Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I don't own DN Angel, or a castle… but I wish I did.

AN: Double digits! That always feels special… thank you all who have read and reviewed!

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When Krad finally reined in his horse, I skidded to a stop beside him, panting. The white stallion was dripping foam onto the flagstones, and shied away from me a bit. Krad sighed. "Forgive him. Alai isn't fond of wolves." A horse named Alai. Another named Quark. How many other odd names were going to come to my attention in this land? Apparently many, as I soon discovered.

A young boy, certainly no older than twelve or so, and probably only eleven, dashed out of the stables we were standing in front of and bowed low, keeping, I noticed, a wary eye on me. He had shaggy brown hair with an odd green tint to it, and wore a baggy shirt, overalls, and a large floppy cap, which he removed as he bowed. He was barefoot. "Prince Krad," he said happily. I took it that the royal family was well liked here. "It is a pleasure to see you back here…" he had looked up at Krad, and something flickered on his face; surprise.

"Saddle Quark," Krad snapped, and I realized he had seen the look on the boy's face as well. The boy bowed low again, and stuttering an apology, dashed back into the dark, musty-smelling building. I rather wanted to follow him, but I had a feeling that would be a bad idea. I didn't want to get chased out of the place followed by horseshoes and maybe a horse or two; not now. "They might be a minute…"

"Who was that?" I asked. Krad shook his head.

"If I even wanted to pretend to know everyone's names," he said, "I'd have to carry around a memo book." I laughed, but I felt rather ill. How many people were here? Why did they look at me like I was diseased? I asked Krad, half fearing the answer.

He was silent for a long moment. Then, in a hesitant voice, he said: "It's because of the Hunt. The Wolf Hunt." I stared at him. "Rue, listen to me. It's a tradition from ages ago; a royal tradition. Alai and Quark are both Hunt horses." I would have said more; asked more; but then, the young stable boy led Quark out. I did a double-take.

Quark was blue. I later learned the coloring was called 'blue roan', but at the moment, I was too stunned to even ask. The horse (the blue horse) was wearing a brown leather saddle, silver-toned reins, and a gleaming gold faceplate. His hooves were shining black, as though they'd been polished, and the silver horseshoes gleamed as well. He stood there, staring at Krad and Alai and I, fidgeting with the bit in his mouth; twitching his ears back and forth. Alai snorted. Quark nickered softly, and with a start, I realized I was able to understand their basic conversation.

We aren't to hurt it, Alai said.

Why would I? It stands next to you and lives; I could do nothing to it. Quark's reply was quick, and a bit sarcastic, I thought. I grinned and decided I like Quark.

The other beasts are hunted, Alai said. But Master doesn't let me try to kill this one. He stamped the hoof closest to me; it clattered against the cobblestone. Quark whinnied and threw his head up, pulling the reins out of the stable boy's hand. He caught them again quickly, and most certainly apologized to Krad, but I didn't hear it. I was still in shock.

The Wolf Hunt. I sat down on the ground. Then I flopped onto my stomach. I felt ill. The Wolf Hunt. They killed us for tradition. Wolves like Raiden and Odessa, like that red-furred wolf with her twisted paw. They killed us. What were they going to do to me? What would happen to me?

"What…?" I whimpered; then put my paws over my muzzle. Krad did not hear me, and therefore did not answer.

I stayed like this for several minutes, until I heard footsteps on the cobblestone and the stable boy exclaim: "Prince Satoshi!"

"At ease Warren," he said gently. The boy relaxed at once. I pricked my ears forward. So Satoshi knew this boy? I sat up slowly, swiveling my ears around. All I could hear were the sounds of horses. I stared at Satoshi's feet. He was wearing shoes. And spurs. "Rue," he said, "I'd like you to meet Warren, my page." The term puzzled me, but I stood up and trotted over to the boy. "Warren, this is Rue." I nosed the boy's hand, and he scratched my ears. Then I glanced over at Satoshi.

He still seemed to be dressed casually, in a loose fitting black shirt (or maybe it was too big for him?) with silver crosses on the shoulders, and black pants. His wings glittered in an almost fiery contrast to his black clothing, and his blue eyes held a steady sort of defiance in them as he looked at his brother. He calmly took Quark's reins from Warren's hands, and leapt into the saddle. "You've been practicing while I was away, I take it?" Warren nodded. "And Luke has been doing well?"

"He's broke now sir," Warren said, "at least, it looks like he's finally used to the saddle. But he's still too jumpy for any of the swords or fencing practice." I guessed that Luke was this boy's horse.

"That's good," Satoshi said, "that's fine. I'll be around after dinner to look at him, if you'll let me." He did not act at all like a prince. He talked to this boy, a peasant at least three years younger than himself, as though they were equals. I guessed that was a reason behind some of the tension that sometimes appeared between him and Krad.

