Anyone excited? Well, you're excitement can now be tamed with…chapter 3!
We all run in that direction and stop as we see a man carrying Cheza. Everything is silent as we stare at each other for a while before the man begins to speak "Wolves. You have my gratitude for it was you who woke her." Stealing a quick glance at Hige I take a step forward "Who the hell are you?" "The Flower Maiden…is mine." Kiba stiffens behind me as Hige questions him "The Maiden? Is that Cheza?" The man ignores Hige's questions and grabs Cheza by the back of her neck and holds her up in the air as she lets out an ear shattering cry. Holding her in his arms again he begins to glow and fades away as he gives us a parting goodbye "We'll meet in paradise. If we meet again that is." As he fades away and the light gets brighter Kiba and I run towards him and stop when everything is quiet and the man and Cheza are gone. After a minute all the lights in the buildings begin to operate again and it is only then I had realized they went out.
Several minutes later
We walk through the sewers as Hige questions Kiba "Where the hell are we going? Places like this are rough for my delicate nose." Kiba keeps wading through the water as he answers him "I gotta hunch there's food down here." Lifting his hand up and plugging his nose as he walks Hige stops for a second and then keeps walking again. Kiba continues walking as he finishes his sentence "Just a hunch." It's at this moment several rats run across the concrete in front of Kiba.
A few minutes later
Sitting next to Hige we finish off the rats we had picked up and I watch as Kiba aligns all of the tails in a straight line in between him and us. Hige leans back and states "Looks like that guy stole the only clue we had. And the scent of Lunar Flowers is gone now too." I turn to Kiba as he responds "Hige, he knew about paradise. That's why he took her." Shrugging his shoulders Hige mumbles "We'll just have to find another flower. She can't be the only one around right?" I watch the water run past our feet as I put in something "That man knew us. He saw what we were the minute he looked at us." Hige closes his eyes "Why don't we blow this town. Come on, let's look for paradise." I turn to Kiba and say "He'll meet us there. That's what he said." Hige began to fidget and looked a little uncomfortable until he finally answers me "He said a lot of crazy stuff. Listen if you're thinking of going after him. You're outta your mind. He's a noble if I've ever seen one."
Kiba looks up at Hige questioning him "A noble?" "I keep forgetten you're new here." He mumbles leaning back against the wall "Look those guys are bad news. And I for one am smart enough not to mess around with em. Trust me Kiba. Just let it go. Forget about em." Stretching Hige lies down with his head in my lap while I pet his hair. I watch as Kiba looks down and stares at the running water in between us.
The next morning
I stand on the ladder behind Hige as he pops his head out of the sewer looking around and mumbles "Must've taken a wrong turn. Hey-Hey! It's one of our own!" Kiba climbs over me and pushes Hige out of the hole scolding him "Move it will ya." Kiba jumps out and helps me as I turn to Hige and say "That's the last time I trust your nose." Hige moves forward defending himself "Well, anyone's nose would go numb after a night in that stink hole." I turn to my left as I hear a little boy talking "You guys! No way! Your" Kiba looks at the pup before looking at a girl standing behind him. The pup turns around following Kiba's eyes "Lira! Don't be scared. I won't do anything. I just….wanted to see you again. I'm so sorry….about your bird." Lira begins to shake her head as she screams "Daddy. Daddy! Daddy! Come quick, it's the wolf! The wolf is here!" Standing up we all run after Kiba who has ran down a nearby corner. Climbing through a pipe I notice the kids not behind me. Sticking my head out I shout at him "Come on!" before crawling back in the pipe this time with the pup behind me.
Running through the sewers next to Kiba I hear Hige complaining behind me "I told you I hate smelly places." We ignore him as we continue walking through, I stop and turn around as I hear Hige questioning the pup "Hey runt, what's eating you?" The pup begins to retort "I'm not a runt! My name's Toboe." Hige smiles pointing at himself while I continue beside Kiba "Well, that's cool. I'm Hige and this here's Kiba and Katalina." I count Kiba's steps as I listen to Toboe ask questions "Where are we headed anyway?" I chuckle and look over my shoulder at the two of them before answering "To the exit of course." Kiba finishes for me "We're leaving town." Toboe looks confused as he says "You're leaving town, but where else are you gonna go?" Without hesitating Kiba replies "To paradise." Toboe stops walking and looks at us before saying "Paradise? Hey guys! Do you know Tsume?" Hige looks up trying to remember and responds "Nah, never heard of him." I turn around facing completely to the kid before asking "Is he the one with golden eyes and the scar on his chest?" Getting excited Toboe smiles and says "Yeah! That's Tsume all right!" Kiba looks at the kid asking "Ok, what about him?"
