Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Hey, Krad!

Krad: What?

Me: Do I own DN Angel?

Krad: Why on earth should I answer such an idiotic question?

Me: Because if you do, I'll give you this. *Holds out automatic rifle* It might make catching Dark easier…

Krad: *Grabs gun* No you do not! *Flies away*

*long pause*

Me: Why do I have a feeling I just did something terrible in the name of entertainment?

…

As I scampered and ran through the forest, I wished I had ten more pairs of eyes. Especially because I had to keep Krad and Daisuke in sight, since I didn't know my way around. But there was so much to see, so much to hear, so much to smell, that I didn't pay either of them much attention as I darted between trees. I simply allowed my senses to be my guides.

I stuck my nose in a bright red flower and sneezed, then heard Krad chuckle behind me. Contrary to what I had first believed, his new eyes were full of expression, though not what they had been before. Daisuke stayed about a pace behind Krad, and he too had laughter in his eyes. "C'mere Rue," he said, "You've got pollen all over your nose." Looking cross-eyed down at my nose, I saw he was right and obediently trotted over to him and let him dust off my nose.

"Well," I said with a grin, "Maybe I shouldn't stick my nose into any more flowers?" Daisuke laughed.

"Maybe not," he replied. I grinned and stuck my nose into the next breeze that swept around us, smelling the scents of the forest.

And then I smelled it. That sweet, salty tang in the air that was mixed with fur and sweat and… something else that I knew but didn't know. And something inside me, deep, deep inside me, snapped.

I took off so fast… I ran into a tree. Or rather, I almost did. I glanced off it and jumped to another. Good gods, now I was part squirrel. Then I felt my paws hit the ground and tore off, dodging around the trees and towards that smell. Tree branches whipped past me, I heard Krad and Daisuke shout something behind me but didn't pay attention, and somewhere far off, I heard a howl.

A wolf's howl. And I howled right back. There was a thin ring of red around my vision, and my senses felt multiplied even more than usual. I didn't know what I was chasing, but I knew I wanted to catch it, whatever it was.

I didn't know it then, but I was hunting. I ran along the forest ground, my paws beating a cadence of hunger and bloodlust, as another howl tore itself from my throat. Ah, how this felt so right! I couldn't imagine anything better than this… Except having my body back and being with my parents.

But those thoughts didn't come to me as I ran. I just went ahead, following my nose, until I ran out of ground. I was standing at a cliff at least twenty feet high, staring down at a stampeding herd of moose and the small wolf pack that was trying to separate a sickly old bull from the rest. I almost laughed at them. They were going about it all wrong…if they attacked from above, they would have higher velocity, and would create more impact. In fact…

I took several steps back and prayed that I would live through this. Then I ran forward and jumped. I hung in the air for several seconds, moving forward, and then I dropped. As I sped towards the ground, I saw that I was headed for a younger bull moose, probably only two years old, but much tastier looking than that old sick thing the others were chasing, and with much more meat on its bones. I braced myself for impact and opened my jaws wide, ready to snap his neck when I landed (hopefully) on his back. I did.

The moose bucked and jumped and threw itself away from the herd in its panic, but I dug my claws into its hide and hung on, snapping at its neck, trying to get a good hold of it. It felt right, hunting alone. Good. I could hear someone else speaking, but I couldn't make out much more than 'going to be killed'. It was the wolves, it must have been. But I'd prove them wrong. I dug my claws deep into the moose's hide, and bit deep. I felt my teeth sink through flesh, and fur, and muscle, and finally settle on the creature's spinal cord. My jaw tightened and I felt the bone snap.

The moose tumbled head over hooves, and for one terrifying moment, I was pinned beneath it. Then it rolled over onto its side and lay still. I pulled myself away from it and shook myself off, the dust fairly flying from my coat. Then I stared at my kill for a moment; the blood still trailing from the wounds in its neck and back, and then, almost without thought, I tore the fur and skin away from its shoulder and began to eat. I don't know when I became aware of being watched, but I had been eating for several minutes.

"Who's there?" I growled, knowing I was speaking the wolf's language.

"It is I," a voice answered, "Raiden, leader of this territory's pack. Why are you hunting in our lands?" I did not turn.

"I will not chase you away from food," I snapped, "If you are hungry, come and eat. I am passing through; I will be gone soon enough and I don't wish to fight with the packs I come by." I heard Raiden growl behind me, and soon, a sleek black she-wolf came around, opposite me.

"I am Odessa," she said, "Raiden's mate. Thank you for sharing your kill with us; most lone wolves are not as kind." A moment later, she was joined by Raiden, a creamy colored wolf who looked as though he had never lost a fight. His hide was littered with scars, and a portion of his right ear was bitten away. I liked them both at once.

"As I said," I replied, looking down again, "I do not hunt those who hunger. I will leave you now, and be on my way." Raiden looked at me strangely.

"What you wear around your throat is a mark of man," he commented.

"It is a gift," I said, "A last gift, from my father." Odessa caught my eye, and she seemed frightened. I took a step back, away from my kill, before I realized the other wolves behind the two alphas. "Let them eat," I said quietly. I knew of the hierarchy of the wolves, that the alphas ate their fill first, then allowed the rest of the pack to take what was left, but it suddenly struck me as wrong. There was a thin, young, red she-wolf at the back of the pack, who favored her back left paw. She reminded me of who I had been, as a human. She should be eating; her ribs stuck out through her sides. She should be eating, not these fat, sleek wolves! "Let the others eat."

"I do not know where you come from," Raiden snarled, "But that is not how we do things here." I growled, a sound that came deep from my throat and vibrated out past my teeth, past my lips. "You will fight me over this?" He sounded disbelieving.

