Arrival

[Tsukikage]

"Hehe, oh Hina!" Tsuki giggled as he padded over on his new leg. "Anyway... that's all that's going on, at the moment. I... have to stay here and -- No." He stopped himself mid-sentence I'm not being punished, after all; Hitoban's trusting me to hold down the fort until she gets back. This is my pack too, and I've got to do what's best for them, so I can't talk like I wish I were somewhere else... even if I do... "Hitoban went to bring the others back safe; she knows these parts, and we don't want anyone getting lost this early in the morning because not all the night creatures are asleep yet. I'm staying here to watch over... my pack," The words filled him with a renewed sense of purpose and pride, "To make sure my pack and our honored guests are safe!"
Mar and Kage nodded and chuckled amongst themselves at Tsuki's theatrical attitude, but more than that, they were proud of him as well.

Elsewhere, Shimo and the others waited for the unseen noise to identify itself. Tsubasa had returned, and reported through a series of squacks and clicks that the foliage was too dense in this area to see their pursuer. Shimo's countenance darkened, almost like he was a different, more aggressive version of himself. He looked to Wahya with a wild look in his solid white eyes, "How do you wish to proceed?"
Within, he could feel the changes. His memory hadn't returned, yet he was reverting to what he knew was old behavior patterns. Gone was the mysterious, soft-spoken pup... what stood in the treetops now, was one with the marks of a seasoned fighter. His mind drifted back to the battle with Giga... I must've been something in my past life. Nobody could've come up with that plan in the mere seconds it took me... though, learning to control that power was new, everything else felt so natural, so effortless, like I'd taken down that monster a thousand times. I hope... I hope I wasn't some monster... I don't want to lose my friends, or end up putting them in danger or anything... just who am I, anyway? Focus, Shimo! You don't have time to ponder these things yet. He turned his attention back to the task at hand and thought no more of what he had been. What he was now is all that mattered to him, and he was a friend and companion, first and foremost.

[Wahya Ayawisgi]

Wahya quickly looks up to Shimo, then back to the forest as his eyes wandered. "I do not know, how do we attack if we can not see the enemy...." Wahya continues to look around, Maybe its just my mind playing tricks on me... lack of sleep I guess...

Wahya turns to play it off, then hears it again.

[hitobannofokkusu]

*Maname's ears followed the fast-moving sound. Her eyes kept up with it's place in the trees and Hitoban watched where Maname looked. Finally Hitoban locked onto whatever it was and followed it with her nose and the shaking of the tree leaves.*

"Get ready Wahya..."

*Hitoban waited until it stopped for a split second, then lunged into the tree. There was a short struggle, but it was still so dark that Hitoban couldn't see what it was she was attacking. She grabbed onto it and hurled it to the ground, in the middle of everyone else, then jumped down, still in her attack position.*

[Wahya Ayawisgi]

Wahya snarls as the beast hits the ground, when the dust settles it is a mangy looking dog with a collar around his neck. "Why are you here?!"

The dog does not answer as he rises to his feet with a shake of his head.

Wahya takes a step forward, "WHY ARE YOU HERE?!"

Still no answer.

[Tsukikage]

Shimo looked puzzled, "A dog?"
He landed on the ground and took a few steps toward the dog, almost shrinking as the aggressive stance melted away. He smiled at the dog, "Hey there, I hope we didn't scare you. You actually gave us quite a scare, there, we thought you were some wild animal." Why am I sympathizing with this... this house-pet?!? Shimo's aggression thought. "I hope you aren't hurt," He continued, "Lady Hitoban can be quite..." he paused to find the right word... "a skilled fighter." Yes. That seemed safest. Calling her "aggressive" or "rough" or "violent" would undoubtedly only cause trouble. Now it came down to it: "Do you know him, Wahya?" He asked. It feels like I do... but why? Why do I care about some stray dog?

[hitobannofokkusu]

*Hitoban shook her head as the dust settled. What the hell was this mangy mutt doing out here? Hitoban had never really cared much for domestic dogs-she thought they were idiots sometimes-so she had to fight back a sneer. This kid was filthy! She turned her head away from it to avoid having to smell it's stink. She peered back at it from the corner of one eye.*

"Pardon my rudeness kid, but shouldn't you be at home...lapping water from some hunter's bowl?"

