Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Don't own DN Angel. I don't own DN Angel. I, Pheo, do not own the anime or manga DN Angel. They both belong to Sugisaki Yukiru-sama, and the producers of the show.

…

When I awoke, the first thing I was aware of was the pressure around my neck, still there. I tried to sit up, see where I was, but I could not. I sniffed the air around me, wondering what bound me, but just then, I heard footsteps. Two sets of them; one light and steady, the other heavy and limping, almost grudgingly moving forward. I figured it was Krad and Lyra, and I wondered what I'd done to the girl.

Oh. Uncle… The events of what had occurred before I'd passed out came rushing back to me, and I whimpered with pain and shock. My back felt better now, but the wounds that I now held in my heart were greater than anything of such minority.

Lyra strode in, tall, fearless, almost floating off the ground. She was beautiful; even I had to admit to that fact, but I still hated her. She walked over to me and stroked my head, completely unharmed. I snarled at her, and she drew her hand away. Krad walked in a moment later, limping and leaning against the wall for support. He had a cloth wrapped around his eyes, and his hair was hanging around his face.

"Lyra," he snapped, "Where are we?" I detected impatience in his voice, annoyance even. It seemed like an odd way for one to talk to a future wife.

"I took us to the lab," Lyra replied calmly. She seemed used to Krad's moodiness. "I want to see if I can do anything to fix your eyes." I continued to struggle against my bonds until Lyra ran a hand across my front paws and I was able to sit up.

"And what of my brother?" Krad asked. I noticed he was favoring his right foot, and I wanted to tear Lyra's throat out. Was she really so stuck up that she wouldn't even help him? "What of Satoshi?"

"I sent him to find Daisuke," she said, "I want his advice on what we should with the beast." She gestured towards me, and somehow Krad interpreted her words.

"Her name is Rue," he said, "She was offering to help me. She could have gotten us both out of here without any bloodshed if you hadn't interfered." His voice was bitter as he sank down to the floor, keeping his back to the wall the whole time. "You didn't need to kill that man. He might have been persuaded to help us."

"Krad," I began, but Lyra gave me a sharp tap on my muzzle and I shut up. I tried to paw at whatever was around my neck (I assumed it to be a collar of some sort) but again Lyra hit me. This time, I struck back. I snapped my jaws less than an inch away from her face, and she grabbed my collar and choked me. I fell back, gasping.

"Lyra," Krad said, "Please, just let her be." I heard a snap of wings outside, and a pair of footsteps as well. A few moments later, Satoshi and a boy about his age with spiky red hair and ruby eyes came in. He bowed awkwardly to Lyra and Krad, first him, then her, and then turned to me.

"So, is this what you were talking about?" He asked Satoshi, looking at me. Satoshi nodded.

"Yes. Apparently our future queen cannot decide how to deal with an outside threat…" he trailed off, looking mildly disturbed. "I mean, our two future rulers cannot agree on how to deal with a creature that is only half human…" he shook his head, and then introduced us. "Daisuke, the wolf here is Rue. Rue, this is Daisuke, the son of the present king's advisor and brother to our chief guard, Dark." I bowed my head to the young redhead, who smiled politely at me. I liked Daisuke at once.

"Well," he said, "She seems like she's civil enough…"

"She tried to kill me not half an hour ago!" Lyra cried. Daisuke blinked, processing this information.

"And Krad?" He asked, "What do you think about her?"

"She was ready to help Satoshi and I escape," Krad said without moving. "She came to me and told me she'd help us. She attacked Lyra because she killed Rue's uncle. We need to let her live. She can help us."

"Help you with what?" I asked. Lyra made as if to hit me again, but I snarled at her and snapped my teeth. She pulled her hand back and then looked over at Daisuke as if to prove her point.

"Lyra," Krad said, "Leave her alone! Where is she?" He shook his head and began to unwind the bandage from around his face.

"Leave those on," Lyra snapped. "You look hideous." Krad paid her no heed, and the bandages fell away. He glanced up, and I gasped in shock.

"Your eyes…" I whimpered. "Oh Krad… what did he do to you?" Where Krad's handsome, caring amber eyes had once been now rested a pair of yellow, feline orbs that held little or no emotion whatsoever.

"Don't worry Rue," he said, "I'm still me. He just gave me different eyes. I can see better now anyway." He shrugged and walked over to me, and bent down to scratch my ears. "See Daisuke? She's perfectly friendly when you treat her nice."

"I'm just a bit unsettled," I added, then flinched. "I mean, it's not every day that one wakes as a wolf." Daisuke smiled understandingly.

"I say we let her live," he said quietly, "She seems nice. I like her, and I'm sure she'll get along with everyone else."

"Yes," Krad said, "I believe so. Lyra, do run ahead and tell my parents that we will be coming shortly, and that I'll be bringing a guest who must be treated like royalty herself."

"But-" Lyra protested.

"Go!" Krad snarled, "Now!" Lyra turned and left, and if I wasn't mistaken, she had muttered something that sounded like a spell under her breath. Krad winced.

"What's wrong?" I asked concernedly.

"Nothing," Krad said, "Just a headache. I get them all the time…" he trailed off. "The new eyes aren't helping either."

"It was Lyra," I said, "She said something under her breath when she left." Krad looked at me strangely, and I whimpered and took a step further away from those eyes of his.

