"Tsume, your always so modist." Harper woofed grogily. He brought back some dead thing and said he found it and didn't feel like eating. She was just waking up from the cold nightfall, and every one but Kiba seemed unprerared.

     Tsume didn't know how to fight back. That was somthing that always rubbed his fur backwards about her. She could always say somthing that you couldn't make a comback with. He did what he could think of and growled.

      "Harper." Cheza's faint voice called.

    Harper folded her ears. She turned around and looked at her. Cheza heald her hand out to her, waiting for the grey female to come.

    Harper blinked, knowing if she didn't come, Kiba would be steamed. She padded over reluctently, and sniffed her hand. Cheza lightly reached out and stroked her ears veguly.

     Harper's hackls raised a little and she got wide-eyed. She had never been toutched by a human in such a positive way. It was always being hit or struck. She never trusted them.

      This was new. Totaly new. She flicked her ear after a few soft strokes and turned away. Not facing anyone, and sat down. Her hackles and eyes remained the same, and she hunched over. It was so weird to be toutched by such soft and caring arms.

       The groupe, even Tsume, looked at her, sighlently. Harper's slow and smooth movments were also new. She was always fast and put-together. They wached her just sit there, shocked by how gentle Cheza was.

        Kiba knew if they remaned like that, Harper wouldn't return nicly. He looked at the others, catching Tsume quickly refocas to the kill he had found like he didn't want to be caught, and said in his mellow, strong voice.

   "C'mon, might as well eat while we can."

   Harper looked back and slowly but surly walked back and ate, quickly she finished and sat away from the groupe, and cassualy joined by Toboe.

Soon after the groupe finished, they were back to the same directionless running. Kiba led, Harper keeping a easy second, Toboe lagging to stay behind her, and Tsume in back. Cheza remained on Kiba's back.

   Harper lagged back again, and talked to Toboe.

"Back to running, I suppose." She said

"Yeah." Toboe thought for a bit. "What's so weird about her?"

 Harper looked at him blankly, but keeping an eye on where she was going.

"Cheza. You acted so..differant."

Harper growled. "Is there a problom with that?"

Toboe remained sighlent and continued to run. Harper sped ahead to where she was running beside Kiba. It was clear Harper didn't want to have that noticed.

Tsume breathed shortly out at this. She was so weird. After a minute, he pondered weather or not he should even care about what she did. Since when was it his job to note down all her actions? He skipped a step in his run and flailed, skidding into a snow heap.

 The wolves turned and looked at him, well, where they thought he was. Quickly Kiba let Cheza off his back, and started to dig. Quick movments of his paws started a hole in it with out any visual effort. Toboe joined in, and Harper wached.

  Smoothly, she walked around and scraped out a chunk of ice with her paws. Tsume's black nose appered. She barked and walked away. She knew Tsume, and he would probbly bite her and wressle her to let off the steam of emberassment from falling into a snow heap like that.

   Kiba and Toboe continued the digging as Hige lopped around, Barking exitedly. He was told to stay by Cheza, but what wolf could be more hyper than him at a time like this?
 

   Harper sat and wached mockingly as Tsume finaly shook off all the snow from his pelt. The others didn't metion it, they knew he had a temper that was worse that Harper's.

   She snickered as Toboe sat beside here. "Nice move there, Icey-ears!" She howled. He still had a chunk of ice sticking to his left ear tip.

   Tsume walked forward quickly, his pace advancing into a run. He bared his teeth as Toboe blew for cover from the fight about to happen. Leaping up, Tsume growled as Harper leapt up and took is attack with full force.

    She clamped her jaws on his vein. The side of his neck became coated in crimson blood. Tsume bit onto Harper's scruff, splattering more blood on the white snow. She only bit down harder, and Tsume relentlessly swung his head, tearing flesh out of his bite.

     As they landed, a horrible crack echoed through the ice. Harper whimpered shortly and loudly, letting go of Tsume's shoulder. Tsume sunk his fangs further in before removing them and turning to stalk away in fury.

     Kiba growled, but didn't retaliate. He moved towards Harper slowly. She hadden't gotten up, and she looked pretty beat. She was alive, but it was an injury that wouldn't heal quickly. She sniffed and looked up, blood was scattered in pools around her.

      Her pupils were dialated as she looked around. She flattened her ears and set her head down. Slowly, her caunchansness slipped away.

Toboe looked at her, fear was engulfing the small wolf's body. "Harper?" He whispered so lightly, not even Kiba picked it up.

 He slowly toutched her with his paw, the silder bands around it made a pitiful noise.

 "She isn't dead, is she?" Hige asked, ears tilded outward.

"No." Kiba's flat word meat she could have been.

Toboe and Hige looked at Kiba, they stood behind Harper, looking into her injury. a chunk of bone was showing, and the raw flesh was quickly freezing.

