Chapter Two

Capture and Arrival

Days passed, but all was silent for Hige and Blue. They would trek for miles each day, then get a hasty sleep at any time, day or night. Neither spoke of any discomfort- after all, this was what they had wanted. Eventually, they crossed out of the forest and now entered a frozen tundra. It had been almost a month since they both expressed wonder for their friends, and had shared a rabbit.

Hige was clearly more at ease out here; his tongue lolled out of his mouth and his stance was at ease. Blue wasn't as sure, but she made an effort not to whine. She hated whining; it made her think she was a puppy again. Or a dog.

There breath could still be seen as a frozen cloud, and they both wondered every day if Paradise had truly been opened by the others. Blue was a bit more optimistic for them, but Hige thought they had no chance of finding it. Neither wolf expressed their thoughts to the other, though.

One day, during one of their brief resting periods, something changed.

Blue sat up abruptly. "Hige… What is going on over there?"

Hige flipped himself around, a growl coming from his through. "The hell she think she's doing?" Shaking his head, he spoke more clearly. "That's Jagura's area; I guess she didn't die." The last word was drowned out by a deep snarl from a tan wolf.

Blue crouched down, unsure of what was happening. She knew of Jagura, but she had been in the castle with the others when everything happened. Hige had requested she stay out of the ordeal.

But now. Ahead of them, and only visible because of the open tundra, were several flying ships in the air. They moved slowly, as if looking for something.

"Be prepared to run, Blue." Hige whispered to the other wolf. He had no idea what Jagura's intentions were, but he feared that he was jeopardizing Blue's safety. "No wonder this damn place looked so familiar!"

A deep clunking sound was heard from behind, and the wolves ripped around in time to see a black armored soldier lift his gun and shower them with bullets. He wasn't alone; about fifty others were doing the same thing.

"Run, Blue!" Hige screamed, grabbing her hand and beginning to run. Blue stumbled a bit, but then regained her ground and followed. But more troops stood in there way, and in no time at all, the two wolves were cut off from escaping.

The firing had ceased, but seeing his chance, one soldier lifted his gun and fired at Blue.

Blue collapsed on the ground, too surprised to feel any pain at first. Her hands found were she had been shot and tried to cover the bleeding hole. Hige crouched down beside her, anger radiating from him. He saw where Blue kept her hands and knew that the bullet had hit her shoulder. She would live, but that didn't mean he still wasn't upset about it.

Snarling, Hige leaped forward, his jaws connecting with the soldier's neck all too easily. The soldier toppled over with a brown wolf still on him.

About ten other soldiers lifted their shields and fired, throwing Hige back next to Blue with some invisible force. Simultaneously, the troops stepped forward, wielding swords now. A numbness had entered Blue and she watched helplessly as her mate was tossed aside. "Hige!"

Hige growled again, standing shakily to his paws. His lips were pulled back, fangs glistening. He refused to be beaten in front of Blue.

But surprisingly enough, it was Blue that made him stop.

"Hige. They will kill you if you keep attacking, and-and I can't help you f-fight…" She trailed off, her voice beginning to break.

The wolf whipped his head around, angry until he saw the female's pained expression. He dipped his head low to the ground and remained by her side. They would be wolves now, having no need to speak or reveal anything.

It was funny, and somewhat ironic, but whenever wolves spoke, they inadvertably took the form of man. It was almost as if they knew it was uncommon for animals to speak human tongue, and so automatically changed their form.

But there was nothing funny about now. The soldiers closed in their loose circle. When they were close enough, a few took a hold of a net and prepared to toss it over the wolves. Hige snarled once as it came down on them, pressing closer to Blue so that their fur brushed. The net descended on them, and a quick jab with something had both wolves knocked out.

The first thing Hige noticed when he woke up was that he was in a truck. And it was on a very bumpy road. He swore loudly as his head connected with the ceiling. He pressed his head on the bruise that was forming and his hand brushed something metal. Confused, Hige blinked a couple times and then understood what he was really in.

A dog cage. How fitting.

A quick inventory told him that Blue and he were both in separate dog cages with barely any room to move. They were packed tightly in the back of a truck, along with several other confused animals. Holding his breath, Hige couldn't relax until he knew that none of the others were wolves. But… What was going on?

His head was pounding too hard to think right and he tried shifting to his side and lay down, but it was impossible. He was left with leaning awkwardly on the back of his cage that was made out of lumpy, metal bars. Hige began muttering to himself, swearing a few times, until he woke Blue up.

She lifted her head, but was more careful than Hige and managed not to bang her head. She cringed as the little movement seemed to reopen her bullet wound. She breathed out slowly until it was even, and only then did she face Hige.

"I guess I should be used to this situation by now." Her voice was so soft that it broke his heart to see her where she was. But Blue went on, undeterred. "Only, Cheza was with me. Cher and Hub were the ones who rescued us, and then Jagura's ships swooped down with a beam, and just- took them away." Blue looked away, remembering how Cheza had suggested she had feelings for Hige.

