Teardrop of the Wolf

Chapter 13

Yawning widely, Mori shook out her fur and flexed her limbs individually, testing their strength. Her arm had healed nicely, and barely hurt when she put weight on it. The sun rose high in the sky as she padded out the door as the white wolf. She needed to get out of the small house and do something. 

What that something was, she wasn't sure. The wolf needed to run; to feel the wind rushing through its fur, to feel the muscles in her limbs pumping as she ran to her full speed.

Kakashi had taken the genin to an area outside the wooden house to train some more after everyone had come to the conclusion that Zabuza was still alive. Mori snorted at the thought of this. She would extract her revenge on the blood-smelling man. She continued padding through the forest, tail high and ears twitching. Here and there, birds chirped and small mammals ran about. Her tongue rolled out of her mouth as she took in the sights and smells of the forest.

A twig snapped suddenly and Mori stopped, muscles tensing and ears pricked forward. She raised her nose to scent the air, and her red eyes widened.

No...it couldn't be!

That scent...it couldn't be him. He was locked away in Orochimaru's prison. Mori's heart nearly stopped when a low growl was heard from the bushes. She recognized that growl anywhere. Her red eyes grew wide when a sleek black body appeared from the bushes, black eyes staring straight at her. Mori's tail wagged slightly as happiness bubbled from her chest.

Hideo! Her only brother! He was okay!

A whine rose from Mori's chest as she took a step forward, tail wagging. She couldn't stand it anymore, and with a yip jumped over to Hideo, jumping and yipping like an excited pup. She jumped around Hideo, licking and whining. She paused, head cocked in confusion. Wasn't Hideo happy to see her as well? It had been months since they had seen each other. Her ear twitched as a sudden cool wind blew around them.

Something was wrong.

Hideo's black eyes were always twinkling in mischief, but now his eyes were dull and lifeless. Her red eyes widened in shock when a deep growl vibrated from her brother's chest, and his lips rose over his teeth. The growl turned into a snarl, and he leapt at Mori, claws extended. He hit Mori full on as she answered his snarl with a snarl of her own. Hideo snapped his teeth at Mori, catching her ear in the process and forcing a yelp from her.

She struggled to gain the upper hand, still confused by her brother's actions. Her paws scrabbled and raked down Hideo's stomach as he forced her onto her back. Her mind screamed at her to change into her human form and get help, to get away from here. The woods were filled with the snarls, yelps and growls as the two wolves fought.

Mori snapped her jaws around Hideo's muzzle, and hot blood rushed through her mouth. Her back legs bunched as she prepared to leap at Hideo. Hideo ducked to the side and slammed his head against her ribs. A 'crack' sounded in her ears, and a high pitch yelp sounded as fire raced across her ribs. His teeth found themselves around her right leg and he bit down hard, teeth easily piercing her fur. An animal-like scream sounded from Mori as he continued biting down. She whipped her head around and bit his ear hard. She tried to pull him off her, but Hideo was too strong. He was always stronger then her, even when they were pups. He released her leg, teeth stained red with her blood. Mori released Hideo's ear and jumped back, panting heavily. Hideo snarled and launched at Mori again.

She braced her limbs for the impact, and he rammed into her with the weight of a brick wall. He used his weight to his advantage and pinned the white wolf beneath him. Mori scrabbled desperately, but Hideo bit the back of her head in a crushing bite. 

He was going to kill her in this forest. 

Mori once again tried to shove Hideo off, but the large black wolf wouldn't budge. He bit at her ear again, blood splashing on the ground as she snarled in pain. Mori flipped over onto her back and fought back, teeth and nails flashing in the sunlight. She bit Hideo's shoulder and raked her nails down his stomach again. He struggled to free himself, but Mori tightened her grip on him. With a final snarl, Hideo grabbed her throat in his jaws. 

Mori stilled immediately as he tightened his grip, effectively cutting off her air. 

Her breath began to gurgle and her body felt uncharacteristically warm. Just before she welcomed her fate, Hideo stopped. He released her throat, and Mori landed on the ground in a pile of white fur. Blood began to ooze from her wounds as Hideo stood above her. He raised his head and howled in victory, his howl a deeper pitch then Mori's own. 

Mori gazed unblinkingly up at her brother as he lowered his head and stared ahead, as if he was listening to something. With a swish of his black tail he trotted away into the foliage, leaving Mori in a pool of her own blood. She could feel a blackness creeping over her mind, threatening to snuff out everything. Her eyes slowly began to close as her body became warm. 

No! She had to get out of here! 

Her eyes snapped open, and she lifted herself up until she was sitting on her haunches. Her body shuddered from the wounds, her pupils slit in pain. Her thoughts fled from her mind as she shakily got on four paws and set out in a random direction. As she continued struggling through the woods, her blood continued flowing freely. 

A sound caused her ears to twitch, and a scent floated into her nose. With no rational thought, Mori snarled deeply as her nose told her that the scent was right in front of her. A voice sounded in front of her muzzle, and Mori snapped her jaws in warning to whoever it was to stay away. 

"Mori? What happened?" the voice said.

She barked once, but it trailed off in a dying gurgle as her legs gave out. Her body fell to the side with a 'thump', and she lay there, blood continuing to flow at an alarming rate. She scrambled to get back on her feet again, but her limbs refused to co-operate. At this rate, she was certainly going to die. She faintly registered that the voice was becoming fainter and fainter.