CHAPTER THREE: NIGHTMARE

I own none of the original characters from Wolf's Rain. They © BONES

I do own Kira, the plotline, and any other characters mentioned in the story.

I seemed to have just closed my eyes and went to sleep when I woke up again. Grumbling in annoyance, I stretched and yawned loudly. I stopped, however, when I realized there was no sound coming from my throat. I gulped and tried making a noise, but again: Nothing. "Toboe!" I tried shouting. "Kiba, Tsume, anybody!" The wolves in front of me slept soundly. It was like I wasn't even there.

Suddenly, Kiba and the others began getting fuzzy; as if they were disappearing. I yelped and tried clutching onto Toboe's tail, but I went right through him like a ghost. Yowling in fear, I continuously tried to grab the wolves and keep them from fading away, but it was no use. Sitting down in defeat, I whined and watched as my new friends turned black and wavy, then vanished altogether.

The cave around me then started becoming black. What's going on? I thought, flattening my ears and shaking violently. It was all going dark; the walls, the floor… Everything. I squeaked as I felt my tail fall. Looking behind me, I saw the blackness had swallowed my tail completely. Screeching and trying to pull it back, the darkness seemed to make a groaning sound and pulled harder in return. Unable to beat its strength, I was dragged in.

For a few moments, I couldn't breathe or see. There was black all around me; I was blind. But then, I was overwhelmed by a bright light, and I took in a deep lung full of air. When I adjusted to the brightness, in front of me I saw a man with his back turned, and a matted gray wolf by his side. The man was wearing a deep royal purple robe, black pants, and black shoes.

I lashed my tail and growled at the gray wolf. "Why are you protecting that human?" I said.

"He is my master." The wolf responded in a monotone voice.

"After they destroy Paradise and kill most of our kind, you bow down to those creatures?" I snarled. "What's wrong with you?"

"Why I do is only for me to know." He said. "Come. I must show you something." He started plodding off towards a white staircase.

"And why should I follow you?" I growled, curling my tail.

"I'm here to help you find Paradise." He replied, still walking. "Now come." My eyes went wide, and after hesitating a moment, I followed.

The wolf led me down numerous flights of stairs, until we reached a bottom room. There was a circular pool in the middle of the floor, swirling slowly. "Sit here." He said, pointing to the edge of the pool. I did, and he went to the opposite side and sat down.

He stuck his paw in the water, and it began spinning faster and faster, until the water became totally white. I was about to ask him what he was doing, but I decided not to as I saw five dark figures appear in the snow. I squinted, trying to see what they were. "That's… Toboe!" I said. "And Kiba, and Blue, and the rest of them.."

The gray wolf nodded. "You will be traveling with them to Paradise, and even beyond that."

I shifted my paws. "So… You're saying that I am the prophecy wolf?" I asked nervously.

"No." He said. "I don't know who the prophecy wolf is. If it were so easy to recognize this wolf, it would constantly be overwhelmed by different wolves, humans, and I'm sure other creatures as well. If you are, however, then you will be with those wolves the rest of your life."

"Talk about pressure…" I mumbled. I then became confused after remembering how Kiba had said he could feel Paradise flowing from me. I shifted my paws, whining quietly.

The wolf twitched his ear. "Something troubles you?"

I sighed. "It's just… This one wolf said he thought he could feel Paradise coming from me. But you just said that the prophecy wolf isn't easily recognized. What does that mean?"

"Each wolf has a piece of Paradise inside of them." He said. "It can be strong, or weak, depending on the wolf. You must have had strong ties to Paradise while you were there; am I correct?"

"I guess so…" I replied.

The entire room suddenly started shaking as a voice came from nowhere. I barked and adjusted my footing, trying not to lose my balance. Kira? It said; it was extremely familiar. Kira! It said again.

I recognized the voice after the second time. "That was Toboe!" She said looking around. Everything was starting to fade; the pool, the walls, the floor, even the wolf. I whined and flattened my ears, scared. "What's going on?"

"You're waking up." Said the old wolf.

"Waking… What?" I asked anxiously.

"You're dreaming." He hissed. "You're still asleep with the others."

"What? Then is all of the information you just told me fake?" I yowled.

He was becoming even more fuzzy. "No; it's all real."

"B-but how will I know what to do?"

"If you need help, sleep and come to me for answers." He said, his voice becoming wheezy. "Now wake up."

I jerked upwards and howled as I became blind again. Flipping around, staring and trying to find a light to run to, I heard the old wolf whisper. "Don't tell them…" He said. "…Not yet."

"Ah!" I screamed, jolting up and hitting my head on the cave ceiling. "Oww…" I complained, rubbing my head.

Toboe jumped backwards. "What's wrong?" He asked.

Taking in the surroundings, my heart began beating less rapidly when I realized where I was. "N-nothing; sorry… Just a nightmare." My tail was puffed up to almost twice its original size.

Tsume snorted and rolled his eyes. "Pups…" I swiveled my ear; ignoring his comment.

Kiba stood up from the back and stepped outside. "We need to get going." He said. "It's past sundown."

The snow was only falling lightly now, and it wasn't hard, icy flakes that hurt when they struck you. It was fluffy and soft, and felt like pieces of a cloud.

The rest of us stepped out as well, stretching and yawning and eating some of the snow to get a quick drink. "Everyone ready?" Hige asked, looking around. Without even saying, 'let's go', Kiba started walking off. I cocked my head to the side and followed, along with the rest of the group.

I tried staying calm as I plodded through the freshly fallen snow, because I was still a bit shaky from the dream. Toboe grabbed my tail and pulled me backwards, letting the group get in front of us a little ways. I yipped a bit as my tail stung, and sat down with a huff. "What is it?"

The pup whined. "You sure you're okay? You're trembling…" He flattened his ears. "What was your nightmare, Kira?"

"Hey, runts! Get a move on!" Tsume shouted from ahead.

I growled and started walking. Toboe bit my tail again. "Kira!" He said through a mouthful of my fur, irritated.

Sighing, I turned my head around. "I'll tell you when we stop, okay?" She said, wanting to get moving.

"Okay…" Toboe said, disappointed. We ran up to the group again and plodded through the snow. Looking ahead, I gave an annoyed grunt as I saw I couldn't even see where the land ended and the sky started. This is going to be a long trip…