"Don't worry, Blue, you have me this time. And when have I ever failed you?" He smiled, closing his eyes. It was the kind of smile that lightened up any atmosphere, no matter how depressing.

"Oh, Hige, I have never doubted you."

The wolves fell silent, and it wasn't long until the truck slammed to a stop and everything slid forward and bumped a couple of things. The wolves growled in annoyance, but the other animals could only look around warily. They didn't have the intelligence of wolves. Except for one. It was a small wild cat. She had perceptive green eyes that avoided looking at the wolves.

Blue noticed the cat out of the corner of her eye and understand the reluctance to join in the conversation. Wolves at her kind. But Blue decided that she wouldn't, and if she could save even one creature, it would be this one.

A metal ramp was lowered to the ground and the flaps were brushed back. Several men rushed forward and began shifting cages down the ramp. They avoided the wolves until there were none left. The men approached warily and kept their hands firmly away from the bars in case of a sudden attack.

Blue winced as her wound began throbbing again, but refused to complain about it. She had to stay strong for Hige. And she had to remain wolf.

Hige was only paying attention to Blue, ignoring everything else around him. Blue gave him a meaningful look, which he dutifully ignored.

The wolves were set on the ground with the rest of the captives. Now a wolf, Hige could stretch out on the ground, which he did, giving him a somewhat lazy and unintelligible look. Blue gave a low woof, telling him not to play around anymore.

Time passed slowly as one by one the animals were given a bowl of water and then suddenly became sleepy and unresponsive. Only then were they released from their cages. Blue had watched with concern when it was the little cat's turn, but the cat took a few laps of water, letting it dribble back out from her mouth when the men had turned around. She was let out as well and stumbled appropriately when she took a couple steps, and blinked, as if she were in a daze.

Blue was amazed by the little cat's cunningness and decided to do the same. She hoped she would be approached first, so Hige could watch and see what she did. As it turned out, the men did feed her first, but they dropped strips of meat into her cage, obviously hoping to appease her.

Blue stepped back, suddenly unsure. She could see the cat openly watching her now. The gray wolf let out a gust of breath and leaped at the meat. She ate a few pieces- enough to hide in her mouth without looking odd- but then fell back from the food, shaking her head. She saw the men look confused and mutter amongst themselves. They shrugged and went to give meat to the second wolf. Blue swung her head around and spat the meat out. It had been difficult to give up such easy food, but the consequences would not be worth it. She needed to be awake right now.

Hige, who had seen the whole performance, did the same. And both wolves were released from their cages. They stepped graciously off of the metal flooring and gave themselves a shake. They stepped forward into the tired crowd of animals, but did not appear dopey or hostile. The men were again perplexed, but decided to let it slid for now and began the process of herding the animals into a building.

Blue held back for a moment, her instincts screaming at her to run.

"I wouldn't do that, if I were you. But I'm not. Thank God, might I add. But if I were you, I wouldn't run." It was the little cat. She was suddenly standing to Blue, staring transfixed at her with those unblinking green eyes.

Blue grunted, suddenly feeling annoyed by this cat. She began walking, but towards were the humans wanted. Hige was a few ways ahead, scouting out everything.

The little cat padded beside Blue as if it were the most normal thing possible. She reached only half way up the wolf's legs, but couldn't be bothered by this.

"My name, as far as you need to know, will be Felidae." The cat spoke again. "I'm formally called a Sand Cat, and virtually extinct, as far as anyone knows."

Felidae's voice was velvety and musical, and Blue had to give her head a shake to keep it clear.

"My name… is Blue. And that's Hige. Wolves have been forever feared, and hated, and- hunted." She swallowed noisily and hastily moved on. "Any reason why you're tagging onto me?"

"You're a wolf, and wolves are always the last to survive. So even if we all go to Hell, I want to be there for when it ends. Plus, I know a few things that could help you live, a bit longer at least." Feliadae replied, her voice indifferent.

Blue immediately thought of Paradise and felt a tug to go to it. If this cat believed it was there, in a sense anyway, then shouldn't a wolf?

"How have you survived this long? You are completely not built to be in this weather, or land even." Blue pointed out, wanting to find out more about her new "companion."

Felidae became guarded and gave a clipped response. "Being here is unfortunate for me, but I can't travel like you. I'm making do with what I can."

The wolf shrugged and focused on the task at hand: Escaping. So far, she had either missed her chance or it hadn't come yet.

The animals, who were mainly an assortment of cats or other wild predators, were hustled into a narrow building, through flaps that stood for a door. A growl rumbled from Hige's chest, but he fell silent when he remembered he couldn't be hostile. He grumbled for a moment at that.

Upon entering, the animals were met by more working men and separated into groups. The wolves and Felidae made up their own group; Felidae only being with them because she wanted to be. Using sharp sticks that emitted electricity, the men forced the animals back into separate containers within their group and locked them in tight.

Despite her wound, Blue felt fine, if not tired. She supposed she healed as fast as the others with a little rest. Hige was next to her on the left, and Felidae on her right. She comforted herself by saying that they were there and ready to help. She knew that sounded weak, but then again, she was a dog.