Speech = ``...´´
Thoughts = [... ]

ºº

Another day another sweet morning to greet her eyes with its cool welcoming embrace as the wind gently slipped in through the cracks of the windows an into the comfy and warm interior, cooling former passions yet never taking away the pride they bore.

Elongated ears perking and flapping from time to time at the tunes the birds voiced over the cups of their homes, her lips quirking upwards at the soothing scent of flowers blooming as the sun was slowly releasing itself from its ghastly prison under the previous heavy curtain of clouds cutting the skies, leaving the breach grow larger and larger as blue consumed grey and the light of the star bathed the fields with its golden light.

A beautiful sight to wake into...and one Yukime would never mind to witness time and time again as she finished folding the sheets of her bed after having clean and polished them.

Except that there was something, or in this case...someone missing from the picture.

…

…

Where was Gettan….?

Where was her black haired mate indeed...?

Those were some of the recurrent thoughts in the young fox Theariantropes mind. Poking at her from time to time, like a needle in her shoe, or just a small itch at the edge of her fingertips after a particular cold shower when you decided for some reason to stick your hand up into a current of icy air.

Still, if she was honest with herself it was no biggie. Nowadays Yukime was already used to wake up alone in her home, her mother was the only strong enough to hunt and given her desire to leave for her hunting trips before the sun rose. Sometimes finding her arrive just as she herself was leaving her house after what surely should have been hours in the wilderness.

So there was nothing strange in that. None whatsoever.

…

…

However, now that she was married should it not be different? No?

Her eyes roamed once more the empty room as if she were about to find the answer that avoided her...only to return with no hidden and unabated displeasure at the emptiness that oozed from such a cozy and warm place that was her bedroom.., briefly disrupting her upbeat mood.

Sighing, she closed her eyes, a hand rose to hold and rub against her forehead. The warmth of her shared hearth had been sorely missing these last few days. No, that was...not quite it. Something had changed..

At first it was the little things, a moment of pause here and there, a longer silence than usual between brooding and playful banter. Nothing really worth paying any heed or whatsoever.

…

Then it had developed into something else. His eyes sometimes refusing to met hers at times, his body flinching more often than not when she made her presence known, or just that strange and tired look in his eyes and that….pale taste of copper in the air too.

Yukime could not help but frown at that particular detail. Did something happen..? She was not entirely sure, but perhaps it was related with the way he had gone out of his way to punch a tree….he had looked a bit weird that day.

It would be quite the tale if in the end it was all in her head and the unease she felt was born out of the calm and peace both her mother and Gettan were having for now without arguments or fights…

The thought made her smile of how stupid it sounded, the two of them no matter how they may deny it were truly a like. Stubborn and really loud in voicing their opinions. However, the more she thought of a different reason, the more she came to realize that she was not going anywhere with this line of thought. A dead end in all but name..

Gettan lived in his own tribe and while he frequented and share the same bed as hers...that did not mean that he had to be always at her side. Even if a part of her wished so...

Besides, he like her mother was an early bird….so more often than not she heard him leaving the premises. The fool trying his best not to stir her sleep, not knowing that the lost of his embrace told her where he was going. Also there was the fact that he was a far busier person than her as the pseudo leader of his pack when his father was unable to do so on his own…., so it was not that unreasonable.

And yet, why did she felt that something was a miss…?

Questions led to more questions often than not, and when one was left to wonder….the imagination could led her to strange places.

She was not overly clingy, right? Did she do something wrong? No, not that she was a ware of...if she had he would have certainly told her. He was not harsh in his words, but he was not one to mince them either when bothered.

So why was he avoiding her then...?

…

…

She immediately pushed that ridiculous notion to where it had come from. What on the spirits name was she thinking? Making conjectures because she was a bit touch starved? Outrageous, she was better than that! The burning heat forming on her cheeks and...somewhere else only making her all the more bothered by her weakness.

A few second later she sighed loudly as annoyance gave way to silent resignation, her shoulders slumping down a little bit. She really should start trying to keep her composure for more than five minutes when those fleeting thoughts came by for a visit.

Still, it was not entirely her fault...but his. And how could not that be the case with his stupid chiseled skin, his cute brooding growls and his stupidly sturdy and muscular ab-

``Thinking about him already...? ´´

A female, more mature voice interrupted her scantily and clearly no longer pure thoughts. Making her flinch on the spot before her legs pushed her to turn around and meet its owner. A certain woman clad in a similar white kimono as her who she knew all too well now bearing an annoyed look in her eyes…. and a devilish smirk wrapped around the edges of her lips.

``You….you are back?´´

``Astute observation dear...´´

Yukime bit her lip to stop a certain "Tsk" from coming out. Ok, that was not the best of her attempts to start a conversation, true…., but did her mother had to start the day with sass?

Well, no matter...it seemed that she was sooner than usual, the stench of still fresh blood soaking the sacks she carried spoke that the hunt had been good. Too bad that was the last thing she was paying attention at but rather at the way some droplets of blood started to taint her clean floors from the clearly drenched cloth of the sack.

