Ame cringed as she felt a slight breeze travel through the dark, musty room. She shifted uncomfortably on the bed and the chains around her wrists rattled. The man in front of her grinned at her vulnerability. He was going to enjoy this.

Ame felt herself shake uncontrollably as a whimper escaped her tight throat.

The moon rose above the garden of white flowers. Ame gazed at the sky once more before turning to her brothers. They were standing in front of her in their animal forms. Liz, Patti, and Kid were standing a few feet behind Ame.

"Are you sure about this?" Ame asked. "This is your last chance. I can't restore your immortality once I take it away."

Nagi was about to nod when Liz stepped forward.

"Nagi, you don't have to do this," she said. Nagi stared into her eyes. He saw fear. He knew that she was concerned about his health. If he wasn't immortal anymore, how would he fair in a real fight? What if he was just as indestructible as she was? Liz cringed every time she broke a nail. Nagi suffered from three thousand poisoned gashes in their battle against the Spider Queen and could still carry Ame home. He had the physique of a god.

If he gave that up, he could get seriously hurt, or worse, die. A broken bone could spell the end for a wolf in the wild. Of course, Ame would allow Nagi to maintain a human form whenever he liked, but still.

Nagi craned his neck slightly to nuzzled Liz's arm. She stroked his ears and hugged his neck.

"I want this, Liz," he said. "I want you."

"Alright," Liz agreed. She stepped back a bit and let Ame do her thing.

Ame closed her eyes, taking a deep breath to clear her mind. A breeze started up, creating something of a leaf tornado around Nagi and Rin. The moon's grin stretched until it was full, splitting the yellow circle with a flash of bloody teeth. Ame finally opened her eyes, which started glowing am opaque white as she looked up at the sky. She opened her mouth and a smooth, long howl rang from her throat.

Nagi and Rin raised their heads to howl with her. Their snowy white fur melted to varying shades of brown. Their bodies maintained their incredible size. Silence crept into the garden as the wind died down. A bright energy transferred from Nagi and Rin's souls to Ame's. After that, Nagi and Rin collapsed, and Ame's eyes faded to their natural color.

"Nagi!" Liz called, running towards the wolves.

"Rin!" Patti echoed, following her sister.

Liz knelt next to Nagi and put his head in her lap. Nagi opened his eyes and looked up at her. He was suddenly in his human form. His hair was a deep brown. Instead of his usual attire of red or white, he was wearing a blue collared shirt with the top two buttons unbuttoned and jeans. His tail and ears were dark brown too, and a bit more scraggily than before.

"How do I look?" he asked.

"Normal," Liz replied, smiling. She never thought about what Nagi had really looked like before he changed. She just always saw him as a white wolf, or another ethereal being with white hair and golden eyes.

Rin was hugging Patti happily, his sandy brown tail wagging back and forth. His eyes were a bit more of a hazel color than the previous golden. His red shirt was faded and hung loosely about his gangly form. Patti beamed at him. She was happier than before.

"Now we can be together forever!" she said. "Even if we don't live forever!"

"Well done, Ame," Kid said, putting a hand on Ame's shoulder.

"Thanks…" Ame swayed on her feet slightly, and Kid held her arms firmly.

"Ame?" he prompted. She smiled reassuringly at him.

"I'm fine," she said. "I'm just a bit tired, that's all. Absorbing someone else's soul back into your own is almost like connecting a Line of Sanzu. It takes it out of you, you know?"

"I understand," Kid nodded. "Come on, let's go inside so you can rest."

He brought her inside and sat down at the kitchen counter with two glasses of water.

"Thanks," Ame said, taking a sip of her drink.

"You know, as you were performing the rites, I thought of something," Kid admitted. "What if you were able to bless Liz and Patti with immortality?"

"Why would you say that?" Ame sighed tiredly, leaning forward on the counter.

"You could if you wanted to," Kid said. "You are a full Inochigami. I get that you evolved prematurely, so you aren't grown into your powers yet, but you could have made them immortal the same way you made Nagi and Rin mortal."

