The hut was warm and cosy. The fire licked the ceiling that was blackened with soot. I watched Kirahana and Eito feed Wanderer herbs and syrups. They seemed to work as one, neither talking nor gesturing for what they needed next. Once Wanderer is tucked away, they both turn to me, accusation spelt out on their face. I resume my expressionless face.
"So, how did she get all those puncture wounds on her chest and hips?" Asked Eito in a constricted voice. I glared at him. I just saw red, and I growled.
"They were cause by a Sutoraiki plant." I say, or snarl as if my voice had a will of its own to say " Don't you dare say it was my fault".
"What is that?" Asks Kirahana, her face as emotionless as mine. I feel as though I am on trail for not looking after their little sister properly, but I defend myself.
"It's a plant that chokes it's victims and sucks their blood out." They look disbelieving, and I snap furiously at them, "Look, I was hunting then I heard Wanderer screaming for help and I saved her. Don't act as if I am the bad guy here." Kirahana rolls her eyes and Eito looks adamant on blaming me for everything. We hear rustles and we turn to see Wanderer yawning her puppy yawns and rubbing her wide hazel eyes. Kirahana and Eito immediately plaster honey like smiles on their faces. But almost half asleep, Wanderer crawls over next to me and head in my lap, she resumes her little snores once more.
We are all silent as we stare at her for a while, until Eito whispers,
"She seems to like you a lot, and trust you." I stop myself from smirking but state casually,
"I was the one who looked after her." I yawn myself, and look outside to see what had been an orangey pink coloured sky was now pitch dark blue with twinkling stars embedded in it. Without their consent, I lean back against the wall and fall asleep.
When I awake, the first rays of dawn are awaking from their slumber. Wanderer is lying with her back facing me, and Kirahana and Eito are asleep on their mats. I brush off the dirt, and grabbing my sword, I walk outside.
The air is fresh, and from what I know, Wanderer and I had been carried by the tornado up onto a vast mountain range, so vast, we hadn't realised it, and had assumed that Runa Mountain was the inky mountain on a vast expanse of flat land. Kirahana and Eito had taken me and Wanderer around the village, and on the other side of the mountain. They told us that their parents had died, resulting in Wanderer crying for hours on end. How they escaped the village, I didn't find out.
I look up the mountain, calculating how long it would take for me to climb up. I proceed to clamber up rocks, jumping from ledge to ledge with my superb jumping skills until I am about 1 km high from where I started. I sit, content with where I am and I watch the rest of the world wake up with the sky turning a more light blue colour from the pinkish dawn. I hear a rustle, and a giggle. I turn around, and I swear to myself that I saw a fluffy tail whisk behind the rock 2 metres away from me.
I peer behind the rock, and I am taken aback by what I see. 3 small wolf youkai children are crouched behind the rock, staring I up at me with big brown eyes. They smile big, tooth grins and run of squealing, me gaping after them as they jumped great distances and heights over rocks. I should've known that they would adapt to their environment like this.
"I don't remember you." I turn to see a male wolf youkai, around my age, looking at me with curiosity. I feel sweat prickling my forehead, but I say as emotionlessly as possible,
"I am a half Forest Wolf Youkai." The change in his face is immense. A look of pity really.
"Guessing they drove you out huh? That's the problem with them. Don't feel bad being a half breed, it's who you are." He walked off whistling, then turns back.
"Hey, what's your name?" I turn to him too, and call back,
"Ashiato! Yours?" He grins and calls back,
"Fuchuina!" Then he calls once more, "You are welcome among the Mountain Wolf Youkai! Come and stay with us if you are in need of a home!" And he is gone.
YOU ARE READING
Way of the Wolf
FantasyMy name is Ashiato. I am half a wolf youkai. I was convicted of the crime of having a human mother, for being born. This is the Way of the Wolf.