 Cheza walked stiffly over, and placed a hand on her. The blood didn't stain the cloth over her hand like blood would normaly do, putting slight releif into Kiba's yellow eyes.

 She quietly sang, Harper flinched, even in unconchancness, and eased into deeper sleep. With a flash, and somthing the wolves didn't quite catch, Cheza lifted her hand and Harper's wound was no longer visable.

  Toboe tilted his heat innosently, and Hige just stared. Tsume had finnaly come back, and lurked in the snow hills. He wouldn't show his face untill the next morning. He was afraid that he might bite someone even worse.

 Toboe looked up to Kiba. "I..I suppose we're staying here for the night, then?" He said, his head still tilted.

Kiba nodded.

Hige looked at Toboe. "Yeah, sure, let's just leave her behind and hope she doesn't die so she can risk dieing again finding us." He said sarcasticly.

Toboe ignored the comment, then curled up, the fur on his back barly toutching the fur on Harper's side, and closed his eyes. Hige dug out a small divvet in the ice to sleep in a few yards away from Toboe and Harper, and Tsume dug out a hole quietly in the snow mound, still hiding. Kiba wached them all, and let himself into slumber, Cheza toutching his ear.

Tsume was the last to fall into full sleep. He wached sighlently, only the top of his head visable in the night, and let his yellow eyes take in the scene.

Toboe was un aware of Tsume, he didn't even know the grey male was lurking so close. He was certen that no one was waching, no one awake, and slowly groomed the injury Harper reseived.

Even though the wound it's self had healed, blood still covered the females thick fur. He glanced around once more, looking right through Tsume as if nothing was there.

Tsume ducked quickly, if he caught Toboe, well, that just...just wouldn't be...right. Tsume flicked an ear before looking up, startled at what he saw.

Toboe was licking softly at the blood-matted fur on Harper's back. He had his eyes closed half-way in contentment, and was no longer barley toutching Harper's fur, he was full on leaning on her, almost as if he was protecting her from the cold.

Toboe pulled out a chunk of dried blood from Harper's hackles, his white, soft fangs. Slowly but strongly he managed to get it out, only a few grey hairs inside of it.

He shook his head gently, flicking the mass off his teeth. He looked back softly, by now, Tsume was sure that he was un aware that he was doing that, and suddenly his eyes came to fullness as he realized that he had opened up her wound again. He licked softly at it again, only to pull his head back and pretend to be asleep as Harper flinched and turned around, her back now facing Toboe. Her amber gold eyes were slightly open, and Tsume knew she was awake, but not agknowlaging Toboe's continues consern.

Tsume folded his ears and pulled back his lips in a grimmice. It discusted him to see a wolf deeply care for another, yet, he just couldn't pull his eyes away from the scene. It was so...familiar to see that. And even worse to know what it felt like to be cared for like that.

Before the shooting and banishment of his old pack, he had gotten deeply hurt, and the freinds he had, the wolves of the whole pack cared for him, each taking a turn whole-heartedly to care for and wach him, asisting him for every thing he needed, everything he disired.

Tsume wished so badly he could trust like that. But they would suspect somthing, know somthing was wrong if he acted like that. He gritted his teeth a little and sunk down a little. He could wach no longer.

Slowly Tsume fell into slumber, such a soft, comphorting dream, back with the old family, but then everything went wrong, just like how it did. Every detail. Hot, white pain sunk into his chest, and Tsume lifted his head quickly. Had he really thought of that again?

He looked up from his spot, the aroura's still out, and wached the other's again. Hige was still the same ploofy furball, curled into a mount of tan yellow fur.

Toboe was curled deeply into his fur next to Harper, who was nolonger uncounsiouse. The two's paws and tails mingled together even in the heap and tight curles they were in.

Kiba blended in the snow but Cheza there toutching his head flagged his position.

He got up and walked out on the ice, just wandering, circling the groupe, far out enough they couldn't see him, but close in enough he could still see them.

He sighed, and looked up into the colored sky. Somthing deep inside told him to howl, ripping up his guts, screaming to him, untill Tsume lost himself into the long, sorrowful howls. He listened to them echo out into the land, not caring at all if the pack woke up and came to his "Aid". He howled, pouring his heart out for once, and somthing warm and wet fell down the side of his muzzle. Small tears fell to the ice, froze, and were gone forever.

Harper opened one yellow eye slowly. The lonesome howling echoing reminded her of somthing. Deep inside her, her heart started to ich and moan. She got up, flicking an ear at all the blood on the ice and on her fur. She felt no pain, not any. None.

She walked quickly, melting into a slow trott, outside the clearing the wolves had found. She was aware that she was on the opposate side of the clearing as the howling, no one could see her, but she could see them.

