A New Day

[hitobannofokkusu]

"Kazumi! Tell me what to do!"

I can't! Only you can decide!

"God! Why do you have to be so righteous and "You have to listen to your heart" all of the time? Jesus it gets on my nerves!"

You know I'm right, so why bother arguing? You're just waisting time you know. Wahya's already left.

"What?"

*Hitoban's eyed came back into focus and, sure enough, he was gone.*

"S.hit. Dawn, where'd he go?"

"He went outside. Would you like me to fetch him?"

"No, I'll go."

*Hitoban trotted away calling "Keep an eye on those two for me." She got to the cave entrance and stopped.*

"Wahya...I've decided to forgive you. I know it wasn't you speaking, it was Giga, but I was just so...hurt. He broke my heart Wahya. Forgive me for being so stupid."

[Wahya Ayawisgi]

Wahya's ear twitch to her speaking to him as he was looking at the sky snowing, he looks down to her with soft eyes, "There is no reason for you to be sorry, you only defended yourself.... I would do the same with Katashi."

Wahya stands and looks to her, "But I am glad that you decided to forgive me." Wahya nods his head, he looks back to the sky, "Looks like I will have to hunt soon."

[hitobannofokkusu]

*Hitoban looks up too, and she notices the snow for the first time.*

"Damn...what a crappy time..."

*She looks to Wahya and tilts her head.*

"Come back inside for a little while. You can hunt later. Come and hang out for a little bit, please?"

[Wahya Ayawisgi]

Wahya looks to her then straight in front of him, "I dont know.... I do need to hunt sometime soon so that my pack can have their rations..." Wahya sighs and shrugs, "But I guess I can for a little bit."

[hitobannofokkusu]

*Hitoban thinks for a second and then speaks.*

"No, your pack needs food, and since your the Alpha, you need to lead the hunt. Besides, I'm weary and I need to sleep for a while. I'll see you later Wahya."

*She turned around, tail swishing, and went back to Tsuki and the others.*

"Everything is fine now. I need rest, so I'm going to sleep."

*Then she curled up into a ball and closed her eyes. She was very cold, but she tried not to shiver; it didn't work at all.*

[Wahya Ayawisgi]

Wahya watches her walk off then looks in front of him, "Guess I need to head back then..." Wahya then starts to walk back to tell the pack of the news.

[Tsukikage]

Tsuki's gaze fixed on Hitoban as she re-entered the cave.
Don't butt in here, Tsuki, Kage said, this is just Hito and Wahya, if one of them wants to talk, then that's fine, but don't jump in. She'll be fine after some rest, and you should get some sleep, too.
Tsuki's gaze did not move, Oh, I know, don't worry. I was just noticing... He motioned toward some small white flecks slowly melting off of Hitoban's fur.
SNOW!!! They thought in unison. Then without a second thought, they dashed out the cave, tumbled down the hillside, and into the meadow, frolicking and playing as if they were still pups.

[hitobannofokkusu]

*Hitoban woke the next morning to see that Tsuki and Kage were back. She yawned, stretched, and stood up, shaking herself off. She looked at the two wolves sleeping peacefully and smiled to herself. She thought about her old pack and how much she enjoyed being the Alpha. That kind of loyalty doesn't happen often, even in a pack. She wouldn't allow her mind to wander to Akio, and instead, she pictured herself in a new pack. She stood on a rock in the middle of a clearing in the woods that she knew so well. She looked to her right and saw her cave. She looked to her left and saw Tsuki, standing on the rock next to her. She looked to his left and saw Kage. She took another look to her right and saw Dawn. Then she got up and went to her cave. She looked in the far left corner and saw a doorway. She went inside and saw a room packed with snow and meat. She turned around and saw her bed of leaves and saw her pups. There were four of them. She smiled at them and walked to the other doorway. She looked down a long tunnel and saw that it led to the lake. She knew if she went far enough down the tunnel and turned in the left passage, she would get to the pack's quarters. She went back outside and down to the lake's shore. She saw her entire pack, resting after the hunt; almost yearlings playing with the Omega and their mothers. She then went back to her rock and smiled to herself.
When she snapped out of this dream, she realized many things at once:

One: she had just pictured the lands of her mother and father.
Two: She just pictured herself as Alpha with Tsuki as her mate.
Three: Dawn and Kage were the Betas
Four: She had a litter of pups and
Five: She liked this fantasy.

She smiled to herself again and looked back to Tsuki. She then went over to him and nudged him, attempting to wake him.*

"Tsuki...Tsuki, wake up. I need to talk to you Tsuki."

[Tsukikage]

"Hmm?..." Tsuki yawned and stretched, then sat up and looked around. Kage was still asleep. Or did he ever really sleep?
"What's up, Hitoban?" He whispered, just in case Kage did in fact sleep.

Kage was indeed asleep, and dreaming. He saw an orange sky: sunset. A white wolf: either Dante or Mar, he couldn't tell. A star fell from a blackness above the sky, and a great light surrounded the white wolf as the star flew through it. The wolf turned black, and the eyes, gold... Giga. The blue starlight swirled around Giga's silhouette until it disappeared. When the light faded, he saw memories from before he could remember.
His father, Mar. He was standing over their mother, and four pups. It was, of course, Tsuki, himself, and the twins. His father was saying something, but it was faint. They were names. They had to be.
Kage sprang awake, "I know our names!"

