Wolf's Pride
folder
+S to Z › Wolf's Rain
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
4
Views:
3,473
Reviews:
16
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
1
Category:
+S to Z › Wolf's Rain
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
4
Views:
3,473
Reviews:
16
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
1
Disclaimer:
I do not own Wolfs Rain, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
Beneath the Snow
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Chapter Four:
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"Tsume..."
That voice again...not the one from his dreams, but the one he'd first heard tumbling down into the pit.
One eye opened, starily blearily into the surrounds. A dark blur of red was leaned close, the faint jingle of metal against metal audible as he shifted closer.
Toboe.
The pup looked more than relieved to see him awake, and he had the distinct feeling he was holding back from simply pouncing the other and licking him to death in relief. Thank Selene he had SOME sense of restraint. The throbbing in his head was far from pleasant at the moment.
With a groan he started to push himself up from the snowy bed, shaking himself out, bits of snow flying here and there from his fur. A nt lnt later he was crouched on the ground, his human illusion visible. It was almost reflex. Didn't do any good if they happened to run into help and they figured them for a couple of dogs. Possible edible at that. Hell, they'd almost decided on trying to eat Kiba back in the city, hadn't they? Who knew what a couple of desperate humans out in this wasteland might try to pull...
Animals. The lot of them.
Gold-green eyes glanced up and, rubbing his stiff shoulders, he noticed Toboe had quickly followed suit, now also appearing human. Well that certainly saved him the trouble.
"Tsume, are you okay? You were out for the longest...I...I thought you might...."
He cut him off gruffly. "Don't worry about me. I just needed to rest, was all." Toboe, thankfully, fell silent, though a decent amount of worry still reflected out of those large amber-brown eyes.
Hmph.
Eyes lifted to the light layer of snow that proved a ceiling, some distance above them, which also afforded a small amount of light. The ground under their feet now, however, was quite solid, and he quickly figured that this was a tunnel dug long ago, now frozen and hidden whenever a storm broke out, and it most probably lead to the surface again at some point.
City wolf though he was, he knew his fair share about this sort of thing. Unlike the pup. He was now somewhat glad he had returned to find him....there was no WAY Toboe could have found his way out of this, and given a day or so...
Stop. Right there. Not even thinking of it. We've got him, now, and the storm should be dying soon, so they simply had to find their way out of the tunnel, which lead off into the darkness not too far away.
"Come on." Standing, albeit a bit stiffly, he started to make his way towards the dark length of the tunnel. With a slight whine, Toboe followed, sticking close to the older wolf's hindquarters and glancing about nervously, their footsteps crunching against the thick packed snow.
"I can't -see- anything, Tsume," he began, glancing from one wall to the other. It was, indeed, near to pitch black down here.
"You don't have to," he replied with a slightly exhasperated snort.
"But I can't -smell- anything, either! Just...just snow, and more snow, and..."
Growl. "Quit complaining, runt. Just follow me." He didn't feel like mentioning he didn't know precisely where they were going, either. Toboe didn't need to hear that. And he certainly didn't need his frightened whimpering distracting him while hs sos sorting it out.
But it seemed that he was intent on distracting him, anyhow. Ten minutes or so of walking in silence was apparently more than he could bear, and he pipped up again. "What were you dreaming about?"
He almost stopped in his tracks. "Dreaming?"
"Yeah, you were dreaming...you kept muttering something, but I couldn't hear you, and...." His voice turned a bit strained, as though he were fighting back another whimper. "You wouldn't wake up...."
"I told you, I was tired," he snapped in reply, somewhat defensively. Had he heard? No, he couldn't have.... "And I don't remember what it was, anyway, so quit bothering me about it and walk."
It was definately sharper than he would have meant, ordinarily, and Toboe quickly lapsed back into obediant silence, falling in step behind him once more. Tsume inwardly grumbled. Well, he was being nosy! And he hated remembering those times, probably more than any other. Not because they were times he regretted, or times that any other person would not like to have, but because they were times when he'd truly been at peace with himself. Happy. And they reminded him with a sharp slap in the face of what he had lost forever from so long ago...
...Teiru...
