Can You See The Darker Side of Me
Chapter 1
I Live For Nothing
Anyone is welcome to read this but it is the sequel to Slaves so I do advise you to read that first.
Disclaimer:
Toboe: Hello all. It's Toboe again. This is the long anticipated sequel to Slaves. The title actually came from a song called 'The Animal I Have Become' by Three Days Grace. I believe it will describe this story well. I listen to strange songs while I write. . Oh well that's just me. Some of my fav songs are 'Numb,' and 'My December' by Linkin Park, 'Open Wounds,' by Skillet and anything by Evanescence, AFI, My Chemical Romance, and The Killers. There is quit a lot more but I didn't feel like taking up a whole page talking about nothing. . Anyway it's been raining like MAD here! You need a fricking snorkel! Horseback riding is hard in this weather. So I have lots of time to spend with you guys . Love you lots! And I don't own the Wolf's Rain cast.
IMPORTANT NOTE!
Almost all Slaves has been edited. A few chapters have actual important stuff added to it, like a page or two or three! The chapters that have up to a page of stuff added are Chapters 3 (half a page), 5 (a page and a half), 6 (three and a half pages). Chapter 8 also has a paragraph added about Toboe's adventure between the big fight and Lif, Sano, and Kawa's arrival but it isn't super important (but it is interesting). Now on with the story!!
"And this one," a young girl said pulling a corner of her shirt and tugging on her pants to show a long jagged white scar that curved up from her hip, "I got for pissing off an overseer." Her long hair was a light copper brown pulled up into a high ponytail. Her clothes were modest, a white long sleeved blouse and old blue jeans. She was very skinny, her cheeks still showed the signs of starvation, but her eyes twinkled playfully as she teased a human boy who was staring at the scar.
"Why Henric, if this scar fascinates you so I'm sure I could give you a matching one just like it." She teased and chuckled as Henric blushed as his friends hooted and teased him. The girl shyly put her hand over her lips and winked one blue eye at him earning a few whistles from her crowd.
"Anyway before our little… interruption" she continued with a crocked smile earning more chuckles, "The overseer, a nasty nasty guy, was standing over a young pup." The laughs instantly stopped. "The pup wasn't moving yet the man kept hitting him over and over again. We were pulling right next to him. I just lunged and pulled his leg out from under him. I'm lucky I had an important purpose other wise I would have been killed. I was later told the pup had died."
The once cheerful crowd was somber and they bowed their heads murmuring quick prayers.
"If this makes you feel any better we ended up calling that guard Limpsalot afterwards. My fangs are just as sharp as any alpha males." She said barring her teeth. She was no ordinary human. In fact she wasn't a human at all.
Humans saw the young girl, but others saw her true form. A wolf. As a wolf she was very different from the others. Her mother was a red wolf while her father had been a manned wolf from the south. As of such she had the built of a red wolf, with slightly longer legs, but the coloring of a manned wolf with thick golden-red fur that darkened to black on her legs and the nape of her neck. But her tail was thicker then on any manned wolf and had lightened to white. She was indeed an oddly created wolf.
Only a few of the creatures around her were humans. Henric was one of course. She was one of the few surviving wolves from a facility where they were worked till death. Like dogs. They were freed two moons ago, yet still most of them were under care for injuries or unable to mingle with the other wolves or humans due to trauma.
"Hey Kawa," a wolf in his human illusion said walking up to the group, "How's Toboe?"
Several others voiced their concerns too as the young male sat down to join the circle. He was a red wolf, with reddish brown fur. His paws where a crisp clean white which smoothly joined with the rest of his coat. His large ears had small tuffs on the end and that, along with his extremely bushy tail gave him the nickname squirrel. Several scars were still evident under his fur marking him as an escapee. The humans saw his human form though for the wolf still didn't trust humans enough to show them his true form. He slumped down on the floor, reddish brown hair mussed up into odd angles. He sat as far away from the humans as he could. Danflor was like most from the facility. A little better then the others he could at least be in the same vicinity as a human while some were uncontrollable in their terror. Kawa was much better then most. She could handle them easily as long as they didn't get to close. The same with wolves. She and Danflor could deal as long as they didn't get close; physically or mentally. He dusted off his black pants and looked at her with a slight smile.
