Lilover131: Hey everybody! What's up? I hoped you liked the last chapter! I will try to update faster for now on (b/c I have 3 months and nothing to do…lol). Thanks to everyone who gave ideas! I will take all of them into consideration! Those of you who couldn't think of anything, thanks for trying! Anyways, here's chapter Twenty-eight of Cry of a Wolf!

Cry of a Wolf-Chapter Twenty-eight: Training and Preparations

Eriol watched as Syaoran entered the Li garden wearing his ceremonial robes. He looked determined and his eyes glowed of power.

"Are you ready?" Eriol asked. Syaoran nodded.

"More than I'll ever be," he said. Eriol pulled out his sun key, and began his incantation.

"Key that hides the power of the dark, reveal your true form before me. I, Eriol, command you under our contract…RELEASE!". The sun key transformed into the sun staff, and Eriol gazed to Syaoran before speaking.

"I am first going to train you on finding the hidden power within you," he said. Syaoran nodded.

"First, you must find yourself in complete peace. Rid all distractions from your mind," Eriol said. Syaoran breathed deeply before closing his eyes, and then attempting to calm himself completely. The whole world around him seemed to be enshrouded in shadows as if they were never there. Syaoran smiled inside. This was easy.

Suddenly, a loud piercing voice broke through the shadows in his mind. He opened his eyes and there stood Meilin.

"SYAORAN! I haven't seen you all afternoon!" Meilin said as she practically jumped on him from behind. Syaoran sent glaring daggers at her as his eyebrow twitched in annoyance. How could he concentrate when his family was almost ALWAYS a distraction? Meilin looked concerned for a moment.

"Did I anger you?" she said. Syaoran just sighed and looked to Eriol who was smiling rather mischievously. 'That bastard set her up for this, didn't he?' Syaoran thought.

"I'm kinda busy with something here Meilin," Syaoran simply stated. Meilin sighed, but shook it off before walking back inside. It was better that he was busy anyway. This gave her time to help prepare for the surprise.

Syaoran looked to Eriol who gave a small chuckle.

"You must rid yourself of ALL distractions my cute little descendent," Eriol said. Syaoran glared. This was going to be harder than he thought.

With the others

"How are the decorations coming along?" Meilin asked Tomoyo. Her eyes sparkled in excitement, and her smile was more crazed than normal.

"They're coming along wonderfully!" she answered. Sakura happily ran up to the two girls.

"Meilin-chan, do you have any ribbons that I may use?" Sakura asked.

"Yes. There should be some ribbons in that closet down the hall," Meilin said. Sakura smiled in thanks and quickly ran to the closet. However, when she opened the closet, she was unexpectedly greeted by a tidal wave of boxes. Boxes wrapped in green buried her, and a dumbstruck look was on her face.

"W-what in the world?" was all she could mutter. Meilin's laughter rang through the halls at the event.

"I was wondering where Syaoran put those! They are the birthday presents from his fan girls!" Meilin said. Sakura widened her eyes.

"He has THIS many fan girls?" she said shocked. Meilin nodded.

"Yes. You'll have to be careful of them. They can be VICIOUS. If they find out about you, this could be your last day alive," Meilin teased. Sakura gulped. 'I had no idea Syaoran was so popular!' she thought to herself. Meilin and Tomoyo giggled when they saw the slight look of fear on her expression. That was their Sakura…far too gullible.

With Syaoran and Eriol

Syaoran tried for the FOURTH time to achieve complete calmness. Meilin had interrupted his first attempt. His second attempt had been interrupted when Feimei bugged him to ask his opinion on a dress. His third attempt had been interrupted when he heard someone scream. He quickly ran into the house to see what the problem was, but was quickly shoved out.

"YOU CAN'T COME IN YET!" said his sisters and Meilin. Syaoran was very confused. 'What the hell is going on in there!' he thought. Eriol sat by the cherry blossom tree, obviously amused by Syaoran's struggle to calm himself. Thus, Syaoran began his fourth attempt.

Syaoran's eyes were closed as he envisioned the darkness once again. All sounds, beings, and objects were removed from his senses. Nothing was distracting him, and his expression cleared of all anger.

"Very good," said Eriol's voice suddenly in his mind.