A glare that was quickly noticed and-

``Oh, sorry…., my bad.´´

``Oh come on, mom...I was already done here. Could you not wait a moment and leave it outside?´´

Yukime said as she set herself to push the offending bag and its owner out of her room, right into the outside world, forcing her to close her eyes momentarily to readjust to the clarity from outside.

``Well, if someone was off to the clouds I would not had to go in and check were my dear daughter was...´´

``What are you-that doesn't explain why you took it inside anyway! Why not leave it at the door for just a moment..´´

``Umm, I suppose you have a point there..´´

``Thank you..´´

…

…

``So, thinking about him…?´´

``Mom!´´

``That is not a denial…´´

``Urgh..´´ Why was she so adamant on that line of thought? It was all so embarrassing!

``Don't worry, dear. There is no shame in thinking about a particular other….I do it all the time~´´

Yukime started to become flustered again, and she was certain that her skin would certangly match with the hue of the blood now smearing her halls. She really was not looking forward to hear about "Who" her mother referred to.

``Look mom, I-I wasn't doing...whatever you are thinking´´

``Sure, sure...´´

One of her eyes started to twitch. ``And even if I was, why would I told you that..?´´

Her mother flashed her a knowing smirk though with a gentle, approving nod.

``Better, much better dear. Still... if you have enough time to spend it daydreaming….then you should help me skin this pack of boars I brought. They are bigger than usual….´´

They certainly were with the rough outline she could picture from where she stood under the fabric. All probably bloodied and greasy...and she with her clean kimono that she had chosen for her outing.

``M-maybe later..? I think I am going out for a stroll, the winds from the north had receded...leaving quite an enjoyable breeze down the river´´

It was not the best excuse, but it was the best one she had at the moment. The look that she received told her that her mother was not all that thrilled nor buying it either.

``Fine, but don't take too long….I was planing to have this for lunch, not dinner..´´

Yukime released a breath she had not known she had been holding ``Don't worry mother, I wont...´´

``I will take you on your word then. Still one more thing before you leave..´´

``Yes..?´´

``Since you are gonna go look for him please try to keep it quiet, there is no shame on feeling like that, but for a mother feels weird hearing my daughter calling for me when she is getting drill-.

``MUM..!!´´

``Hehehehe….oh dear, what did I say about feeling shame? Half the tribe must have hear you already by now...´´

[Oh gods, please kill me now…] ``P-please, shut it…people are looking at uuussss´´

``Its good to see that you still have good lungs even though you don't train as much...´´

``Dear god….´´

``Oh, what I would do to be a young maiden again...´´

``Why are you so cruel with me…?´´ She croaked, the teasing was too much...and they were barely starting the morning.

``Don't worry dear, after a few months or if you are picky a year you can switch the roles with my niece...´´

Yukime looked at her mother, a puzzled expression in her face. ``But you don't have a niece…´´

``Yet...´´

…

...

``ok, I walked into that one, didn't I?´´

``Yep...´´

ºº

ºº-….Somewhere not that far away…..-ºº

ºº

Gettan breathed in, slowly….and painfully. His taut chest heaving up and down as the sound of his ragged breaths still echoed in his skull. Sweat pouring down, glistening his skin and mixing with the cold waters of the river stream which was slowly turning a dark shade of arterial crimson.

A trail of red that found its birth from the mangled and tore apart bodies of several beast-men around him. Their mouths and eyes still open wide, stuck in terrific examples of agony and shock.

Had fate wished otherwise he would have been just one more of them, the sting of the cuts that had cut through his clothes and bit into his flesh reminding him that it had been a rather close one this time.

However, as the blood continue to drip down from the open wounds...the pain instead of robbing him of his consciousness, enhanced his clarity. It felt….like he had been asleep before and now he had finally awoken from his rest.

The thought that he could have died in his quest to vent out his frustrations in the most stupid and reckless way possible not registering in his mind.

Taking one more step Gettan gritted his teeth. Fangs poking and puncturing his lips as he closed his eyes to a lid when with one hand he graved the limp form of his right arm and clench it like never before. Blood now coating his fingers from where the drenched and worn down cloth had been struck….until he heard a pop.

The tension in his arm loosening, the grip of his hands vanished as he could feel the bone back in its rightful place from where the war-club had pushed it away during the fight.

It had been a bad hit, and it surely still hurt like a bitch…, but pain he could manage. Hiding a broken arm from his lovers eyes he could not.

He took his sword back, yanking the blade from the corpse that had become its temporary shaft. The taste of copper in his mouth and the sound of the flesh making way for the almost warm steel felt like the hungering flames of something that was yet to follow.

He took another step, fingers flexing and clenching. Slowly, methodically raising to his full height, his disheveled raven haired mane falling over his shoulders, using the sword at first like a clutch to stand.