Looking upset he whispers "He's one of us, so I thought that he might wanna leave too." Hige looks at the kid and mumbles "Well, I don't know him. Where is he? Hiding out someplace?" Kiba walks over to some ladders with blood by them and I come up behind him as I listen to the runt "I don't know. We got split up." "Sorry, pal. But it's too late to go back for him now. So what, is he like a friend of yours?" Toboe getting a little mad yells at Hige "No he's not! He isn't my friend….." Hige turns around waving his hand in the air "So! Ditch em already." Walking past Kiba and I inspecting the blood he says "Shake a leg runt." Walking behind him Toboe corrects him "That's Toboe!" They continue walking off as I look at Kiba and then up the ladder where Kiba's looking before I start up it.
Several minutes later
I open the door that the scent of blood is the strongest and walk in to find Tsume looking at us. Hige looks around mumbling "What a crap heap. Why the hell d you bring us here?" My ears perk up when Toboe cries "Tsume!" Said man looks at him before saying "You!" Looking between the two Hige opens his mouth "Wa-hey! Is this him?" Kiba and I stare at him before Kiba explains "I could smell the blood from your wound." Staring back at us he responds "What?" Not breaking eye contact Kiba finishes "I could smell it all the way here from town." Looking pissed off Tsume spits out "And you're going to nurse me back to health? Well I don't need your help!" Taking a step forward Toboe mumbles "Tsume…look I….We're leaving the city. I really think you should come with us." Switching his eyes to the kid he asks "And just where is this merry band of yours going?" Not missing a beat Kiba responds "To paradise." Tsume chuckles and replies with a hand on his hip and his eyes closed "You're kidding me. You're going with them because you believe in that crap."
"Um-well I don't know, but….if we stay here we'll have to spend the rest of our lives in hiding or worse….we just can't live with the humans anymore and survive." Leaning against the wall and looking out the window Hige whispers "Look, I hate to interrupt…..but a nasty stink is headed this way." Tsume not even looking out the window responds "We're surrounded." Kiba ignoring Hige asks "Let me ask you. Why did you guys come to this city? It was because of the flower scent, wasn't it? Well it's gone now. There's no reason to stay." Looking out the other side of the window Tsume answers "The flower has nothing to with it. I'm here because I belong." Standing next to Hige Kiba replies "I can see that. This city is a dump." Turning to face Kiba Tsume growls "I still have a score to settle with you." Getting frustrated Hige cries "We don't have time for this!" Almost nose to nose with Kiba he says "The last time we met you said something about how you're pride wouldn't allow you to pass as a human. Well, you look pretty human now. Where'd your pride go?" "Nowhere, nothing has changed." "Do you have the slightest idea of what leaving the city would mean." "Yeah" "You'll just die."
I respond from sitting on the window watching the troops "Possibly. Everyone's gonna die. It's a natural part of life. But if life has no purpose you're dead already." At this moment lights flash and they begin to shoot at us. We jump out of the building and run along some pipes. From behind Kiba I watch Tsume save Toboe and run off in another direction on another pipe. Running through some crumbled buildings we jump up onto a ledge and Kiba and I stop and look back. Hige stopping behind us cries "What the hell are you stopping for?" Without responding we wait until Tsume runs out and stares at us for a minute before I run up a ledge and state "This way." Going into the snow Kiba and I jump onto a ledge several feet down and wait for the others. I watch as Toboe stops at the edge and Tsume kicks him off. After a minute Tsume jumps down joining us and we run off through the snow. A white male wolf with yellow eyes in the front, a silver and black female wolf with red eyes beside him, a light brown male wolf hot on the female's heels, a brown and red male pup a few steps behind, and a silver male wolf with a scar on it's chest running at the pup's flank. All headed toward paradise.