"Now search for the power you desire to use," Eriol spoke again. Syaoran gazed around in the darkness with his mind, and found nothing. 'How? How do I find it?' Syaoran thought. Suddenly, something came across his vision. A wolf of pure white came into his presence. 'That wolf…that is the power I'm searching for…' he thought in realization.

Eriol watched him from the outside, and suddenly Syaoran opened his eyes, which now shone of a bright green.

"Excellent. You've learned how to find your power. Now we must find out how to control it," Eriol said. Syaoran smiled triumphantly. Suddenly, Kero flew out to greet him.

"Hey gaki! Where's the sweets around this place?" he shouted. Syaoran's eyebrow twitched at the gaki comment, and he sent a glare in his direction. Suddenly, a lightning bolt flew down from the sky, and narrowly missed Kero's tail.

"Hey gaki! What's the big deal? You shouldn't be throwing lightning bolts at people who are tryin' to ask you a question! Jeez!" Kero said. Syaoran glared fiercely at the second gaki comment, and Kero immediately fled from whatever more lightning bolts were sure to come. Eriol sweatdropped.

"Or perhaps we should start with the wings…".

With Sakura and the others

All of the girls crowded in the kitchen frantically cooking. This night had to be PERFECT.

"How are the egg rolls?" Tomoyo asked Nakuru.

"Try one for yourself!" Nakuru said with a smile. Tomoyo picked up an egg roll and took a bite.

"That's delicious! Wonderful job Nakuru!" Tomoyo complimented.

"Arigatou, Tomoyo-chan," (Arigatou-Thank you) Futtie said. Everyone seemed to cook amazing foods. Meilin already had a buffet ready!

"HOEEEEE!" Sakura cried suddenly. Everyone turned to see what was the problem, and saw that smoke was now erupting from the oven.

"The cookies!" Sakura screamed. She ran to the oven, and before anyone could warn her, she grabbed the pan without her oven mitts. Sakura screamed loudly and dropped the pan on the floor.

"Oh no! Sakura! Are you all right?" Everyone said together as they crowded around to help her. Sakura held her hands and looked up to them.

"I ruined…the cookies…I should have paid more attention…" Sakura said with tears beginning to form. Everyone smiled. Sakura always put everything, even cookies, before herself.

"Come on, Sakura-chan. Let's go help your hands," Tomoyo said. As Tomoyo was walking her to a room, they all suddenly heard a voice call from the door.

"What's going on in here? I heard someone scream!" said Syaoran's voice. All of the girls panicked. He wasn't supposed to come in yet! Quickly, the girls ran to Syaoran, and they began to shove him out of the building.

"YOU CAN'T COME IN YET!" The girls all yelled, before slamming the door in a confused Syaoran's face.

"That was close," said Fanren. Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Now…shall we finish the cooking?" said Feimei. Everyone smiled and nodded before continuing.

With Sakura and Tomoyo

"Are those good? They aren't loose anywhere, are they?" Tomoyo asked Sakura as she finished bandaging her hands. Sakura nodded.

"Arigatou, Tomoyo-chan," (Arigatou-Thank You) Sakura said. Sakura gazed to her hands and sighed.

"What's wrong Sakura-chan?" Tomoyo asked. Sakura looked to Tomoyo surprised.

"Did I make a sad face?" Sakura asked. Tomoyo smiled.

"No. I can just tell when something is bothering you," she responded. Sakura stared rather confused.

"Now…what is wrong?" Tomoyo asked. Sakura gazed out the window before speaking.

"It just feels like I'm not helping very much. Everything I seem to do goes wrong somehow…and everyone seems to be fine without me…" Sakura said. Tomoyo giggled.

"Sakura…you're the most helpful person I know. Everyone appreciates what you do for them, and I think you don't appreciate yourself once in a while," Tomoyo said. Sakura tilted her head slightly.

"Really?" she asked. Tomoyo nodded.

"It would make us all very happy if you did," Tomoyo said. Sakura smiled brightly for she was touched.

"Now…I know some people who would GREATLY appreciate some help finishing the cooking!" Tomoyo said. Sakura nodded before walking with Tomoyo back to the kitchen.

With Syaoran

"Just like Clow's reincarnation taught you, you will need to find your source of power before releasing your wings," Yue stated. Eriol observed from the cherry blossom tree nearby. This only took Syaoran a few minutes now that he could do it properly. Syaoran opened his eyes to reveal a bright green glow.

