Of Demons and Death Gods

[Tsukikage]

Dante knew Tsuki and Kage had both detected his conversation in Dawn's mind, and Mar, too, most likely. As the group arrived in the meadow, he turned and made eye contact with Tsuki...
So, He said, I must warn you, Dawn is right about me...
I know, but... I sense no evil in you. Tsuki replied. Tsuki was obviously more accustomed to this form of communication than Dawn, or perhaps his thoughts to her frightened her. Kage could also speak through Tsuki, so it seemed, and he interjected as soon as Dante's presence entered the closed circle.
What did you do? he snapped curtly.
I warned her. Dante explained, Warned her that she is not wrong to fear me. I am more powerful than any of you right now -- more powerful than the Dante you once knew. I offered to be on friendly terms for as long as possible, and even to train her, or any of you, for my return.
"So Dante, what do you think of our home?" Tsuki asked aloud. It surprised him very much; usually, his mind-conversations rendered the target impared of any outside thought. Obviously, Tsuki's life with Kage had prepared him for this.
"Um, it's lovely. Really." Dante said absent-mindedly. He did not speak with that sweet voice of his. Instead, his voice sounded... pure -- it was still a pleasing voice, but he was too distracted, and it didn't captivate its listeners like it had earlier.
I accept your offer, Dante. Kage said darkly. One of us will have to stop you someday, and I am... the most ruthless.
You have a passionate heart, Kage, and also the intent to kill. But you cannot kill me on your own -- I would simply break the seal on you and your brother, and you would disappear.
Kage left the mind-space, a bit harried, and returned to the outer conversation. He took Dawn aside a moment and nuzzled her, "Y-you okay?" He asked shakily.

[hitobannofokkusu]

Dawn watched the silent exchange from a few paces away, still slightly shaken from her "conversation" with Dante. She didn't know what to do. The offer had plainly been placed on the table for him to teach her how to kill him, but she didn't know if she would be able to do it. For now, she pushed it to the back of her mind and watched the parade of emotions across the silent disputers' faces. She knew them-almost all of them-so well that she could almost tell what they were saying as the emotion crossed their faces. They were gone in a split second, but they were obvious enough for Dawn to know what they were about. She paid no mind to the distraction of the spoken words, and instead focused intently on trying to decipher the hidden conversation.

She could tell by Dante's face-plain, unrelenting in it's sameness-that all he was doing was stating fact-probably relaying the gist of his warning. Tsuki's face told her that the was calm and in his element; he was trusting and he trusted Dante. Kage's face suddenly turned toward the angry expression, and she knew he wanted to know what was up. Though they were expressions, the three continuously kept a blank set to their features. The only way Dawn could tell the exchange was because of the tiny adjustments made every few seconds or so, when someone was surprised (like Dante had been when Tsuki spoke aloud) or upset.

She could tell when Kage's attitude changed, but she didn't know the reason. Dante's face remained blank as he responded, but his eyes held a hint of malice-warning. Kage's expression changed again-scared maybe, or perhaps just shaken. Dawn wasn't happy with the turn of events, leaving her out of the invisible circle that had been made. Her own expression turned to that of worry as Kage crossed the short distance to her, and she nuzzled him back, anxious to know what Dante had said to him. Her brief glance let her know that nothing had changed for the moment, but her glance quickly turned to a glare as she contemplated the things he could have said. She flicked her eyes quickly away from instinct, and they fell on Kage. Her ears fell back slightly and she let out a soft whimper, looking into his eyes.

"I'm fine, but what about you? You look as if you've seen a ghost."

[Tsukikage]

"I-I..." Kage responded. He was embarrassed to look so weak in front of Dawn, but he trusted her almost more than he trusted Tsuki, so he decided to be honest about it. "I hate looking so pathetic in front of you, Love... but I'm scared -- probably for the first real time in my life. You know about Dante, so I won't beat around the bush: I took the offer, and he said he could kill me -- said it like an afterthought, like it was just like eating or sleeping to him. I-I've never been afraid of dying before, because I would just protect Tsuki, thus ensuring my own survival, but this is... different."