She inhailed quickly, and lifted her head, letting out a chorus of solomn howls. The two wolves, unaware of the others identity, howled, the crys intermeaning with eachother's. Frozen paw prints in the ice traced eachother, but it didn't matter now, not now, not ever.

Hige woke up slowly, bitterly awakening from the reminence of sleep to the cold wind of waking time. His spot in the ice had melted into what seemed like a shallow dish around him. He got up, walked away and shook his thick tan yellow fur free of melted ice drops. Kiba was still sleeping, Cheza seemingly frozen. How much does that dude sleep? Kiba had seemingly heard the thought, and his muzzle wrinkled in his sleep.

Hige folded his hears and pulled back his head a little. It took the young wolf to realize the sorrowful howling, and when he did, he felt the urge to howl.

 Bound by Blood

Bound by Soul

Howl, free wolf

please, be bold

Let your voice rise

far along the snow

cry, my free wolf

please, let me know

Earthly tought,

heavenly brought

firey hell 

never thought

cry, my free wolf

you are not alone

cry, fear never shown

Hige flicked an ear as he remembered the words he had once heard from somewhere around the city. It had always made him feel free, and belonging. He didn't know how, but it did. He looked to the ground, Harper had been here, small fried blood was in the paw prints leaving.

Hige knew this could be enteresting, because Tsume hadn't showed yet, and there were two wolves howling.  But because Harper was younger, and she was seemingly closer, he wouldn't hunt down Tsume. Besides, he liked his ears on his head, non-nibbled.

Setting out to fallow Harper's track, Hige lowered his head and breathed in heavily, taking in all the scent to fallow her. He hadn't gone to far before his paws ached from the heavy trott he had carried.  Phew, I suppose KIba was right, running is a whole lot easeir.

His thoughts were broken as he saw Harper, standing tall and stiff legged, hear tilted high to the fading aroura. Her eyes were closed; and she looked seemingly frozen, other than her beathing.

He snuck up quietly, and wagged his tail a little. This would be so fun.

"Harper? What the hell are you doing?"

Harper broke off from her howl and looked at him, and for the slightest second, Hige thought he saw pure suprise in her eyes. But it was quickly replaced by anger, burning fury.

"What are you doing here." Her question was more of a demaned, her voice flatt and hard, not like the beautiful flowing voice Hige had heard, and was starting to regret interupting.

"You left the spot, I couldn't help but poke around." He protested, flattening his ears.

"You're following me. Cut it out and head back."

The other wolf's howling stopped.

"I'm not following you! You just got hurt and-" he was cut off by Harper's now ready-to-kill voice.

"Why should you care?! Get your furry little tail away from me, or I'll tear your ears off!" Her threight was verry beleivable, and Hige started to turn around. But came back with a harsh retort.

"It's not me that cares, Toboe would freak if you just left him."
Harper flicked her hear and bared her fangs.

"Shut up." She growled.

"Why should I? You'd be devistated if he left too."

Harper snarled and leapt up, her paws forward and her jaws open. She was seriouse about the ears. Hige flattened his hears, hopping to protect them and flinched down , hoping to dodge her attack.

She landed just off, blood smeered accross her face. Hige looked confused for a moment, before his ear began to sting, a crazy, maddening orange sting. She had torn into his ear, stripping a small chunk of flesh out.

"Get lost before I take off the rest of your ears, furball." She growled. Every bit of her, her deep amber eyes, bristling frame, everything told she was seriouse.

Hige whimpered and turned away, scrabbling accross the ice as quickly as he could. He looked behind him quickly, but in return of not paying attention, he smashed into a half disorented Toboe.

The two skidded into seperate heaps of snow. Looking up, Toboe folded an ear and got up. Hige flicked his tail and growled deep in his thought before getting up and shaking the snow from his fur.

Blood spattered vaugly into the snow, and Toboe's eyes widened. Hige suddenly remembered his little injury from messing with Harper. Toboe walked slowly to Hige, his small build was diminutive to Hige's.

"Where-where'd you get...that?" he asked, tilting his hear a little to Hige's ear.

"Guess." Hige said flattly, becomimg suddenly feircom.

"Ice? Claws? What?"

"Harper."

Toboe stopped and starred off. He looked so quickly deep into thought. What did Hige do to prevoke that? He wondered.

"Why?"

"Cought her howling."

"What's so bad about that?" Toboe felt a small pun at that. His neame meant "Howling."

"Dunno."
 
"Spiritual time?"

"Maybe." Hige walked off, not wanting to answer anyymore questions. He mumbled angrily under his breath before curling back up into the dish that he had slept in.

Why would she do that? Toboe wondered. He walked to where he hasd collided with Hige. Pawprints, Harper's paw prints, lead to her spot. He thought it'd might help a little if he saw what happened.