"Good. Now focus the energy onto your back," Yue said in his normal emotionless voice. Syaoran closed his eyes, and he felt his aura begin to snake its way towards his back. Suddenly, he heard a piercing voice break the walls of his mind.

"Hey! I came to watch! Whatcha doin'?" said Kero. Syaoran opened his eyes from surprise, and then sent a glare towards the guardian beast nearby. Suddenly, Kero began to laugh hysterically.

"What's so funny stuffed animal?" Syaoran asked very irritated. Kero merely pointed at his back. Syaoran gazed towards his back, and saw that he now had tiny useless wings on his back. They were too small to even flap.

"Ah crap," Syaoran whispered to himself. Eriol giggled from his place, and Yue smiled slightly in amusement.

"You call THOSE wings? HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Kero said in a mocking tone. After a few minutes, both Eriol and Yue's expressions returned to serious, and Syaoran ignored the laughs Kero still gave him. Syaoran closed his eyes and felt his aura focus on his back once again. He then felt the tiny wings grow to larger size. The feeling was odd, and left him feeling a little dizzy. Syaoran staggered forward slightly, but was caught by the guardian in his true form.

"Hey kid! Are you all right?" said Kero, no longer mocking him. Syaoran straightened himself back up and nodded. He looked back up to Yue and Eriol with his normal determined expression. Yue smiled slightly again.

"Very good. Now, to fly…" Yue started, but was cut short when Syaoran began to lift off the ground by himself.

"Ah! What do I do?" Syaoran said, slightly panicking. His wings had lifted him up without him doing anything!

"Try not to panic because…" Yue started, but Syaoran had already taken off. He fled straight into the branch of the cherry blossom tree and hit his head.

"Ah dammit! Not again!" Syaoran said holding his head in pain.

"…Or else you might lose control…" Yue said, finishing his earlier sentence. Kero burst out laughing again. Syaoran tried to tune out Kero's laughing, and closed his eyes once again to calm himself. Without even opening his eyes, he could feel himself move upward and gently land on a solid surface. He could hear the bells of his ceremonial robes ring from the slight breeze. Syaoran opened his eyes, and found himself on his veranda. He looked down to the guardians, who looked rather impressed. 'So this is what Hiiragizawa meant about "staying calm" back in Tomoeda' Syaoran thought to himself. Slowly, he began to float back down to the ground, about five feet from the ground, he heard Kero speak.

"Pretty good…for a brat," Kero said. Syaoran's calm exterior broke and he fell to the ground, landing straight on his back and crushing his wings. Syaoran sat up quickly and threw his hands behind him to soothe his now aching wings.

"Ah! That hurt!" Syaoran said. Yue walked over to him, and began to rub his wings slightly. Syaoran looked to Yue surprised from his actions.

"Wings are very sensitive things. Once you release them, they become part of you. So you will feel pain as well. This is a disadvantage in some situations. So you must protect them from being hit," Yue stated. Syaoran nodded in understanding. 'That explains why it hurt so much when I slept on them last night' Syaoran thought. Suddenly, Syaoran could feel his wings return into his back, and his aura lessened its intensity. He began to feel a little weak, and used his hands to stop him from fully hitting the ground.

"I guess it's about time we stop for today," Eriol said, walking over to them.

"Why? It was just getting better when he fell like a loser!" Kero said. Syaoran glared towards the ground, although it was to be directed at Kero.

"Shut up you stupid…stuffed animal," Syaoran said weakly. Eriol giggled. Within minutes, Syaoran was napping against the cherry blossom tree.

"Using this magic seems to take a lot out of him," Eriol said. Yue didn't respond. Then, Eriol looked to Kero.

"Thank you Keroberos for trying to distract Syaoran," Eriol said. Kero smiled.

"Ah, it was nothing! I had fun doing it anyway!" he said.

"Syaoran cannot learn to control his powers if he cannot rid himself of distractions," Eriol said with a smile.

"Now…since Syaoran is asleep…we should go and help the girls finish the preparations," Eriol said. Yue transformed back into Yukito and Kero back to his false form, before they followed Eriol back into the house.

Lilover131: How was that chapter? I'm sorry it took so long to get up. I have summer laziness syndrome. Lol. Anyways, I'll try to start working on the next chapter right away! See you next time!