Dante paid no more mind to the harried Kage. Y'know, it occurs to me, He said at length, I seem to remember a demon friend of yours that would probably be best suited for killing me. Wahya, I think it was...
Tsuki nodded solemnly, Yeah, Giga, you mean. Anyway, Wahya has his own pack to worry about now. No, we'll find some other way, if that's really what it comes to.
Dante was amused. You don't believe me?
I wouldn't dare to take you lightly. Came the response, But I'd like to think that these sorts of things aren't set in stone yet.
Dante smirked at Tsuki. Interesting... "Well, I believe I'll take a nap for now -- we can 'catch up' later, I suppose."
Tsuki nodded, "Very well, then."

[hitobannofokkusu]

Dawn listened to her mate, the anxiousness slowly turning to concentrated worry. Now that she knew what was wrong, she felt slightly better. Still, having Kage in such a state was bad on her nerves. She didn't like anyone to be upset if it could be helped, let alone her veritable life and soul. She knew what he was talking about-about Dante's power. Kage's own life was only possible because of Tsuki and the seal that bound them. If Dante were able to break it, that would surely wreak doom on Kage. She shuddered at the thought, suppressing the rage that bubbled up from it, and nuzzled Kage softly. Immediately she knew her answer to Dante's offer. She would fight him to protect everyone around her, like she'd done so many times before. The only difference this time was that she probably wouldn't survive.

"Kage my love, don't be frightened. It won't just be you and Dante dueling, but you will have the rest of us as well. Hitoban and I at the very least, and I'm sure Tsuki as well."

Hitoban rose now, her face a controlled mask of complete blankness, and crossed the meadow to Tsuki and Dante just at the tail end of their conversation. She hadn't been paying much attention, but she knew just enough to know what was going on. She could feel the aura in the area, knew the tension and worry from Dawn and Kage, knew Dante's strangely laid back yet warning mood. The one person, however, she thought she would always be able to tell about, she could not. She had almost no idea what Tsuki was thinking, and it upset her. She sat beside him and gently nuzzled his shoulder absentmindedly. Her crimson eyes stared at nothing, though they appeared to be watching a tiny snail slither slowly across the grass.

[Tsukikage]

"No." Kage snapped, "I don't want you anywhere near him when the time comes -- you understand? If he comes here to kill us, then I want you to run, I want --"
"Kage," Tsuki's voice interrupted, "take Dawn and go relax. There's no need for the two of you to be so worried." Not right now, anyway... He turned to his father and Shimo as well, "If you wouldn't mind, I'd like some alone time with Heets as well."
Mar nodded. "Right." He bowed slightly, bringing his large head down to their eye level. "Little Miss." He smiled and walked off with Shimo.

Tsuki turned to Hitoban once they were alone, "Just to get this out of the way, Kage has almost a mile before he starts feeling any strain, so we'll be fine this far apart. Now..." He sighed and nuzzled his face into Hitoban's neck, and seemed to shrink from his previously commanding appearance. "I think I may have made a mistake -- this Dante business is way more complicated than I thought it would be. I mean -- I still can't feel any evil in his heart, but... his words strike fear into our pack, and I believe it when he says he will kill us. I don't know what to do -- I've never met anyone with the will to kill, and the threat, but no evil or malice. But we can't let them see us afraid, can we? We have to be strong... I have to be strong."

Kage had some time to think before he and his mate stopped walking. "No." He said again, laughing at himself. "We promised to die together, didn't we? It wouldn't be fair of me to ask you to leave -- I know I wouldn't want to." He held her against his chest with one paw, resting his head on hers. A tear trickled down from his one eye. "I-I... I'm scared, Dawn... all our plans, our family, our future -- it could all be gone in an instant." He chuckled to himself, finally thinking of something cheerful to say. He looked Dawn in one eye and smiled, "So let's make the most of whatever time we have left."

[hitobannofokkusu]

Dawn flinched at Kage's harsh reaction, tensing to the undeniable order he'd given. She was about to argue-talk about how if he died she would want to die as well anyway-when Tsuki interrupted their almost argument. She nodded reluctantly, but the thought of relaxing was slightly reassuring. So she turned and led the way away from the others, making sure that it wasn't too far away so that Kage wouldn't be uncomfortable. She stopped and turned to him just as he began talking. She felt strangely relieved at his words, even though they held the possibility of dying, they held the guarantee of dying with him. She would rather that than have to live a life without him.

