Mixing of Snow and Sand

Chapter 13: A New Beginning

I kept running until the sun had completely set and the darkness surrounded me. My body shook with exhaustion but I kept running.

They'll never believe you, you're just some freak!

"Apollo, Artemis I need you so much right now." I whispered as I finally rested beside a beat up old house. I leaned against the wall, panting as I tried to catch my breath.

Bark!

I turned to look inside the old building to see a lone pup laying in the dark corner, shivering. I carefully stepped inside and made my way silently over to the pup. When it saw me, it barked and growled. A defense mechanism that all animals had when cornered and hungry.

"It's okay, I won't hurt you." I muttered, bending down to its height. I could see the tail between the legs, ears flat, I was looking at a pup that was going to attack. I reached into my pouch at my hip and pulled out one of the treats I would give to Apollo and Artemis. "Here, I'm sure you're starving." I held out the treat flat in my palm, not making any sudden movements to scare it. The pup sniffed the treat several times before taking it out of my hand. I watched as the pup ate it and the on edged demeanor started to change. "See it's good, right? I have more if you'd like another one." I smiled.

Bark! Bark! I chuckled at the quick response. I pulled out two more treats and allowed the pup to eat them at it's own pace.

"You must be all alone, the runt of the litter. Your mom probably didn't want you because she was worried you wouldn't make it. Get in the way." I muttered as I reached a hand out to pet it's head. It tensed for a second but relaxed as I stroked his messy head. "You're probably freezing too." I still had my old robes and I pulled out the robe, wrapping the small pup inside of it. "We're not so different, I was always the outcast in my village, nobody wanted me. I was a freak with no one to turn to. Sometimes it felt like my own mother didn't want me."

The pup snuggled closer to me.

"Maybe I just need to face the facts. No one will believe I'm anything more than a girl who got extremely lucky to have survived. If I didn't have Shei, I would have died a long time ago." I whispered. The pup looked up at my sad face and licked my nose. I chuckled. "I like you little one, wanna tell me your name?"

Bark? Bark!

"I guess you're not old enough yet. Or maybe you don't have a name..." The pup looked down defeated. "Would you like me to give you a name?" The pup barked up at me. "Alright, let's see...how about Okami?"

Bark!!

"Alright Okami it is." I smiled and got to my feet. "So are you still hungry little guy?"

Bark!

"Let's go see if there's a place that's still open that sells some good food. I'm starving." I walked to one of the nearby food stands. "Excuse me?" I peeked through the curtain and saw a woman and man standing behind the counter.

"Come on in! Welcome!" The man smiled.

"Awww what a cute little guy you got there!" The girl smiled at Okami.

"Thank you, I was wondering if you had anything this little guy could eat?" The girl smiled even more.

"I'm sure we could whip something up for him. Does he have a name?"

"Okami." She squeaked a little and started cooking with her father I assumed.

"What can we get for you little lady?" The man asked. I looked in my wallet but I didn't have enough for myself too.

"Nothing for me. Just him." I muttered even though I could hear my stomach rumbling. Okami whimpered as he looked up at me. "It's okay little guy, you need it more than I do. One day without eating won't kill me." I pet his head.

"Here." The girl put the bowl of meat in front of us.

"Thank you." I held Okami up to the bowl and watched him eat happily. When he was halfway done he looked at me and tried to move the bowl towards me. "Go on, Okami. I'm okay I promise."

"So what's the story with this little guy? He's a sand wolf, normally they hunt together in packs." The girl asked.

"I found him shivering alone in an abandon house not far down the road. His mother probably abandoned him because he was too small, the runt of the litter."

"That's terrible!" I nodded.

"Here." The man placed a bowl of ramen in front of me.

"But I-"

"It's on the house. You deserve it for taking care of that little guy. Sand wolves are some of our villages closest allies out on the battlefield. However, they aren't quick to trust. The fact that this little guy trusts you is enough for me." I looked down at the food and Okami.

"Thank you, sir. When I have the money I'll pay you back I swear." He placed a hand on my head.

"Don't worry yourself over it. Besides it seems we have another customer." I turned my head as a bell chimed. Temari walked into the stand and sat down beside me.

"Temari...how did you find me?" I asked as I took a bite of the food.

"It took a while but I saw you come out of the abandoned house down the road. Followed you here. I heard everything." I sighed.

"Gaara and Kankuro?" I asked.

"Don't worry about them. I knocked some sense into those idiots." I chuckled.

"It's okay, I know it's hard for them to believe. I didn't believe it for a long time when I found out." I finished the food and watched as Okami finished his, curling up in the robe against me.

"Still Kankuro didn't need to do that. It was uncalled for." I sighed.

"It's okay, all I want to do now is get some rest. Okami needs it too. He's exhausted." We rose and I paid the money I had.

"Take care, Miss Hosaka." I froze when the man said it. I turned sharply.

"How did you-?" Temari seemed surprised as well.

"Your eyes, they're exactly like your mothers. You may not look exactly alike but I can see your mother in you. She also had a good relationship with the sand wolves. It always surprised everyone, but she was loved by everyone in this village."

"Thank you, for everything." I smiled and walked out with Temari.

"You look happy, haven't seen that in a while." I chuckled at the sentence.

"I don't know, maybe coming here was a good thing. Even if it meant I had to leave what I knew behind."