*Maname stared in awe at the little wolf-like creature and wondered what it was. It looked like a wolf, but what was that thing around it's neck? And it smelled sort of like a wolf, but then again it didn't. That might be why Daisuke got confused-he'd never smelt anything like it before! The only thing she could think to do was turn to Hitoban, a bemused look on her face.*

What is it, My Lady? A little wolf?

*Hitoban couldn't believe her ears. Had Maname never seen a dog before? Had any of her siblings? Hitoban tilted her head and looked back at Maname with an expression to match hers.*

"You mean to tell me that you've never seen a dog before? Haven't you even come into contact with hunters who had dogs?"

My siblings and I don't run into hunters often, but when we do it's just them, no...dogs. So dogs are like wolves, right? But smaller?

*All Hitoban could do was shake her head. All of this fuss over a dog...she walked over to a tree trunk, almost exhausted already, and said "One of you explain it to her...I need a break."

[Wahya Ayawisgi]

Wahya continues to snarl at the dog, he looks to the collar to notice something about it, it was blinking. Wahya leaps on the dog snarling next to his ear as he pushes down on his throat with his paw, his eyes slowly turning solid gold.

"You better tell me why you are here with that damn tracking device around your neck or you will have a slow and painful death!"

The dog lays there trying to breath as Wahya pushes heavily into his throat.

[Tsukikage]

"Cut it out!" Shimo barked as he rammed head-long into Wahya. Before he realized what he was doing, he pinned Wahya down in the exact same position he'd been holding the dog in a few seconds ago. He quickly recoiled and gathered himself.
"Um... I... Wahya, I... sorry," He stammered, "I don't know what came over me, I just..." I'm not a dog, am I? What's going on here? He tried to sneer at the dog, but fear was far too apparent in his featureless eyes, "J-just answer his questions, or I'll... well, you saw how quickly I bashed him, didn't you? Tch..."
He retreated to a nearby tree and got out of sight. As soon as he did so, he broke out into a cold sweat, completely terrified of himself. What's happening to me?!? Who am I? Tears streamed down his face as he denied the cries of confusion and agony that were trying to escape from his muzzle.

Back at camp, Tsuki felt confusion, hostility, and fear in the direction the others had gone. He wanted to go, but knew that he could not betray Hitoban's trust. "Kage, something's wrong. Check it out." Kage nodded and was off in a heartbeat.
"Shall I go, too?" Mar asked.
"No," Tsuki replied, "I'm currently still too weak to protect anyone, should something happen here. I'll need your strength with me."
Mar knitted his eyebrows, understanding, but not liking the order, "But what about Kage's range?"
Tsuki looked solemnly at his father, "It was close enough for me to feel it; that's close enough."

[Rynn]

Rin remained curled up in a ball asleep, with her brother at her side watching the others that remained in the clearing.

[hitobannofokkusu]

[OCC] Rin, you should get in on the action too! ^^[/OCC]

*Dawn watched Kage go and instantly felt torn, just as she knew Tsuki had to be feeling now. She got up slowly and walked over to Tsuki, then sat down beside him. She looked down, then looked in the direction Kage had just gone. She didn't say a word and tried to be cheerful so she wouldn't burden Tsuki with her feelings.*

*Back in the clearing, Maname watched Shimo retreat into the bushes, then looked back to Wahya and Hitoban. She turned and slunk off after Shimo, trying not to be noticed. She saw Shimo when she came through the bushes and called his name softly. Shimo...are you alright? Do you mind if I sit here with you?*

*Hitoban looked at Wahya's slightly golden eyes and knew something had to be done. She carefully placed herself between Wahya and the dog and lowered her head to the poor thing's level. She fiddled with the collar, looking it over carefully, then gave the beeping part a nice hard bite. It made a crunching sound, but she didn't know whether she had broken it or not. She looked the dog in the eyes, her own becoming soft, and she smiled.*

"I'm sorry. We've all been terribly rude. My name is Hitoban no Fokkusu. Would you be so kind as to tell me your name and where you're from?"

[Tsukikage]

Tsuki smiled half-heartedly at Dawn, "They'll be back, we just need to hold our position until they do; after all, we wouldn't want to leave those that are still sleeping." Tsuki sniffled a bit, "I have to protect them. For her, right? So cheer up. Momentai."