She rested her cheek against his chest and the tears finally came. He was scared, and she was scared, and she knew that even though Hitoban didn't show it, she was scared too. She didn't know about Tsuki though, the way he openly invited Dante into his home made her think he wasn't too scared. She listened to her love's voice as silent tears watered the grass below, and it only made her feel worse. How could she be this weak in front of him? She couldn't stop the tears though, and so she didn't even try.

Finally, when her eyes dried, the last thing he'd said registered in her mind. "So let's make the most of whatever time we have left." She looked up at him, deep into his eye for a long while, and then sighed, put at ease. A small smile broke over her face, and part of it even showed itself in her eyes. She buried her face in his chest and just sat there for a while. Just being with him like this was enough for her.

Meanwhile, Hitoban nodded back to Mar and offered him a weak smile. When they were gone, she turned to Tsuki, the now sunk in fear hiding behind a veil in her eyes. What would she do if everyone died? What would she do with all of that blood on her hands? She didn't worry about dying, but she worried that Tsuki would die and leave her alone, or she would die and leave Tsuki alone. She worried that Dawn or Kage would die, or both, and Maname and Rin, Mar, Shimo, and everyone. Dante was powerful, and he could take down the whole pack and anyone in the way almost easily. It was a scary thing to think about, but she forced a brave face on, just for her position's sake.

Almost copying her thoughts, Tsuki's warmth felt good against her neck, because for some reason she felt cold. She snuggled close to him, reveling in it while still listening to his words. He felt almost the same way she did except for being able to feel what Dante was feeling. His last comment, about how they couldn't let him see them afraid, was true. However, he was no longer here, and just thinking that made a few persistent tears slip through Hitoban's barricade. She wanted to dissolve, to just feel Tsuki with her and be weak for a moment. Then she could go back to being the Alpha Female, the one who's always in control and on the ball. But for now, she just wanted to let go...

"We don't have to be strong all the time. We can't be strong all the time. Sometimes we need to just have a moment, and then we can be strong again. Can we have a moment, love?"

[Tsukikage]

A moment? Yes, that's what they needed. A moment -- to plan. To ponder. To cry. To laugh. To just be...
"Yes. Let's just --" His words trailed off as an unexpected visitor invaded his mind.
So... you've finally let your wall down. Dante grinned, Hehe... turns out even you can be broken. This was not the Dante they'd spoken to earlier, he was... different. Tsuki felt a sharp pain in his chest that nearly winded him. He faltered a little, trying desperately to hide his struggle from Hitoban. "What do you want from us?" He hissed beneath his breath.
Want? Dante repeated, I've never really thought about it, actually. I suppose I just enjoy watching people suffer. I suppose that would make me a monster, wouldn't it?
"I-I... won't let you..." Tsuki wheezed.
Oh? And what are you going to do about it? Dante knows that I can't be stopped.
Tsuki gasped. "You mean --?"
You're all too familiar with inner demons, aren't you? Wahya and Giga, Kage and yourself, and even your beloved Hitoban. One might think that you attract such freaks through some kind of curse or bad luck. Anyway, the Dante you knew before has been reborn with those blasted memories of yours. He's not quite the same as the one you knew, but he's getting in my way, so you see... I'll just have to kill you all.
The dark entity retreated, and Tsuki regained his composure. He looked up at Hitoban and smiled, "Just... cry with me, Heets?"

Elsewhere, Dante approached Mar and Shimo.
"I need you to do something for me, Shimo." He said. "I need your power to purge the evil from my body before we destroy you all."
Shimo gasped, "But I have no --" he stopped, recalling the bite he'd received. He looked at Dante gravely, "Will it really work?"
Dante sighed. "No... it won't. We can only seal it away for a time... and if it's the wrong one we seal, then you must kill me."
"What about an artificial construct?"
"No." He smiled, "I'm afraid not. It must be a living host, or else... one that was alive."
"And it has to be roughly the same size, right?" Shimo nodded, following the train of thought. "Let's do it."
The three of them went off in secrecy...