Tsuki spun around, "What?!? How?"
"I don't know, I think it was a dream," Kage replied, then he saw Hitoban. I'll tell you later, He said in thought.
Why?!? Tsuki demanded.
It's just... this is who we are, Tsuki, they don't have to know. All they know is Tsukikage, why would they care?
Because I care about her, Tsuki thought firmly, I want her to be a part of this. I want to tell her everything; to take her home to meet mom and dad... and all our creepy relatives. Not forever, of course, but I mean... If I ever did start a pack, I'd want it to be her pack too. We don't have to tell anyone else.

[hitobannofokkusu]

*Hitoban was about to say something when Kage woke up. She sighed and turned around, giving them their privacy-not that they needed it. If they were anything like like her and her sisters, they could communicate in their mind-space. When they stopped talking, but the atmosphere was still intent, she figured she was right. She sat down and impatiently waited. Her foot twitched constantly and her tail flicked back and forth. This was it-now or never. She would have to ask him now before she lost all of her courage. She suddenly sprang to her feet and walked back to Tsuki.*

"I'm sorry to interrupt your conversation..." she started tentatively, "but I NEED to tell you something Tsuki."

*She shook her head and paced back and forth for a second, trying to find the right words. God, this was the hardest thing she'd ever thought about. Finally, she stopped in front of Tsuki, planted her feet, and spoke confidently.*

"Tsuki...I love you. Will you come and lead a pack with me?"

*She could feel herself blushing about halfway through 'love', but forced herself to tell him, no matter what his response would be. Of course, she would be utterly heartbroken if he turned her down, but she knew if she didn't tell him now, she would regret it forever, whatever the answer was.*

[Tsukikage]

Tsuki was stunned. He turned very pale, and could hardly speak, and the seal on his chest burned bright red, "you... you... um, I mean... uh, I... and then... you..."
Kage stepped in and slapped him across the face, then calmly waited for Tsuki's response.
Tsuki shook his head, and regained his composure, "Hitoban, I... I love you too," Tsuki blushed and looked away, But do you really think I can do this?
Kage receded into the thought-space, It may be impulsive, but I get the feeling she's though about this for a long time. Dad already gave you his blessing, and she loves and believes in you, so what more do you need? I'll be right here with you the whole time, so don't worry.
Tsuki turned to Hitoban, "Yes! Yes I will." He gasped.

Dante grinned, Then there's no reason for me to stick around anymore... I should inform Mar, though He stood up and walked toward the entrance, "I will bring word to Mar, he'll want to know about this." He ran off.

Tsuki blushed, and lowered his head, "Aww, man! Hehe, between Dante and Kage, I can never have a private moment!" Then he raised his head and went into a full-blown laugh. He ran all around the cave like a pup, then finally settled back down and looked at Hito, "So, where do we start? I mean, I don't know anything about running a pack... hmm, we'd need a territory of our own, huh?"

[hitobannofokkusu]

*Dawn had been sitting outside the cave entrance when Dante came outside. She stopped him and asked the situation. When she got a satisfactory answer, she smiled and lay down again. She figured that she would wait a little while to give them the most privacy she could muster. She closed her eyes and waited once more.*

*Hitoban laughed as Tsuki ran around the cave like a little pup. She smiled at his reaction and was glad to have received the answer she had been hoping for. She came back to reality when he asked what they should do first. She was immediately Alpha-girl again, taking charge like old times.*

"Well, we should probably ask Wahya if we can start a pack nearby first. I know the perfect place for territory to be. I'm indeed surprised that no one's taken it yet. It's...the land of my...mother and father. I think it's time to take back what should have been mine when I came of age. If she's still there, I can just kill her and take vengeance on my mother. But if she's any kind of smart, she would have fled that land long ago. She would know that I would eventually come back to take revenge and she would know that I would have trained all of my life just to kill her."

*She suddenly smiled and padded forward, nuzzling Tsuki's neck with the top of her head.*

"Oh, and I might need to meet your father. I think this would be something he would like to know."

[Tsukikage]

"Wha-?" Tsuki gapped, "kill someone? Who did huh?"
He was a bit confused about all she was saying, but he trusted her, so if anything happened he would protect her. He smiled, "Well, I guess we should wait til Dante gets back; he said he'd bring word to my father, so... I guess we could try and find Wahya... Oh! And Mayoi's territory isn't too far off; we should tell Mayoi, too."

[hitobannofokkusu]

*Hitoban had never been to Mayoi's territory and she did not know who she was.*

"Who is Mayoi? I've never heard of her before."

*She tilted her head to the side, but then shook it and just dropped the subject. She would know soon enough. She came up behind Tsuki and nudged him ever so slightly.*

"Let's go find Wahya first."

[Tsukikage]

"Y'know, I'm not sure... it's just a name I heard once... somebody said a Mayoi had territory 'round here. Could've been somebody else..." Tsuki tilted his head, "hmm... now who told me that, anyway? Haha, well... I guess it's not important if there isn't anybody by that name around, huh?" I could've sworn I'd heard it before, though... Kage?

I have heard the name, but your info is probably out of date... it happens.

Ok, then. My bad.

Tsuki followed Hitoban to find Wahya.