Spring Yearning [Tsuki]

[Hitoban no Fokkusu]

Hitoban lay alone in her den, watching Dawn's pups while she was out hunting. It was just warm enough to be counted as spring, and a light shower was happening outside, though the soothing sound was easily drowned out by the cascading waterfall that served as door to her home. The cave floor was cool against her belly as she contemplated her life. She was getting on in years, and she realized this more every day. Each year that passed, the pups grew larger and their social skills became more refined. And each year that passed, she felt older and older. What was really scary was that she felt her demons, Katashi and Kazumi, growing stronger with each year that passed. She'd defeated Katashi once before, but she was the equivalent of an infant then. Now Katashi was a five year old demon, and a demon's powers only grow the older they get. A normal wolf's power dwindles as their life dwindles. The only thing that kept Katashi from being as powerful as Giga is Kazumi. Having to share her gained power with another demon, a twin, if you will, only gives her half the demon power of a year. It will take her twice as long to take Hitoban over, but she will eventually be taken over or killed. She could only hope her power transferred to Kazumi after she died, so Katashi would be well-contained through her whole life.

She pushed worrisome thoughts from her mind and focused on the pups. They were playing happily, as pups do, but their personalities were definitely more pronounced. Some sat quietly while others caused mischief and others kept the peace between them. It seemed Dusk was the most mature of all of them and Hikaru was the least. As she watched them, a yearning deep within her pulsed again. It was in here genes to be a mother-all female wolves' main goal in life-and here she was, five, with no pups to call her own. She had to settle for babysitting Dawn's pups while she was out since they had no Nanny. Maybe it was best she didn't have pups yet. After all, with two sets of childings, things were sure to get hectic. They would have to have more pack members (or at least a Nanny) before another litter was possible. Still, the question kept whispering through her mind: Why haven't we?