"Of course," Warren replied, "I'll have him saddled and ready to go." He bowed again, and Satoshi and Krad set off at an easy trot now. The stable boy gave me one last scratch behind my ears, and then I bounded after the horses.

"Rue," Krad said as I neared him, "I would imagine that you've heard the term warhound enough now to know what one is… and that that is what you now are." I felt annoyed.

"Don't tell me what I am or not," I said, "you don't own me." Krad shrugged.

"True enough," he said. "Would you like to be a warhound?" I didn't like his tone of voice. It was dangerous; quiet.

"I think you'll only let me say one thing," I said. Alai snorted uneasily. "So, I'll say yes. But I'll live with Daisuke and his family, not in some damned royal kennel."

"Watch how you speak to me," Krad snapped. I snarled at him, at those mad cat-eyes that had once been soft amber. And I did not speak to him again as we went towards the palace.

As we neared the courtyard and the fountain again, the horses walking almost in step, I saw someone I had never wanted to see again.

"Krad!" It was Lyra, who was now seemingly overjoyed to see him. Her hair was shining in the now evening light, and the (blood red) crimson gown she wore now made me think she was a different person.

At least, until she used me as a springboard to jump onto Alai's back. I felt my legs –all four of them –buckle. I felt like I had just fallen about fifty feet. I'd had the wind knocked out of me and was almost certain my right hind leg was in splinters. "Lyra, I think you've killed her." Krad's voice was easy, almost careless, but I detected a harsh note beneath it. That note gave me just enough strength to push myself onto my feet.

"Don't worry about it Krad," Lyra said. "See, it's fine. Besides, there are plenty of others." I realized she was talking about me, and I snarled. "What's wrong puppy," she asked mockingly, "lost your voice?" I started seeing red again.

"Rue," Satoshi said quietly. Instantly, the red vanished from my vision. "Come here a moment." My leg, contrary to what I had though before, was not broken. Quark shied away from me a bit, but then stood still. His ears swiveled a bit, and his brown eyes watched me like a hawk's through the golden faceplate, but he didn't move. "Krad, is it okay if we're a bit late?"

"No," Krad replied. "So if you're looking for armor, hurry." Satoshi sighed and turned Quark around. I followed, having absolutely no idea what either of them was talking about. Quark stirred himself into a canter, and I ran beside him. His hoofbeats were like a fast waltz: one two three one two three… Then Satoshi slowed down in front of a low-set brick building.

"Our armory," he said, dismounting and tying Quark's reins securely to a horizontal wooden post tied to a rope. "Most of it is underground." I nodded, and followed him in. It was dark and dusty, and smelled rather like mildew. Satoshi hit something on the wall, and lights flickered on.

"Oh," I gasped. Everything was sparkling, metals of all colors and jewels of every kind there was. "You said most of it was underground?" Satoshi smiled.

"Yep. C'mon, I'll show you. First things first –we've got to get Hanone." I had almost forgotten about the sword I'd found at the laboratory –at home. It was hard thinking of it like that now. The laboratory was about as close to home as the moon was to me.

The mildew smell came from the bales of hay much of the armor in the main room was stacked on. The lights glowed with a reddish-orange glow, unlike the fluorescents I had seen all my life, as though they were candles. It created a peaceful and somewhat mysterious aura in the room as I followed Satoshi through a door into another chamber.

This one was filled with weapons. I saw longswords, rapiers, crossbows, knives, daggers, maces, and many things I couldn't describe. And, of course, I saw Hanone, sitting on a pair of hooks that I thought looked horribly like the lower halves of two wolves' jawbones. Satoshi took it down from its spot on the wall, but didn't hand it to me. "Do you mind if I carry it?" He asked, "That way we can talk."

"No, it's fine," I replied. "Thank you." He smiled, grabbing a bow and a quiver of arrows as he turned around.

"Hey," he said as he went back to the main room with me on his heels, "I'm sorry I didn't answer you when we were walking. It's just that… I don't really know what happened, but I just got this… almost an urge, I guess, to… to kill. I don't know what's wrong with me."

"It happens to all of us," I replied. "Besides, I know I can get pretty annoying sometimes." I had forgotten exactly what I had said during our walk, but I figured it was my fault. Satoshi smiled, but he didn't seem satisfied with my answer. His wings glimmered in the glowing light as he opened another door, this one leading to a flight of stairs that went down. We descended into darkness, until I began relying on my ears to determine where Satoshi was.

"It gets pretty dark here," Satoshi said, "because we try to make anyone who comes in here without knowing what's on the other end think that it's just a tunnel. Personally, I'd just bar up the door and get rid of this… but my opinion is next to nothing in court."

"Why not?" I asked, "Aren't you a prince?" Satoshi laughed bitterly.

