf; Tsume had bodily thrown the pup into the hole from the trapdoor. The white wolf had moved quickly from the landing zone and had avoided injury, but the poor fat one was not so lucky, and was now nursing a sore back from the pup's collision. "You damn runt! Watch where you're going won't ya! I'm not a damn cushion Toboe!"
"Don't yell at me Hige, Tsume pushed me and-"
"Move it down there you idiots!" After the sharp warning from the remaining wolf, both scrambled away from the opening above them as Tsume landed heavily in the recently vacated spot. Tsuki had simply watched, both amused and ticked, as the four wolves entered her home in a manner most undignified.
Tsuki took in the appearances of the four wolves during the ensuing confusion: Hige and Tsume arguing loudly with Toboe in the middle of the two males while the fourth slowly collected his thoughts. He turned his head and his eyes came into contact with Tsuki's.
At the present time all four males were in their human disguises. Hige wore light blue sweatpants, a yellow hoodie over a black long sleeve tee shirt, and a collar with the letter H engraved upon it. Toboe in turn wore a red button up shirt with the long sleeves rolled to his elbows, green khakis, boots that looked military issue, and four silver bracelets on his right wrist. Tsume wore tight black leather pants and a tight leather jacket with the shoulders torn apart at the seam over a gray tank. The fourth one wore blue jeans, a white tee, and a dark gray jacket. All four wolves sported shallow cuts and bruises, but nothing serious. What a motley pack, Tsuki thought to herself.
"If you two are done bickering, perhaps you would care to explain why I shouldn't kick you out on your asses right now." Tsuki said in a loud voice, interrupting an extremely rude comment made by Tsume. Tsume, Hige, and Toboe looked around wildly, noticing for the first time that they were actually in a home and that the owner was before them.
"See, I told you I smelled a babe! Oof…" Hige burst at the sight of Tsuki, only to be elbowed sharply by Tsume. The white wolf stood from his crouch, wincing as his tired muscles were forced to move once more. The four males stared at Tsuki, and much to their surprise she simply chuckled at Hige's outburst.
Toboe decided to answer the lingering question in fear that the strange woman would actually carry out her threat. "We were running from the humans 'cause they were trying to shoot us. Hige said he could smell something, and he brought us here…" Toboe finished, his voice trailing off with a sharp glare from Hige.
"That isn't what I asked, pup. Now, who else wants to try to tell me why I-" Tsuki began, her voice strained with tension. She was not enjoying this company. And what was worse, the white wolf had crossed the space between himself and the reference table and was shifting through the materials without a second thought.
Tsuki's hackles rose menacingly, and her true form was revealed to the males. Before them now stood an average sized gray wolf with white markings on her ears and paws. Toboe shrank back from the female, terrified at the sight of her obvious rage. Tsume tensed, preparing for a fight while Hige merely cursed under his breath. "Kiba," Toboe called out shrilly. Kiba looked up, noticing for the first time the danger he was in.
Tsuki slowly began to move forward, snarling. "Step away, wolf, or do you want to see how fast I can remove that paw from your body." Tsuki snapped. Kiba locked eyes with the female, tossing aside his disguise and standing before her as a white wolf. He didn't return her threats but instead asked calmly, "Why do you have so much reference here about the Book of the Moon?" The only response he received was an increase in the hostile noises from Tsuki.
Fortunately for Kiba, and loud ringing from the back room broke the tension in the air. Tsuki, after taking one last look at the offending wolf, turned to the noise and, returning to her human disguise, began scanning the monitors for the source of the alarm. Much to her further frustration, the alarm had been triggered by humans outside the hidden door in the hallway, trying to find the lost 'thieves'. They were too close to the door for Tsuki's taste, and she let out a string of curses that would make any bad ass proud.
Tsuki turned to vent her anger on the four wolves, only to discover that Hige and Toboe were peering into the room with surprised looks. Tsume hadn't moved, and Kiba had returned to his study of her materials.
One glare from Tsuki was all it took to send Hige and Toboe scrambling for cover as she barreled out of the room and began to pack a small bag with all the food she had left in her meager cabinet. Hige regained composure, and shared a confused look with Toboe. "Umm," Toboe began, not sure what to say as Tsuki swept all the rations from the shelves into the bag and proceeded to the table to grab the more important documents.
"Don't you dare speak. This is all your fault. If you assholes didn't show up and cause all that commotion topside than I wouldn't have to uproot my entire life. Now I have to leave all this behind and run." Tsuki barked before Toboe could say anything more. Kiba found himself being brushed aside by the whirlwind that was Tsuki, and Hige and Toboe had to step quickly to avoid being trampled. The room felt large when only one wolf occupied the space, but five wolves was a bit much. Tsume found himself being moved as well as Tsuki reached beyond him to grab her coat.
As Tsuki reached past the stoic gray wolf, their eyes locked. Tsume's breath caught in his throat as the epiphany of recognition hit his heart. Tsuki's eyes widened slightly, and her eyes traveled to the scar on his chest. In that split moment the two gray wolves reached the same conclusion.