Chapter 7

Disclaimer: Grr… grr, ruff bark woof!

Rue: That's wolf for 'I don't own DN Angel, and if you try to sue me, I'll bite you.'

Me: Oh. I meant to say 'I don't own DN Angel. If anyone tries to sue me, I'll have Rue bite them.'

Rue: Eww… No thanks.

Me: Rue, just go along with it! If I'm sued you'll cease to exist!

Rue: I will bite you if you think Pheo here owns DN Angel. There. Was that good?

Me: Yes. Now, onto the story!

…

When I woke the next day, it was early morning and the other three were already awake, talking around the remains of last night's fire. I padded up to them, still half asleep, and sat down. "Morning," I said with a yawn.

"Yes," Satoshi replied sarcastically, "Clever observation that is." I pinned my ears at him, having never been fond of sarcasm unless it was coming from my own mouth- erm, muzzle. "Anyway, we think we'll be able to get home today. If it's all the same to you, we've decided it best you stay with Daisuke's family at first." I seemed to remember that Daisuke's brother was Dark… and Dark had killed me (when I was human)… I figured we'd have to settle our differences sooner or later.

"Whatever you think is best," I replied. What I was thinking was slightly different. Someone will end up dead. Most likely this 'Dark' person. "When do we start off?"

"Now," Krad said. He hadn't looked at me at all, and even now, he glanced off in the direction we'd be heading instead of towards me. It stung a bit, though I wasn't sure why. He stood up and walked away, Satoshi leapt into the air, and Daisuke clambered up to follow Krad. I stayed where I was for a moment before standing slowly and following the redhead. My tail brushed the forest floor, and I kept my head level with the rest of my body, picking up and setting down my feet with utmost care. I made no sound. I felt like a shadow, light as air and as dark as midnight, aside from the light gray sock running up my right leg.

We had been walking for several hours when we came to a stream and Krad had us stop. Satoshi swooped down like a hawk on the other side; Krad arched his eyebrows, but Satoshi seemed to shrug him off with his eyes. I quickly lowered my head and took a drink; after all, it was abnormally warm for the season. I had a feeling I wasn't supposed to see what I just had.

When the water stilled, I got my first look at my new face. I managed to catch myself off guard, and jumped backwards when I saw the black face and lolling pink tongue staring up at me. Then I shook my head, embarrassed, and looked again. My face was straight black, and unscarred. My eyes were gold and feral; they practically glowed, though not with any particular feeling. My ears were edged with the same gray as my leg, but other than that, I saw that I had no markings anywhere.

I turned away and jumped over the water, circled twice, and collapsed. Not that I was tired, but I did want off of my feet. My paws still hadn't healed from digging, and I licked the dirt away from the scabs. (It may sound odd to you, but to me, it felt natural.) After I'd done that, I sat up and listened to the others.

"If we leave now," Krad was saying, "We can get there in a few hours."

"And if we don't?" Satoshi asked, spreading his wings and settling them against his back again.

"Rue will most likely get picked off for a fur coat."

"What about me being a fur coat?" I asked, shocked.

"The Hunt," Satoshi said simply. "You're right Krad, we ought to get going. Daisuke, are you okay?" The latter nodded and stood, and Satoshi spread his wings again; then seemed to think better of it. "I think I'll walk with you three, if that's alright." Krad nodded and jumped the stream as I had, with Daisuke quickly following him. This time, I trotted attentively next to Satoshi instead of bringing up the rear of this strange procession. We spoke very little, but I didn't really care. It was nice to walk beside him.

The forest still captivated me, though not in the way it had yesterday. It was still the same forest, beautiful, with green tinted light and shafts of gold shining through the foliage, with jewel colored birds flying through the branches and the sounds (and unfortunately, bite marks) of bugs, but it seemed different now. I had begun to call it home.

…

Several hours later, I heard a gentle rustling in a tree that stood a few yards ahead of us. I didn't think much of it (but that it was a squirrel and possibly could be lunch) until a few minutes later. I heard the same noise again and suddenly stopped, swiveling my ears around to better catch the sound. I growled slightly.

"Rue?" Satoshi asked, "What's wrong?" I didn't answer immediately, as I was still trying to find where the noise was coming from, but then pointed my muzzle towards a thick old oak, not two feet to Krad's left.

"We're being followed," I said, my voice barely audible. A moment later, Hanone thudded into the ground at my feet. Krad had thrown it to me, practically putting it through my left paw. I tried to pull it out of the dirt, but I couldn't get a good grip on the hilt and left it, figuring my teeth and claws would work just as well for the task at hand.