"Yes," I said, "Because I have felt starvation." There had been many days where I'd gone to bed hungry; other days where I had woken hungry and gone to bed worse. Days I had stared at the grass and wished I was a cow, or a horse, or anything that could eat the green stalks that stood, bending slightly in the breeze, taunting me. And now, staring at this red wolf, this she-wolf with her lame paw, I felt anger stirring within me. "Just let them eat. You're scarred enough as it is."

I saw Raiden's eyes widen, his nostrils flare, his muscles tense. I was ready when he sprang at me, knocked me to the ground, and I went with it. If I braced myself, I figured, the pain would only be worse. I snapped at his leg, and dug my back paws into his stomach. I drew blood before he leapt away from me, snarling. I flew back to my feet, and lunged at him.

I pinned him in a moment, stood with my teeth wrapped around his throat for several seconds, and then released him. "Come on then," I said to the others, trying to ignore the blood dripping on my nose. "Eat. You must be hungry." Odessa was looking at me as though I'd sprouted feathers.

"Get away from us," she said quietly, "Your masters call you." I turned and saw Krad and Daisuke, with the little white rabbity thing on his shoulder, coming toward us, Krad using Tsume to cut through some of the thicker vegetation. I looked at Odessa for a moment, but she didn't meet my gaze. With my head held high, I walked over to Krad and Daisuke, scrabbling up the cliff face to reach them.

"Don't go any closer to them," I said quietly, and continued walking back the way I'd come, my head now bowed and my tail brushing the forest floor. Behind me, I heard the two begin to follow, and I found I could differentiate the two from the sound of their footsteps. Krad's footsteps were quieter than Daisuke's, but slightly heavier, and Daisuke's were light, but clumsy. I couldn't hear Satoshi's wings, but it didn't bother me. I just kept walking until I found the path again.

"I swear," Krad snarled from behind me, "The first thing I'm going to do when I get home is get you a leash." He was panting, and it was only now that I realized he must have run after me.

With a gentle 'thud', Satoshi landed in front of me. "Krad's right," he said, "You can't just run off like that. Look at the sun." I glanced up, but I couldn't see the light falling in through the chinks of the leaves. I glanced back at Krad, but I could clearly see the look of annoyance on his face. Nothing was in shadow to me, just different colors than normal.

"We'll spend the night here then," Krad said. "Hopefully we can get home tomorrow…" He glared at Daisuke as though this was his fault. I yawned, stretched myself out on the ground, and covered my muzzle with my paws. "Niwa, go find your brother. I swear, if he's been sitting about watching us, I'll kill him."

"Krad," Satoshi cut in before Daisuke could reply. "I haven't seen him. He'll be at the castle, and… it's probably best Rue doesn't meet him now." They must have thought I was asleep, and I didn't bother correcting them. "He's the one who killed her, after all…"

"She's alive now," Krad snapped, "And you act as though I enjoy his company." I could almost see the two in my mind's eye, Krad several inches taller than Satoshi, staring down at him with those strange eyes he'd been given…

But before I had time to finish this image, I felt someone trip over me and fall with a yelp. It was, of course, Daisuke. Something clattered out of his arms, and a moment later, he scrambled away from me. "Sorry Rue," he said, "I was getting firewood..." I stood up, grabbed a branch in my mouth, and dropped it a few feet away.

"Niwa," Krad muttered, "You idiot…" I laughed.

"It's not his fault," I said, trying to pile the wood as best I could using my muzzle. "He can't see like we can." I don't know why I said 'we'. I didn't know if Krad saw things the way I did. But it slipped out of my mouth, and I couldn't take it back.

"That's true," Krad said, "But still…" He didn't finish his sentence, but then again, I doubted he had an end for it. I sighed and sat down, watching with interest as the three began to try and light a fire. "Please tell me someone has got a flint," Krad sighed.

"Yeah," Daisuke replied quietly, "Here." I saw him pass something to Krad, and a moment later, sparks flew with the sound of stone on steel. They didn't catch, of course.

"You brought firewood," Satoshi said dryly, "But it appears you've forgotten kindling." I walked out of camp before I could hear Daisuke's reply. They didn't have any food, and I figured I'd be the best one to go hunting for them. I'd grab a rabbit and be back as soon as I could.

I put my nose to the forest floor and started sniffing around, picking up scents that I didn't know, but instinctively associated with prey. I could even smell the leather of the other's shoes. I kept sniffing and smelling around, keeping low, staying silent, until I finally smelled what I wanted: Rabbit. Maybe it was a hare, I wasn't sure, but I kept my nose to the ground and sniffed around.

The trail was almost too simple to follow, but it took me to something that I wasn't expecting. A trap, with its jaws closed around the leg of a terrified rabbit. It looked like it had been there for a few days – all the grass around it was eaten to the dirt, which was torn and full of claw- and scuff-marks.

It looked at me as I approached; looked me in the eyes, and a silent understanding passed between us. It didn't want to die at the hands of men, used only for its fur. I took another step toward it, and although it shuddered, it stayed where it was. Once more, it looked me in the eyes, asking me silently for a painless death.

I took one last step and snapped its neck.

…

"I brought dinner," I said, walking into camp with the rabbit a few minutes later. It had been a nightmare trying to pry the poor things leg out of the trap, and in the end, I'd just bitten it off. "It's not much, but…" I set it down and curled up away from the now crackling fire, not wanting to watch as they skinned it. In fact, I didn't want to watch anything anymore…

I closed my eyes and drifted into a deep, dreamless sleep.

…

AN: … I don't even know what to say about this… I don't think it's as good as my other chapters… still; this is, in essence, where the real story starts.

Please review!