The tunnel continued on for a while, both of them moving in silence, their footfalls the only noise following them, and those muffled by the dense pack of snow. It was rather depressing, after a while, and for a moment, Tsume was in doubt. What if the tunnel led them further down, rather than out? What if they ran out of air down here, or ran into a dead end? He wasn't willing to let any of this show (as though Toboe could see him, anyway), or voice any of these concerns (what was the point in THAT?), but they lingered all the same, as doubts tend to do, setting their seeds and unfurling slowly...until they had choked out any chance for the light of hope to filter through.
That WASN'T going to happen. They WERE going to find a way out.
He then nearly skidded to a halt, eyes sharpening. Was that...what he thought it was, ahead?
A faint and distant glow...
Toboe looked up, and nearly barked with excitement. "Light! I see light, Tsume! It's gotta be the way out!" Without warning he'd lunged forward, darting down the tunnel towards the light...
"Toboe, wait!" he called, but too late. The pup had dissapeared from sight. AGAIN. Who knew if it was the way out? It could be another thin layer of snow filtering light in, and another pit...He too threw himself into a full out run, but only so far as to catch up with Toboe. It felt like he was going so slowly, though, the numb far from gone from his limbs, making him feel heavy and sluggish. But he had to catch up...Toboe -couldn't- outrun him, not even like this...
Cold seared in his lungs as he ran, and the light was getting brighter and brighter. Hope rose, that maybe it WAS the way out...
And then, with a sharp dip, the tunnel sloped downwards. His feet lost traction as he tried to slow down, turn around, but the snow gave way only to slippery ice, and even as he turned and dug in with his claws, it was little use. A few chunks of ice came loose with him as he slid down, at top speed, trying to brace himself against whatever lay at the end...
...and then he skidded out into a well-lit, open area, almost completely ice and stone.
He spun for a moment against the icy floor, before thumping into a warm mass also on the floor. It was Toboe, naturally, who was still recovering from the dizzying ride.
....another cave?
But then, where was the light coming from?
It took a moment for him to compose himself, regain his sense of balance, and look towards the light. When he did, though, he wished he hadn't. His blood nearly froze in his veins, eyes widening with a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. A high-pitched yelp from the pup told him that he'd looked as well.
But then, who -wouldn't- feel like yelping and cowering with a gigantic set of razor sharp teeth bared in your general direction, pure white eyes gazing down at you from twenty feet above you?
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End Chapter Four
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Chapter Four:
------------------------------------
"Tsume..."
That voice again...not the one from his dreams, but the one he'd first heard tumbling down into the pit.
One eye opened, starily blearily into the surrounds. A dark blur of red was leaned close, the faint jingle of metal against metal audible as he shifted closer.
Toboe.
The pup looked more than relieved to see him awake, and he had the distinct feeling he was holding back from simply pouncing the other and licking him to death in relief. Thank Selene he had SOME sense of restraint. The throbbing in his head was far from pleasant at the moment.
With a groan he started to push himself up from the snowy bed, shaking himself out, bits of snow flying here and there from his fur. A nt lnt later he was crouched on the ground, his human illusion visible. It was almost reflex. Didn't do any good if they happened to run into help and they figured them for a couple of dogs. Possible edible at that. Hell, they'd almost decided on trying to eat Kiba back in the city, hadn't they? Who knew what a couple of desperate humans out in this wasteland might try to pull...
Animals. The lot of them.
Gold-green eyes glanced up and, rubbing his stiff shoulders, he noticed Toboe had quickly followed suit, now also appearing human. Well that certainly saved him the trouble.
"Tsume, are you okay? You were out for the longest...I...I thought you might...."
He cut him off gruffly. "Don't worry about me. I just needed to rest, was all." Toboe, thankfully, fell silent, though a decent amount of worry still reflected out of those large amber-brown eyes.
Hmph.
Eyes lifted to the light layer of snow that proved a ceiling, some distance above them, which also afforded a small amount of light. The ground under their feet now, however, was quite solid, and he quickly figured that this was a tunnel dug long ago, now frozen and hidden whenever a storm broke out, and it most probably lead to the surface again at some point.
City wolf though he was, he knew his fair share about this sort of thing. Unlike the pup. He was now somewhat glad he had returned to find him....there was no WAY Toboe could have found his way out of this, and given a day or so...
