Way of the Wolf

Chapter 10 Taken

When I wake up, the first thing I see is the mirror hanging on the wall in front of my bed. I wouldn't be surprised if it was there to show the occupant of the room how terribly psychopathic they look when they wake up in the morning, hair frizzed up like you've been struck by lightening, and bloodshot eyes.
I stretch like a feline, and I looked out the sunlit window, to gaze at a already awakening village, bustling like a beehive. I am already dressed in my clothes from yesterday, so I get up and stand in front of the mirror. I know, girls only looked at themselves for periods of hours, I'm surprised not days, to look at themselves in the mirror. But I gaze at myself, Hansukes words of "looks like his father in every angle" stuck in my head. Was this what my dad would have looked like? Tall, slightly skinny from being underfed? Would he have my dark grey hair, and my fangs? Perhaps he would have had my oak brown eyes, and the same claw length as me.
Was I looking at a clone of my father? Did I even posses one physical feature from my mum? I wouldn't know, I didn't even meet her. I sigh heavily, and look hard at myself again...what was it about me, that Wanderer hated so much?
We all squish together in the back of the carriage that is set to take us down to the village. Hansuke explained we could have just "jumped" down, but that would worry the villagers into thinking of us as gangster like mountaineers.
The entire time, I spend it ignoring Wanderer and chatting amicably with Hagishi.
"You were sooo cute when you were a cub." Chortled one man, his eyes scrunched up in laughter. He and Hagishi proceeded to play fight, and seeing as we were in a pretty small carriage, this proved to be highly amusing. We all laughed ourselves silly, with the exception of Wanderer. Our boiling point came when the man, whose name I figure from the cheering and egging on by the onlookers, was named Shigure, flipped over and fell from the carriage. We all stopped the carriage to let him on, and to congratulate Hagishi on his "win". What should've been a 15 minute trip down, took 2 hours.
When we finally got there, Hansuke sent us off, and Wanderer, cloak over her head so that no one would recognise her, hurried off as soon as she left the carriage. Seeing as I am a lot faster than her, I ran to walk by her, and we continued to do so towards a abandoned and neglected looking house that was away from the others, in frosty silence.
We reach the large doors, and Wanderer peered through the windows covered in dust and the brass handle of the door was rusted and felt like rock to touch. Wanderer attempted to open the door, but failed.
"Wait." I said, and I smashed down the door with a kick at it like a ninja. She glowered at me in anger, and walked in head high, without a word of thanks. I wasn't gonna stand for it, so I pull her out by the scruff of her neck.
"Let go of me!" She snaps, but I push her away and step through myself. She yells at me as I dive further into the murky darkness of the house, but I'm either not listening, or I am to faraway to hear her. She follows after me, and we walk on till we reach a furnace like basin. Sparking my claws on the wall for a spark, I set it alit, flooding the house with a warm light.
I think of what this house might've been like when Wanderer was young, surrounded by family, loved. But she seems preoccupied with shoving the last two objects to be seen in the house, a mural painting of her family, and a old teddy with a cloak clothing assortment, into a bag.
"You ok?" I ask her, just out of concern, but she replies stiffly,
"Why wouldn't I be?" I decide once and for all to not bother being nice and I walk off. But then I realise, the door is missing. What should've been a clear break in the wall, was walled up perfectly to match the rest of the room. Wanderer stops behind me, then she whispers hoarsely.
"No..." I turn, just to see a dark fog swallowing the back of the room from where we had just walked and the sudden move of a cloak. I only react as Wanderer's cloak edge brushes my face, but it's too late. Shadowy hands strangle Wanderer amidst the fog, and she struggles and screams for breath.
I race forward, yelling "leave her alone!" and "don't you dare hurt her!"
The creature seems to disappear, gradually and slowly. Wanderer and I reach for each other, but my hands seemed to move through her, like she was a ghost. And before she completely goes, she whispers,
"I'm so sorry, Ashiato." And when she and the fog are gone, I scream as though my heart was gonna break. The last time I had spoken to her properly, was almost 24 hours ago, and that was the last time we had truly been happy together.

A swirling of dark fog and figures surround me. I see people taunting and mocking me, they are like the courtroom of heaven and hell in my eyes, and the last thing I see before the fog took me away completely, was Ashiato collapsing to the ground, howls emitting from his lips, and tears running down his face.
He...loved me..