[hitobannofokkusu]

Hitoban ducked her head to look at Tsuki as he spoke, and tilted her head when he trailed off. What was he thinking? She couldn't begin to guess. Soon though, she felt a change in him. Something was different. She pricked her ears and leaned into him in an attempt to hear his quiet hissing speech. Her forehead folded in worry as she realized that he was speaking neither to her or himself. What's more, whoever he was speaking to wasn't speaking at all, and it pained him to listen to it. That could only mean one thing. Had Dante already lost it? Was a fight really that inevitable that it had to be right now? She hoped not, but unless he told her, she would never know.

She didn't hide the worry as his face returned to normal and a smile came over his features. As she heard his words, her tears, as if on cue, began to fall slowly and silently. The more she let by, however, the more that wanted through. Soon they flowed fast and free, and she whimpered in time to the salty liquid march down her face. She wanted to howl, but she didn't for fear of worrying those who were near enough to hear it. Instead, she sank to the ground and pulled close to Tsuki, finally letting go.

[Tsukikage]

It was some time before Tsuki even moved -- it almost felt to him like he hadn't even breathed -- but when he finally did, it was a sweet relief. All his grief and fear had taken the form of the tears soaking the grass beneath them. He lay there with his mate, and his heart was glad for the company. "Thank you, Hitoban." He said finally, "I... I wasn't strong enough to cry alone. Do you feel any better?" He hoped so. Somehow, a good cry helped to set one's heart at ease.

Elsewhere, Kage was enjoying the peace with his love, Dawn. He had of course sensed the trauma Tsuki had gone through, but he knew that if he worried too much, it would only affect his brother even more. At any rate, his mind was elsewhere...
"Hey, Love?" He whispered into her ear, "Um... about those pups..." his face turned crimson, and his single eye darted all around nervously. "Er... do you think -- well, now might not be a good time, but... I mean..."
Clearly, Mar had not talked to the young wolf about how to discuss such things with a female, but he was trying...

[hitobannofokkusu]

Hitoban's eyes had dried a while before Tsuki spoke, but they were still gazing beyond the grass, her mind numb and blank of everything just as if she were still crying. The only difference was her eyes' inability to produce the hydration that enabled her to make tears. When he did speak, however, she snapped out of her almost coma-like state. She looked at him and smiled, as if a weight had been lifted from her back. Did she feel better? Definitely. Her smile backed up her nod, and she nuzzled her mate's shoulder affectionately. "What about you?" was her reply.

Dawn came into intense focus when she heard Kage's voice in her ear. She'd been pretty relaxed in the silence, but now that she'd been pulled out of it she was hyper aware of her surroundings. It was as if she'd just woken up from a very long slumber, and her senses were heightened. As he spoke, she noticed him fumble over the words, and then felt the heat of his face. She also blushed furiously, looking at the ground in silence. He stumbled around some more, and then trailed off. It was certainly something to think about. Did she want to do that right now? Well obviously, she wanted to, but did she want to commitment right at that moment? What if Dante freaked out when she was all huge and bloated and she couldn't be of any help at all? Would she want to fight him anyway? The answer to that was obvious-as obvious as the answer to whether or not Kage would let her get involved. She weighed the pros and cons for a minute or two, and then made a decision.

Certainly she wouldn't like it if she wasn't able to fight him, but this might be their only chance. After all, Dante was incredibly powerful and...she didn't want to finish the thought. She decided the pros were heavier than the cons, and she'd made up her mind. The only problem now was telling Kage without making a fool of herself. She'd never done anything like this before, and she'd never spoken to anyone about it before. She could only hope that she didn't have to say much.

She flushed again as she attempted to speak, avoiding looking at her love's face. "Well it's not...not really a..." She swore inwardly at her feeble resolve and took a deep breath. Her words came out in a rush. "It's not exactly a bad time either. I mean we might not get another chance you know?" She sighed as she blushed again and cast a glance at Kage's face.