There had been twelve of them.., hunters, trackers. The first sign of bad news to come when it came to the tribes everlasting warring factions. And then they found him. Alone…, in a secluded area.

His eyes glimmered once they rested on the last of the group that still drew breath, bloodied and battered. Laying over a rock big enough to keep him from been drag away by the stream, an axe stuck deeply onto his leg.

He had not seem them coming, but they had not counted for the bitterness that was flowing inside him, the frustration that was eating him.

He pulled the blade up, and started to approach the fallen man. He had managed to hide away what he had done, no one knew….and he would rather keep it that way.

But the stench of blood did not waver from his nostrils no matter what..

The bastards did not stop lurking about with their greedy eyes set on his prize, his place...

And the fucking dreams did not stop knocking at his door. Where everyone he knew was dead and she hated him. Chanting, cursing, damming his name for all eternity..

He grimaced on the spot, the memories too fresh, too vivid for him to feign ignorance.

It was this dance between refusing tom believe and fearing the meaning behind it that had him stuck in this tug of war that was breaking him.

He had managed to dissuade or avoid any questions directed at him, but he was aware that he was doing a poor job at it when he felt so a gash at the lies he told her. They were simple, crude even….but what else could he do?

No, no that was not the right question to ask here. In fact, what was he doing wrong? Why even now as he stood among these slain warriors he did not feel safe?

He hated it.

He hated everything about this.

This unease he felt...it was wrong. The way the dread permeated into his very bones was wrong. The lack of control, the way things seemed to slip through the cracks of his fingers was wrong. It NEEDED correction and he would do so in the only way he knew.

Brutally and without mercy.

``L-look man..you won, I have no beef with you, this...this is just bad luck. Nothing personal really, you know how this things wo-´´

``Where are the rest of your band..?´´

He spatted, his words carrying such vitriol that he was momentarily surprised by it. He could not help it when these people were trash. When all of them were nothing but horrible, lunatic worthless pieces of SHIT that deserved to fucking DIE!

Especially this one…

He remembered he was the one smiling like a creep before things turned ugly for them. What was that he said? "Wanna see how your skin makes a rug for my ass?"

``C-calm your tits down m-man…y-you are creeping me out-!´´

The words were silenced as the back side of his fist slammed on the bastards face. Spit and blood spilling out of broken lips. Had the man not been on the ground already he would have tumbled to it like a puppet whose string were cut, or like a turtle that could not return to its original position.

``Where are they...!?´´

``I-I dont know what you are talking about, mam! I-I swear it, I and the boys were al-´´

He struck again, this time right at his nose, crushing it, almost burying the thing into his skull, blood spurts spilling out from now clogged nostrils as the man found himself struggling to breath. Eyes open wide in absolute terror at the prospect of as-fixation.

Gettan liked that.

The look of fear, of pain that was dominating his lying, cheating mouth….

``Where are they..?´´

``Y-you killed them..!´´

He hit him again, and again and again and AGAIN! Skin literally been peeled off in the sharp form of his knuckles and leaving the red tracks carved into the wolf man face. He could hear the way the bones started to scream and creak in protest. Though whose he was ignorant to as joy and pleasure coursed through Gettans mind each and every time the man at his mercy howled in pain.

Trying to squirm from his grasp, to push him away, but the man had already lost too much blood from the wound that had almost cleaved his leg in half. Not like it would have mattered much if that wasn't the case..

``Where are they….?´´

``P-plefffase s-tto-op, I afff... unnarmed-´´

Deceit!

Lies..!

Treachery!

They were all the same, conniving when they had power and filthy, cowardly wrecks when push came to shove.

And so, he graved a rock the size of his fist and forced it inside his victims mouth, forcing his jaw to close on it before he graved the mans head and slammed him into a tree trunk.

It was music to his ears the soft, fleshy wet sounds that came from it. The way the wood became drenched in fresh scarlet a sight that eased the frustration that had been building up inside him, the pain and fear of those dreams finally pushed aside as he found something that he could enjoy.

Putting the trash in their place….for this was not murder, but rather pest control.

They wanted his stuff? His prize..? His life? Then they would all pay..!

After what felt like an eternity he pulled him back to him, his face barely resembling one as splinters marred everything on it. Droll heavily mixed with blood and broken teeth ran down his mouth when the rock was spitted out.

Gettan pulled him closer, closer…..and whispered the order one more time.

``Where. Are. They..?´´

…...

…..

….

...

..

.

Gettas face twisted with a spark of rapturous anger at the scene playing before him. Dead…, he was dead and he had not even the slightest sense of honor to warn him about it. Disgust filled him.

Weak minded fools, despicable lot. Without a second thought he dropped him, the body making a loud splash in the process now that his use had been spent.

…

…

…

He had not gotten what he wanted from the man…., but it was ok. With his kin….there was always more bound to come around.

They always did.

ºº

A/N

Here comes another chapter, forgive me for any grammar mistakes you may find and I hope you may like it. Feel free to comment to give some feedback. Any commentary will be appreciated.

Have a good day :)