"Sorry to crash your party. I was just wondering cause I when I wanted to go see him the healer was in nhere and you know how that is…"
Oh boy she did. On that fateful night when they were finally free Toboe was badly injured. She and Danflor practically carried the injured wolf here even though they were injured themselves. I had been a long night, a painful night.
---
"Good Bye Ibis," Chris whispered as he laid his precious stuffed wolf next to her still body. He looked up at Kawa, eyes sad. "Wolfie will keep her and Lif company till we join her one day right Kawa?"
"Of course little one, come on now we have to go. The dead are dead and if we don't hurry Toboe could be joining them."
She glanced back at the corpses of her pack mates. Little Lif and Ibis. They had dragged Ibis and Lif out of the compound and in the full view of the moon. Chris had said the reason was that he promised Ibis he would show her the moon and stars. And of course they couldn't leave Lif all by himself. And so they had left the tow pups alone while they limped after the others. More corpses in the mist of corpses.
---
"He's doing better. I was with him just before Doina cam in to change his bandages"
They didn't mention that the reason she was there was because she had to drug Toboe before the healer could touch him. Or that he had nearly taken off her hand the first time.
---
"Toboe calm down!"
But still he thrashed. They had called these his 'fits' back in the compound. Back right after he became the leader he would have moments when he seemed not quite there. It was twice as bad now. Danflor had a firm grip on his nape while Kawa tried to pin and calm him down. Every thing was going fine. They had gotten him back, and found a healer who was open. They were told by her helper, a wolf named Ileana, to get comfortable while she fetched the healer. Toboe was the worst injured, Kawa having a badly injured paw, and Jack slightly dizzy from a sever blow to the head. Danflor, Chris, and Sano just had scrapes, sores, and bruises. Hardly meriting immediate care they had eased the others on the soft blankets on the floor when the healer came in. She was an older woman but wise and calm. She quickly instructed her assistant to do several things and then turned to Danflor. After obtaining some information she moved to Toboe's side with some hot water, salve, and bandages. That was when disaster struck.
The supposedly knocked out wolf's eyes shot open and he lunged at the hand that was inches from his side. Only her fast reflexes and Danflor's quick thinking had saved her from losing her hands. Danflor had Toboe's neck firmly but gently in his jaws, and Kawa threw herself on his thrashing feet. He was so weak it was a joke.
"Ileana get my son please"
Once the young man was present he grabbed Toboe's head without a word as his mother grabbed some strange powder, mixed it with water and forced it down the wolf's moth. The man clamped Toboe's jaws shut so he couldn't spit it out and then threw Kawa an odd glance. It was then she realized that she was snarling at him. She shook her head in apology but inched farther away from him anyway. What was wrong with her?
Finally Toboe stopped thrashing and the old woman started taking care of him.
"Most of the wolves I have treated so far have been like this." She said as she cut of a huge matt of fur that was mixing with an open wound. "They can't seem to tell friend from foe. He is one of the worst though. Most of them are like you Kawa. They can't help but cower or snarl."
---
He was better now but for safety the healer made them drug him before she would see him. She was afraid that his stitches would tear if he moved too much like that. Kawa's paw had healed with only a scar and Jack's head was just fine. Their fur was mostly grown back by now too. The humans who had cleaned the wolves' fur had been forced to cut some of in places it was so matted and flee infested. But they were clean and their coats hid most of their scars now. It was a good feeling to be free once again.
"It's getting dark," Kawa said to Danflor, "We should find the pups." She excused herself from the others. They walked passed several wagons to get to the small tree they had claimed as there's. About ten wagons had remained to help the wolves that had been injured; a few wolf packs that were waiting on said wolves or some that were just staying to help were also present. Kawa knew it was probably a much smaller group then there was over two months at the festival but that was all history. Three wolves awaited them under the old trees limbs.