[Tsukikage]

Tsuki smiled, then blushes suddenly, feeling a bit of his brother's awkwardness from far off. "Um... yeah, I do feel better." He shook off the feeling and put up his little inner wall that the siblings had learned to use for some privacy of thought. Unfortunately, those particular feelings had already linked into his mind. He averted his gaze, panting nervously. He'd never felt anything quite like it.
"Um... uh, I..." He fumbled with his words, "I think I'll go see how Dad is doing with all this; Dante was his best friend, after all. Um, er... did y-you want to walk with me?"
He felt foolish -- after all, Hitoban was his mate, but he'd never thought of those particular implications. He'd been quite happy taking it slow and just being with her. Besides, he wasn't the fatherly type. For some reason, though, he couldn't bring himself to even look at her. Was it normal to feel almost completely terrified in this situation? How much of this was actually normal? At any rate, he closed his eyes and focused very hard on forgetting about Kage for the time-being.

Kage, too, had other things on his mind. He looked Dawn in one eye. Her response had steadied him a bit, but he was still overwhelmed by what his body was suddenly feeling. "Yes. We may not get another opportunity." He repeated. It was certainly a grim thought, but one that was quickly flushed out of his consciousness by baser instincts. "Um... alright. Just understand that I don't really have any idea what I'm doing. If I... hurt you, or anything... th-then just let me know, okay?"
[We can skip past the next part for them, to spare the audience. ^.~]

[hitobannofokkusu]

Hitoban tilted her head at her mate's blush, and saw through his deterring words. He was fine, but his mood had suddenly changed dramatically. He avoided looking at her, and his face was still flushed. What was he thinking? She did a quick scan of her coat to make sure nothing was stuck in it; it was shiny and clean. He stuttered through his words, but Hitoban understood them. She was about to agree, when she remembered Kage.

"What about Kage? How far can you go before it hurts him?"

Dawn looked back at her love's one eye with a smile. She didn't say a word for fear of screwing it up again. Instead, she nodded her answer.

[[S.k.i.p.n.e.s.s]]

[Tsukikage]

Tsuki practically jumped when he heard Kage's name again. "O-oh, Kage? Kage's fine. Really!" He laughed nervously, "I'll be able to tell if Kage and I get too far apart. It's best to leave Kage be right now -- n-not that Kage's doing anything! Ehehe... um..."
His voice was barely under his own control, and the way he kept saying Kage was sure to be a dead give-away -- Hitoban was smart enough to figure out something was up. The question is, would he have t explain why he was sweating and staring intensely at the tip of Hitoban's tail? Oh God, I hope not... He tried to move his eyes to meet hers, but they were block by a hot feeling in his cheeks. This was an awkward situation...
"So, sh-shall we?"

[hitobannofokkusu]

Hitoban sat down, refusing to move, and tilted her head again. Her brow furrowed in confusion and slight worry. Tsuki's words were strangely spoken-and the wording was slightly strange as well. She followed his gaze to her tail, and flicked it. Was there a bug there or something? Had she suddenly turned hot pink?? Why was he acting so strangely. She guessed it had something to do with Kage-something embarrassing. Possibilities rushed through her mind. Something embarrassing for both of the brothers at the same time...probably a feeling, since Tsuki couldn't see what Kage was seeing... Surely love wouldn't be embarrassing; anger maybe, if it was strong enough. She couldn't piece anything together. Then again...

Hitoban's face flushed as her scattered thoughts clicked. Her wide eyes looked at a random blade of grass and she took a second to control herself. It was futile though, and she burst into a surge of uncontrollable giggling. She rolled over onto her side, partially unable to breathe through the laughter. She didn't know why she was laughing so much because she wasn't fully aware of her surroundings through her hysteria. However, it was probably due to the amount of time it took her to put it all together. In the back of her mind-the part that wasn't laughing, but longing, she thought Lucky dog...

[Tsukikage]

The laughter had done the trick. Tsuki was so shocked that he stared straight at Hitoban. Had she figured it out? He dare not ask. His face turned crimson, and he simply shouted, "Hey! Are you coming, or what?" He had subconsciously summoned the attitude that had eluded him. Some good it does me now...
Hitoban was still giggling... "Um... Heets?" Tsuki's look of frustration practically fell off of his face, replaced with a look of concern and slight bewilderment. "Y-you okay? I didn't think I was being all that funny. Are you sick or something?" Better play dumb, just in case she really isn't thinking what I think she's thinking.