Kage ran as fast as he could, until he burst into the clearing. He barely noticed Shimo on his way in. He looked around and made a quick assessment of the situation, "A dog? Is... everything ok here?"

Meanwhile, Shimo finally lost it back behind the tree. His eyes flashed to life, the pupils finally reappearing from their hiding place. "I... I don't know what to do! I don't know who I am! I can see again! Oh gawd, I can see... of all times I have to see now! My brain could explode at any minute!" He took a deep breath and turned to Maname, "I... I'm too dangerous to be around; I don't know what could happen. Maname," He whimpered, tears finally streaming down his eyes, "I want to go away, disappear... I'm afraid that who I was will come back, and I don't know if that's a good thing."
Shimo melted into tears.

[hitobannofokkusu]

*Dawn nodded and smiled to Tsuki. She felt a sisterly bond to him, so she laid down and rolled onto her side; she hardly ever laid down next to anyone but Hitoban and Kage and she almost never rolled onto her side.*

I'm cheery. Just a little tired. Momentai to you as well.

*Hitoban turned and gave a quick nod to Kage, then turned back to the dog, still waiting for her answer.*

*Meanwhile, Maname was freaking out. She wanted to tackle Shimo and make him stop crying. She wanted to nuzzle him to death, trying to cheer him up, but she didn't know how he would react to that. A tear streamed down her cheek just watching him, and she couldn't contain herself anymore. She padded forward slowly and embraced him, wrapping her neck and chin around his neck and shoulder.*

Shimo...please don't cry...I don't want to leave you and I definitely don't want you to disappear. Please stop crying...

[Rynn]

Rin woke with an almost silent groan, she uncurled herself and looked around the clearing to see everyone gone. Kaze looked over at his sister with a smirk, Rin glanced at her brother before flopping her head back on the ground, she still felt tired but she couldn't put a paw on why. Kaze watched his sister for a few seconds before he muttered to his sister that he would be back later and he stood and padded off without another word.

[Tsukikage]

Tsuki smiled and nodded to Dawn, "Yeah, no worries."
He was certainly glad of the company, and somehow, just her being there put him a bit more at ease, or perhaps he felt Kage's heart for her from far off. It didn't matter, really.
As Kaze turned to leave, Mar padded over and stood in his path. "And just where are you going?" He smirked, "I'm sorry, but we don't want the group to get separated any more than it is, so if you'd just hold tight, that'd be great. If not, at least give me some information, like when you'll be back or what you're doing, okay?"

"Maname?" Shimo sobbed. He'd never been wanted before... that he could remember. It was a strange feeling, like his existence somehow mattered. It reminded him of when Tsuki stuck up to Wahya for him. It was like someone cared whether he lived or died. "I... I still don't know... if I'm -- or even what I am! I'm not a dog, but I attacked Wahya as if that housepet were my own brother... I..." Images came bursting through a wall in his mind, and he cried out in pain. "It was bleeding... dying... I didn't know what to do..." He mumbled, "I took care of it... made it smile... it was like... brother... can't see..." his body trembled, fighting the pain, "betrayal... test subject... 11098527... 11098527... 11098527..." he continued mumbling these numbers over and over, eyes wide and unresponsive. His fur shone brightly, like moonlight on a lake, then the pupils in his eyes vanished again, and it ended. He seemed back to normal, but he fainted, and fell to the ground, tears still streaming down his face.
From overhead, Tsubasa finally landed nearby, and nodded in recognition of what had transpired. He made no sound, just stared at Maname with his intense, piercing eyes, as if asking a question, or perhaps issuing her a command.

[Wahya Ayawisgi]

The dog gets up again, as he looks to Hitoban he narrows his eyes, "I was sent by hunters.... to find him..." The dog turns and looks to Wahya.

Wahya's eyes widen for a second, then anger runs through his veins as he snarls viscously at the dog, "YOU DAMN MUTT!" Wahya leaps at the dog again, this time shoving his paw down on his throat with his claws out. His eyes solid gold now he gazes at the dog on the ground as he gasps for breath. Wahya's attitude was changing, he had his mouth slightly open as slobber ran out onto the dogs face, "You think you could just simply track me and just live..." Wahya starts to laugh manically as he pushes harder into the dogs throat.