They were greeted exuberantly as they called out for their pack. The little black wolf Jack was especially forward. He was the shyest and quietest of all the wolves in the pack at one time. But once he had been free, the first time in his life, he had blossomed. Even though he had left his best friend behind he had once told Kawa that he was going to live life for both of them. And true to his word he did. He seemed to hold no grudges against humans as long as they didn't touch him. He happily spent most of his days telling stories he made up to anyone he could; wolves, humans, birds, or horses. It didn't matter. His small black form bounded over to the others and he happily reared up, placing a paw on either side on Danflor's head, using him to stand up.
"Guess what happened today Danflor, Kawa!"
Kawa just smiled as the pup went on and on. Gently she nosed Chris and rolled her eyes making the little pup giggle. He had been a little quieter since Ibis had died. He wasn't a little pup anymore; he had grown up. He was a small grey wolf pup. He didn't even have any parents anymore. They had been killed in the raid that had taken him from his home. He was friendly and cheerful otherwise, with a sweet disposition. Most days he followed Jack along as the explored the world, well the world around the camp.
Sano was the one they had to worry about. She spent most of her days lying under the tree thinking of Lif. They were siblings in all but blood and she took his death hard. Her once sleek brown fur was dull and her green eyes dead. She was a different wolf from two months ago. She once said that she preferred life before when they were all alive. They all wished that Lif and Ibis were back but there was only so much you could do. She could barley associate with other wolves. Around humans she folded up inside. She would start to shake when ever she was in the mist of strangers and she wouldn't talk.
"That is great Jack. Now come on, it's getting dark"
"Excuse me,"
Danflor turned around to see Hige standing. Behind him. The yellow brown wolf shifted from foot to foot nervously.
"I was wondering how is Toboe? Kiba is getting antsy and wants to start moving soon."
"He is doing much better," Kawa answered, "the healer said he would be fine in a few days or less."
"That's great!" Hige exclaimed. He did seem a lot happier and Kawa gave him a small smile.
Paradise. An elusive place, all wolves were drawn to it sometime in their lives. It was described as many different things in many different ways. That was their destination. Toboe had promised them he would find it this time for them.
"What do you want with my pack Hige?"
All the wolves turned around to see the topic of discussion standing not to far from them. Was a red wolf and his fur was a shinning cinnamon red now that it was brushed. He held his head proudly as he walked towards them. His coat gradually changed to a light shade of brown on his belly and he raised his tail high as he walked forward. His body was crisscrossed with scars. One large one ran across his chest where the strap of his traces lay. Kawa had a similar one. A long line ran from the side of his muzzle up passed his eye to end at his ear. Several more could be seen through the fur on his legs. And most startling of all was the thin black collar on his neck. None of his pack had ever even seen it.
"Like it huh? I got it when I was under Akuma's gracious hospitality before you cam Kawa, Sano. You guy never have seen it cause my fur was so matted so what do you think. This is one of their last claims on the world now that their dead huh?"
Happy he head butted Jack who jumped up and down in excitement. The others rushed to great him also, telling him just how much they were worried and how happy they were that he was back. Glancing up he saw Hige was still there. He scowled.
"What do you want?"
"You know we are all really proud of you. You grown up. Why wouldn't you come back? We didn't do anything."
"Ha! You make me sick." Toboe stalked right up to Hige and stuck his face right in his, lips pulled back in a half snarl, "That is exactly what you did. Nothing!" his voice lowered, "Because of you guys I live for nothing except for these wolves. They need me. Like you never did."
With that angry retort he turned and walked over under the tree. Laying down with his back to Hige he said, "We leave with the moonrise. Come if you must."
"Toboe-" the wolf started to answer but stopped as Toboe's tail shot up and his fur bristled.
"GO!" he snarled deeply.
Sadly the wolf shrugged and trotted off. The others, who had been silent during the exchange, continued to bombard Toboe with questions now that Hige was gone.
"Relax. We aren't leaving for a while. I just wanted them to wait for us. Get some sleep, say good by, whatever. Just be ready to leave. Next stop Paradise."
Toboe: Wow. I can't belive it... Ahhhhhh... It is so amazing... -content smile- See you next chaper. It should be up by next friday but no promises.