He trotted happily to Harper, who wasn't paying attention and walked right beside Toboe. Who cares if he loses his ears? The guy never uses them! Harper growled. Toboe looked at Harper. Why didn't she notice me? And, how can she walk? Toboe turned around and lopped to Harper, stopping at her side.

"Hi."

Harper just growned.

"So...What's up?"

Harper lifted her head and gave him a blank look like she always did when she didn't feel like making an explination.

"..Oh.." Toboe whispered disapointedly.

"Sorry, dude." Harper shrugged.

Does, does she know that she was hurt? Toboe wondered. Starkly, he remembered what had happened during the night. He flattened his ears and felt his skin burn onder his fur. He scurried back up to Harper.

"Uh, does your back hurt?"

"No."

"Do, er, do you know what happened to Tsume?"

"No."

"Do you even remember what happened?"

"Guess."

Toboe cleared his throat a little. He wanted to talk to her, but she...she didn't seem so like herself.

"Hey, Harper?" Toboe stopped.

Harper turned around to face him.

"What."

"Do you...do you feel okay?"

Harper thought for a minute, looking to a pawprint. She looked back at him and gazed into his brown gold eyes.

"Well, not really. At least, not right now."

Toboe looked at her, amazed that she would admit that to him. He didn't know weather to dig in deeper and try to help, or just leave it there and act like it was normal.

"Uhm,...What's...wrong?"

Harper looked out to the bare ice.

"Someone was howling. And, and I thought I could..." Harper's voice broke up, like she was on the verge of tears.

"I thought I could talk to my brother again." She said, sitting down.

Toboe said nothing.

"He's, dead." Harper stated, picking up on the wafts of confusion blazing from Toboe's fur.

"Oh."

She let her ears flopp down over her face, and she sighed.  She looked up and gave a weirie smile.

"Impossable, right? It's amazing what you think you can do when you meet Kiba and go to this "Rakuen" place, huh?"

Toboe stared at her. She was so honest to him. Not rough and mean like she was to the others. Toboe blinked and smiled.

"Yeah, I suppose so."

Harper stood up and wagged her tail a little, her warm smile inviting him to walk with her back to the temperary camp. Toboe smiled, and ran over, his mouth open and tounge lolling.

The two picked up speed and ran back.

Kiba was up by the time and looked at the two, calmly and with ease. Harper immedeatly lowered her head, narrowed her eyes and grimmaced. Her usual posture around the group, large, lanky build, deep chest; perfect for running; long, well muscled legs for speed, but evenly powered to fight. But no matter how she ate, bones reveiled under her shaggy fur.

Toboe twitched his nose and pulled back his fur, taking a few steps away from Harper. She was never verry happy around the wolves, and once he thought about it, she never even relaxed sceince Tsume found her at the old abandon house and ended up "Taking her back". Why Harper had followed him, Toboe never knew.

"Where's icey-ears?" Harper growled, her voice was gritty and hard, like someone was forcing her to say it.

"How the hell should I know?" Hige said.

Harper whipped around to face him, a little of his tan fur left between her teeth. "Wanna lose some more of that ear, furball?" She growled.

Hige got up and unfolded his arms. "No. What kind of idiot do you take me for?" he said.

Harper remained as a wolf. "One that won't keep it's mouth shut. I didn't ask you." She turned to face Kiba. "So?"

Kiba ignored her sarcasim. "Dunno."

Harper muffled a greatful sigh. She always wondered how the white wolf could keep his pateince like that. Besides, what did she care if Tsume was lost?

Harper rolled her eyes and walked to the ice heap Hige was leaning on. She walked to the other side and leaned on it, finaly releasing her human form.

Heavy steel-toed boots streached out on the ice, jeans with multiple tears in it, a black shirt that had the collar fringed with tears, and a red jacket, two white streaks running down the arm, and poorly stitched seams. Harper obviously had no care on how she looked. And she never had a good pick on what she wore, she was homless for one, and for two, she wasn't human, what would it matter?

She packed her fists into the jackets pockets, and she leaned back her head, golden blonde hair spread out slightly on the ice. She narrowed her eyes and stared out to the horrizon. A form was running closer and closer to them.

Toboe, now fallowing the human run, stepped closer to Harper and looked out, catching her confused look.

"Tsume." Kiba said, rasing an arm over his eyes to block out the arctic sun.

"Will we wait for him?" Toboe asked hopfully. He looked at Kiba, but was more asking Harper.

Kiba nodded. And looked at Harper.

"Why the hell would I want icy-ears to stay?!" She growled, glaring at the figure that was becoming formable.

Toboe looked at her, big, brown gold eyes pleading.

Harper sighed irritably, narrowed her eyes and sighed. 

"Fine." She said, quickly and sharply.

Toboe smiled a little and sat down next to Harper, who had her back turned. Kiba looked back out to Tsume. The grey male running slowly, like he didn't want to come back, but if he didn't, it wasn't likly he'd live.