"I know Lyra isn't the easiest to get along with," he said, "But I don't believe that she would do something like that." I didn't argue the point, but I was certain that the girl had had something to do with what had happened. "Here." He bent down and slipped the collar off of my neck, and I got my first good look at it. It was black leather, set with a silver name plate.

Rue, it read. All I have left. I felt tears come to my eyes at the simple line, and then I whimpered. I didn't realize how a wolf cried before, or even that one could, but that's what I was doing. I laid down, put my paws over my muzzle, and cried. I forgot where I was, forgot who I was, momentarily forgot everything but that tiny inscription on my collar.

"Put it back on," I said after a minute. "I'd like to keep it." Krad arched his eyebrows, but did as I asked. I felt the weight of the leather settle around my neck, and then there was a long, slow, drawn out silence.

"So," Satoshi finally said, "What should we do now?" He ruffled his wings awkwardly, and I realized he still didn't have a shirt. He must have been freezing.

"It gets cold out here during the night," I said, "Let's see if I can find you a shirt." He seemed taken aback by suggestion, but then shrugged.

"Is there anything I could actually wear?" He asked. I grinned and barked.

"We can cut some slits in the back," I assured him. "C'mon, let me see if I can find something that you can wear." I stood and choked. There was an agonizing pain in my front paw, and I bent down over it and saw a nasty looking thorn poking from the paw pad. I winced, then nipped at it until it came free. It bled a bit, but I licked at it and the bleeding stopped quickly enough. I limped off and Satoshi followed me. I heard Krad and Daisuke continue to talk behind me, but didn't bother paying attention.

"So where are we going to find a shirt?" Satoshi asked. I pointed my muzzle in the direction of the spot he had been chained, where I had first seen him. "Oh. That makes sense." I nodded and continued forward, sniffing at the air. It smelled clean, with only the faintest traces of The City that lay to the east. My uncle hadn't lived there, or in The Woods. We were never City Dwellers or Outcasts, like Krad and Satoshi were.

"Satoshi," I said, "What is it like out… there?" I heard him sigh behind me, and I swiveled my ears to better catch his words.

"Being an Outcast is… different, I suppose, than this," he said hesitantly, "It is… very…" he sighed in frustration. "It's difficult to describe, and since I am a prince, it becomes even harder to determine what it is like to be a commoner." I nodded, still sniffing towards the faint traces of the smell that I thought smelled like Satoshi did. A few hundred feet more and I found his shirt. I scooped it up in my mouth and trotted back over to him. He took it and smiled gratefully at me. I barked and swished my tail from side to side, happy that I could have been of some sort of assistance.

"Now, I know uncle never kept blades here," I said, feeling a pang of sadness just mentioning him. "He never even kept a scalpel around. Anything sharp was kept over in a separate building." I pointed towards it and started walking.

Snap. Snap. I pricked my ears high and listened intensely for several seconds. Snap. Snap.

"Satoshi," I whispered, "Do you hear anything?"

"Is there something I should be hearing?" He asked. I sighed and shook my head, then continued onward. It was nearing two or three in the morning, and I felt about ready to drop. The crickets weren't even chirping anymore. There was a gentle breeze blowing through my fur, and I took a moment to let myself savor the feeling that way I savored my first kill (the mouse) this afternoon. Then I continued onward.

"We're almost there," I said, "What's it like to fly?"

"It's amazing," Satoshi said, "Almost too much so to describe. I would thank your uncle if…" he trailed off, and I pinned my ears flat to my head.

"I'll kill her one day," I growled, "Oh, she'll rue the day she messed with me!" Bad pun Rue… I scolded myself.

"Be careful," Satoshi warned, "I like her about as much as you do, and don't bother listening to Krad. He can't stand the sight of her. He should have sent me to inform our parents about your coming. His is to be a forced marriage… I feel sorry for him."

"Hey," I replied as I went over to the door of the storage shed, "If I kill her, I can get rid of all of his problems."

"And be exiled," Satoshi said as I tried to figure out how to punch in the six-digit code on the door's lock.

"Ah," I muttered, "Hey, can you give me a hand with this lock? The code's 6-2-8-3-4." Satoshi walked over and punched in the numbers, and the door hissed open.

"Interesting," Satoshi said, "I suppose that's run on hydraulics?" I nodded, stepping into the dark building. I grabbed the lever that controlled the lights in my mouth and pulled down on it. Slowly, the lights flickered on. "Wow. Your uncle sure has a lot of knives."

"Yeah," I replied, "He's got some swords in the back. See anything you like, feel free to take it. In the meantime, I think I'm going to…" I yawned and circled twice before lying down, then I put my head on my paws and promptly passed out.

…

"Erm…" Satoshi woke me only a few minutes later. "Rue, I think I found something you might like to see."

"Huh?" I replied, still have asleep. I had been having the most wonderful dream about food… "Wha' izit 'Toshi…?"

"Rue," Satoshi said, "I think… I think it's you."

…

AN: Tada! And here we have chapter three! It's still not very long, but it's here! What does Satoshi mean? Will Rue kill Lyra for real? Will she ever get something to eat? Stay tuned! Oh, and please review! Reviews keep me motivated! Plus it's fun to see what people think of this!