"In title only," he said, "in truth, I'm a knight. Warren, as you heard before, is my page." He seemed to realize I still had no clue what a page was. "My apprentice," he explained. "Here, we're almost through." Sure enough, I could see a faint movement to my left that was Satoshi. It was getting lighter. A few seconds later, I felt my paws hit earth instead of wooden stair, and soon, the two of us stood in a dim room. I could see metal glinting gently around me, but nothing else until Satoshi flicked the lights on. I gasped.

All around me stood armor in silver and gold, steel and iron, set with rubies and emeralds and diamonds and so many other gems I won't begin to describe them to you. Some were plain, and these were the ones Satoshi went for first.

"The first thing you'll want is plate armor," he said, "we don't actually use chainmail with warhounds because it tends to slow them down too much." I followed him, still in awe of everything around me. The plate armor, as Satoshi called it, consisted of several sheets of metal that were hooked together with strong metal links. I nosed at them, scanning over the ones that I didn't like, until a sparkle caught my eye.

It was plate armor of polished silvery steel, very plain and very beautiful. "How about this?" I asked Satoshi cautiously. He looked at it, then set Hanone down and picked it up.

"This…" he smiled. "It suits you. Here." He picked it up and placed it gently on my back. My legs almost buckled. "I forgot to mention… it's heavy." The plate armor draped from the base of my neck to the tip of my tail, and covered my shoulders and hips. It must have weighed thirty pounds.

"I noticed," I grumbled, readjusting my position so that the weight was more evenly spread. "So what's next?"

"Hold still for a sec," Satoshi replied. I began to notice that he used more slang when he wasn't around Krad. "I want you to tell me if this is too tight, okay?" He reached under my chest to where a leather strap swung in the air. It felt about two inches wide, and when it was hooked to the other side of the armor, it was snug but didn't restrict my breathing. Then he fastened another strap, even wider, across my belly. I knew instantly that I wouldn't be able to defeat any warhounds the same way I had defeated Raiden.

I swished my tail as he stood up, and grinned. "Feels fine," I growled, "thanks." He grinned at me, and turned again.

"Don't move," he said, "I'll be right back." He dashed off, and I could hear a sort of dull clanking sound coming from the direction he'd run towards. Only a few moments later, he returned carrying two pieces of metal that were curved in slightly, and I assumed would go on my front legs. I was right.

"They're a perfect fit," I said, surprised. "Is that… odd?" Satoshi shook his head.

"Nah," he replied, buckling them onto my legs with yet more leather straps, "most of the warhounds have about the same length legs, so this is about the length the metal smiths make them." I nodded, examining the sheets of metal. They were the same silvery color as the armor I wore, and had a scrolling pattern running up the front. At the top there was what looked like a crest –two wings crossed over a sword with its point facing up. I had plenty of room to move my shoulders and ankles comfortably, and the metal of the armor seemed to rustle when I turned. I felt like a different person –a different wolf. Or maybe, a new warhound.

"So what's next?" I asked, honestly curious now (not that I hadn't cared at first).

"Next," Satoshi said, "and last, you need a helmet." I felt my ears shiver, which I would later learn was a sign of excitement to me. "Follow me; I've already got a few ideas, but since it's supposed to be personal… it's your choice." I followed him through an unbarred archway as he spoke, ready to have my breath taken away once again.

I was not disappointed. Satoshi plucked a bright silver-colored helmet from its stand as he walked in, and explained, "You'll have two helmets: one for actual fighting, which I hope you never wear," he indicated the one he held in his hands, "and another, which will be used for ceremonies and other special occasions." He indicated the easily three hundred other helmets that sat in the room, and I slowly began examining each one. The first one that caught my eye was solid gold and set with diamonds, sparkling in the light. It did not seem to be anything other than beautiful though, and I walked on. Another piece of beauty I saw was a black-colored metal helmet set with dozens of tiny emeralds that glowed like dots of poison. But sitting next to it was something that dragged my eyes away completely.

This helmet was silver, and set with hundreds of tiny sapphires that covered the surface completely, like fish scales. It had two slits for my ears, and reached over my muzzle, leaving a large gash for my eyes. The only spot that wasn't covered in jewels was the small piece that went over the bridge of my nose.

"I think I've found it," I said softly. Satoshi walked over and smiled.

"Krad will hate that you've chosen my colors," he said quietly, picking it up and placing it gently on my head. The helmet was open on the bottom so that my jaw was free for biting, and in my case, speaking as well.

"And I'll wear them proudly," I answered.

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AN: I cannot apologize enough for how late this is. Please forgive me, and please review!

Also, a note to those of you who are following any of my other stories: please check my profile to see what I'm planning on updating this week (since I'm too lazy to type out all of the titles)! I'm not dead yet!