Wolf's Rain: Paradise Ghost (Completed)

Chapter Twenty

Ikira

The balance of nature can be sensitive. Even the slightest change or effect could mean a new beginning or a horrible ending. Every animal, plant, and landscape affects the ecosystem in some way. I looked around us, taking notice that the woods just didn't seem right.

There was still vegetation and a few scurrying critters in the forest, but the winds carried a sort of dread that I felt to the bone. It made me want to lower myself to the ground and never get up. Ignoring the instincts, we kept on trudging.

I looked behind me, making sure that the female was still following behind. She had her ears perked upright, and she was looking from side to side with curiosity and wonder. I guess she wasn't the type to go out a lot, I thought.

Averting my eyes, I looked ahead and took note of Kiba's features. He had a somewhat comfortable stance, his hands tucked in his jacket and his shoulders resting comfortably. He hadn't said much since we packed our things and left the pack. Come to think of it, none of us had uttered a word.

I was tried of the silence, so I once again looked behind me and spoke out loud, "I'm sorry, but I didn't catch your name."

Her head looked to my direction, eyes wide open as she smiled, "Oh yeah, sorry... My name is Jay."

"Jay," I responded, "that's an interesting name. Not from around here, huh?" She shook her head, padding closer to my side.

"Nah, I'm further north from here. Near the tundra area, so pups tend to get named after nature or the animals around." I nodded my head, actually interested in the conversation.

"So, if you don't mind me asking, what exactly goes on over there? I mean, anything that you notice different from wolves here?" I hesitantly asked, but seeing that this was the only thing that kept us occupied, I wanted to make the best of it.

"Well, for one, we don't change to our humans forms as frequent as you guys." She stated, looking up at me with amusement in her eyes.

"Why's that?"

The gray female looked down on her feet, looking almost ashamed. "In my pack, it's a sort of form of disrespect to be humans. It kinda goes along the lines of 'wolf pride' or something."

I could feel that both myself and Kiba were shocked at the fact. My face flushed with color and Kiba's eyes said it all. "I-I'm so... oh my god, we didn't know."

Jay realized our reaction and began to shake her head rapidly, "No, that doesn't apply to you! There's nothing wrong with you guys doing that. That's not your fault," she whimpered, trying to calm the awkwardness. I turned to Kiba, looking into his eyes. Then, almost in sync, we all erupted in burst of laughter.

We continued walking on, this time closer to each other. Kiba lifted his sleek white head, sniffing the air.

"It's going to start to rain soon, and it's getting darker. We should try to find some shelter quickly." Jay and I both nodded our heads, now putting our attention to finding some cover. We were in a somewhat dense forest, so finding something wouldn't be too challenging.

Finally, walking only for a couple more minutes, Jay barked in excitement as we ended up finding a dry river. Making our way closer, we realized that there wasn't a drop of water in it. Jay trotted into the barren and pointed her muzzle at the left side of the river.

Looking over, we saw that a tree had fallen from one side of the river and had landed on the other side. It was a large oak, making the bottom of it spacious and dry. I looked at how the land was formed around it and looked towards Kiba.