"It's not the same," Ame said. "Besides, that isn't what Nagi asked of me. Why, would you be happier that way?"

"It… it's nothing," Kid sighed. He could tell she didn't want to talk about it. Ame's glower softened considerably and she scooted closer to him. She worked her fingers around his hand until he released his firm grip on his glass. "I was just thinking. I mean, a hundred years from now, you and I won't have aged twenty years and the rest of our friends will all be gone. I thought that having your brothers there for at least a couple centuries would make it more bearable, but I was selfish. I wasn't thinking about how it makes you feel."

Ame gave his hand a gentle squeeze. She leaned against his shoulder comfortingly. Behind them, her tail was swishing from side to side slowly.

"I hate it when people have to go," she admitted. "But I hate it more when people have to live unhappy."

"You're right," Kid nodded. He turned his head and kissed the top of Ame's hair. "I'll miss them."

Soul Eater

"Hey, Ame!" Soul called to the wolf girl as they were meeting at the park after school. Ame regarded him silently. "I was wondering about something. Do wolves chase laser pointer-things like cats and dogs?"

"That is absolutely absurd," Ame said matter-of-factly.

"Is it? Really?" Kid asked, putting his hands in his pockets. Ame nodded.

"Uh-huh."

Kid pulled a laser pointer out of his pocket and clicked it on, shining it on the ground near Ame's line of vision. Ame freaked out, diving at the laser in her wolf form and chasing it to no end. Kid ran it up and down pillars, in small circles, whatever he felt like. Ame chased it religiously, following it's every move with her head.

Soul was cracking up. "You had a laser pointer on you? How?"

"I got it way back when she was still pestering me about Suki," Kid said. "I have a whole bunch of junk just to distract her. She's like a small child; I just need to have these on me."

"What else do you have?"

Kid continued to jiggle the laser pointer absent-mindedly as he emptied his pockets.

"She likes puzzles, but she figures them out too quickly. But she can't see a solid form in a black and white illusion. They fool her every time. But pretty much anything can be a distraction for her if I make it seem desirable."

"How?"

"Do you want to see Ame's puppy face?"

"Hell, yeah!"

Kid handed Soul a small green baton of sorts. Soul was unimpressed.

"What am I supposed to do with a stick?" he asked quietly.

"Just act like it's amazing," Kid whispered to him.

"Hey, Blackstar!" Soul called, bringing the ninja's attention away from Ame. "Look at what I got!"

"Cool!" Blackstar said, ambling over to them and examining the baton. "What is it?"

"It's… um…." Soul glanced desperately at Kid, who shrugged. Aggitated, Soul tried to make something up. "It's amazing, that's what it is. It's the most amazing thing ever."

"What makes it so amazing?"

"That's not the point! It's cool, okay?!"

Kid clicked the laser pointer off so Ame could see what they were arguing over. She inched towards them and eyed the so-called amazing baton curiously. She didn't see anything amazing about the baton, except the fact that everyone thought it was amazing. She understood that in such human circumstances, it was probably best if she got it.

"Hey," she said rather shyly. "Whatcha got there?"

"Oh, this?" Soul turned to her and shoved Blackstar away. "It's apparently the most amazing thing on the surface of the earth."

Ame tilted her head slightly, her eyes beginning to pool with longing.

"Now?" Soul whispered to Kid.

"Wait for it," Kid held up a hand.

"You want it?" Soul asked, and Ame began to look a bit satisfied. He hesitated. He knew he was being mean, and he didn't want to hurt Ame's feelings. Kid nodded him forth and Soul pressed on. "Well, you can't have it. Sorry."

At first, Ame looked crushed. She recoiled to her wolf form, slumping slightly and drooping her ears to one side. She looked up at him with those deep, mismatching eyes. Her tail began to quiver slightly, almost like a human's shoulder shook when they were about to cry. A small, desperate whine escaped Ame's throat. Soul gave a sad smile.

"Aw."