Stop. Right there. Not even thinking of it. We've got him, now, and the storm should be dying soon, so they simply had to find their way out of the tunnel, which lead off into the darkness not too far away.
"Come on." Standing, albeit a bit stiffly, he started to make his way towards the dark length of the tunnel. With a slight whine, Toboe followed, sticking close to the older wolf's hindquarters and glancing about nervously, their footsteps crunching against the thick packed snow.
"I can't -see- anything, Tsume," he began, glancing from one wall to the other. It was, indeed, near to pitch black down here.
"You don't have to," he replied with a slightly exhasperated snort.
"But I can't -smell- anything, either! Just...just snow, and more snow, and..."
Growl. "Quit complaining, runt. Just follow me." He didn't feel like mentioning he didn't know precisely where they were going, either. Toboe didn't need to hear that. And he certainly didn't need his frightened whimpering distracting him while hs sos sorting it out.
But it seemed that he was intent on distracting him, anyhow. Ten minutes or so of walking in silence was apparently more than he could bear, and he pipped up again. "What were you dreaming about?"
He almost stopped in his tracks. "Dreaming?"
"Yeah, you were dreaming...you kept muttering something, but I couldn't hear you, and...." His voice turned a bit strained, as though he were fighting back another whimper. "You wouldn't wake up...."
"I told you, I was tired," he snapped in reply, somewhat defensively. Had he heard? No, he couldn't have.... "And I don't remember what it was, anyway, so quit bothering me about it and walk."
It was definately sharper than he would have meant, ordinarily, and Toboe quickly lapsed back into obediant silence, falling in step behind him once more. Tsume inwardly grumbled. Well, he was being nosy! And he hated remembering those times, probably more than any other. Not because they were times he regretted, or times that any other person would not like to have, but because they were times when he'd truly been at peace with himself. Happy. And they reminded him with a sharp slap in the face of what he had lost forever from so long ago...
...Teiru...
The tunnel continued on for a while, both of them moving in silence, their footfalls the only noise following them, and those muffled by the dense pack of snow. It was rather depressing, after a while, and for a moment, Tsume was in doubt. What if the tunnel led them further down, rather than out? What if they ran out of air down here, or ran into a dead end? He wasn't willing to let any of this show (as though Toboe could see him, anyway), or voice any of these concerns (what was the point in THAT?), but they lingered all the same, as doubts tend to do, setting their seeds and unfurling slowly...until they had choked out any chance for the light of hope to filter through.
That WASN'T going to happen. They WERE going to find a way out.
He then nearly skidded to a halt, eyes sharpening. Was that...what he thought it was, ahead?
A faint and distant glow...
Toboe looked up, and nearly barked with excitement. "Light! I see light, Tsume! It's gotta be the way out!" Without warning he'd lunged forward, darting down the tunnel towards the light...
"Toboe, wait!" he called, but too late. The pup had dissapeared from sight. AGAIN. Who knew if it was the way out? It could be another thin layer of snow filtering light in, and another pit...He too threw himself into a full out run, but only so far as to catch up with Toboe. It felt like he was going so slowly, though, the numb far from gone from his limbs, making him feel heavy and sluggish. But he had to catch up...Toboe -couldn't- outrun him, not even like this...
Cold seared in his lungs as he ran, and the light was getting brighter and brighter. Hope rose, that maybe it WAS the way out...
And then, with a sharp dip, the tunnel sloped downwards. His feet lost traction as he tried to slow down, turn around, but the snow gave way only to slippery ice, and even as he turned and dug in with his claws, it was little use. A few chunks of ice came loose with him as he slid down, at top speed, trying to brace himself against whatever lay at the end...
...and then he skidded out into a well-lit, open area, almost completely ice and stone.
He spun for a moment against the icy floor, before thumping into a warm mass also on the floor. It was Toboe, naturally, who was still recovering from the dizzying ride.
....another cave?
But then, where was the light coming from?
It took a moment for him to compose himself, regain his sense of balance, and look towards the light. When he did, though, he wished he hadn't. His blood nearly froze in his veins, eyes widening with a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. A high-pitched yelp from the pup told him that he'd looked as well.
But then, who -wouldn't- feel like yelping and cowering with a gigantic set of razor sharp teeth bared in your general direction, pure white eyes gazing down at you from twenty feet above you?
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End Chapter Four
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