"Er, Prince?" Daisuke said quietly, "I think it's just my brother." I blinked. Dark was here? How perfect. I jumped straight up the tree, scrabbling up the bark with my claws, and found him quickly. His hair didn't really camouflage him in the green foliage…

"Goddammit you stupid mutt! Get off of me!" This, of course, was after I had knocked him out of the tree and to the ground. I hadn't heard any bones break, so I assumed he was either trained to be knocked to the ground by vicious wolves or we'd landed on something soft. Either way, I probably would've killed him if Krad hadn't stopped me.

"Rue," he snapped, "Act civilized. As much as I'd love to see you kill him, we can't afford to lose a guard." I snarled and wrapped my fangs around his neck before loping back to the others. "Rue, this is Dark. Dark, this is the girl you killed two days ago."

If Dark was surprised, he didn't show it. "You seem… fuzzier. And less dead." I snarled again, and was pleased to see a bit of color drain from his face.

"Yes," Krad said before I could get a word out, "And where were you when we were captured? You were supposed to keep guard while we broke into that damned laboratory!" I will freely admit that Krad scares me. I will also freely admit that he looked about ready to kill Dark.

"Where do you think I was?" Dark asked, not waiting for an answer before continuing. "I was sitting in that tree, watching the forest as you'd ordered me to." Tsume landed a half inch away from his leg, and Krad sighed. "You never were good at that," Dark said, almost smiling.

"Oh shut up," Krad said tiredly. "I've rethought my plans; what Lyra told you is wrong. It's too dangerous for Rue to come straight to my parents, so I'm going to have her live with you and Daisuke."

"Too dangerous? What, afraid your pet'll get butchered for attacking someone else?"

"I'm no one's pet!" I snarled. Instantly, I realized my mistake. "And yes, I talk, get over it and remember next time you kill a scientist's niece that we don't die so easily."

"No one's pet, huh?" Dark asked, "You look like you'd make a decent war hound to me." This time, Hanone stuck itself into a tree trunk about a foot to Dark's right. Again, Krad had thrown it, though this time I think he was just trying to shut Dark up.

"Come on," Krad said, "Keep moving. Rue, if Dark gets too annoying, feel free to bite him, but no killing please."

I sighed, but made no comment. I had hoped Dark would jump back into the canopy of trees, but he seemed content to finish the journey with us on foot. I left him alone though. I suppose I wanted to obey orders, though why I couldn't fathom. So I walked, still to Satoshi's right, and ignored the assassin behind me.

After about half an hour, I dropped back a few paces, beside Daisuke. "I'm sorry," I said. He didn't reply, but I hoped he would forgive me for attempting to kill his brother. Otherwise, it might be a bit awkward living with him. "How long do you think it will be before we get… there?" I just realized I had no idea what Daisuke's hometown –or, I suppose I should say, kingdom –was called.

"Algernon," Daisuke replied, "And another hour, at the least." I nodded. My feet hurt. Some of the cuts on the bottom of my paws had come open again, and leaves and dirt and bits of twig were making me wince with every step. I was panting, and I choked on a fly. This was going to be a long hour.

"Stop here," Krad said, "We might as well take a break." I instantly sat down and started licking my paws, trying my best to clean the dirt away from the torn flesh. Satoshi jumped up to the nearest tree branch, and Dark quickly followed. Daisuke sat down a few feet from me, and Krad leaned against the nearest tree.

Eventually I let myself flop over onto my side, my legs sticking straight out. Dark sighed from overhead. "You look like you were hit by a car."

"Never seen one," I replied. "Never went to the City."

"I'll admit, you're not missing much," Dark said. "And it's hard for people like us to blend in. Most people there look more like your uncle did… or I guess like our mom." I laughed slightly at that.

"So, not that I know your mom, but I'm guessing that brown hair is common?"

"All there is, really," Dark replied. "Brown hair and eyes, suits, and smog over gray buildings." I shuddered. To imagine, that there was all this light and beauty and color here… and only a few days away… something like that. The idea scared me.

"We couldn't hide in there for a minute," Krad cut in, "And there, there are no dogs or wolves… nothing really, but people and buildings." I closed my eyes, wishing my hearing wasn't so good. "We'll set off again in a few minutes… you okay?" I opened one eye, just to confirm that he was talking to me. He was.

"I hope so," I said, standing.

"We'll get something for your paws once you're settled in with us," Daisuke said. I grinned at him, baring my fangs. He smiled back, and even though it was a nervous grin, it lightened my footsteps (or would it be pawsteps?) the rest of the way to Algernon.

And the moment I saw it, I knew I was home.

…

AN: I really, really hate myself for the length of this… I swear to you all, I'm trying to write long chapters, but the drive just isn't here right now. Maybe once school starts back up and I start getting more sleep… (I start the first of September, bleh…)

Anyway, reviews would be greatly appreciated! Thank you to those who have reviewed already, you all encourage me to pick up a pencil and get to writing!