Wolf Love

Tearful Goodbye/Welcome to Anima City pt 1

No One's Pov: In a big, bright city in Japan, it was a calm night. Police sirens were going off all over the place, cars were beeping and people were chatting amongst themselves. But not all was peaceful that night. Running the alleyways, a hooded figure ran as quietly as they could, all while holding a small bundle in their arms. They hid themselves besides a dumpster, removing their hood a bit. The figure is revealed to be a young woman, though not just any woman. Her face is shown to be a black leopard, with black and dark blue fur, and spots that are much darker. Her blue eyes looks at the bundle, who is revealed to be an infant baby boy, no older than a day old, her young son. Just like his mother, he too is a black leopard. He starts to fuss, beginning to feel hungry. The woman calms him, gently swaying him and bouncing him. "Shhh, it's okay Xen. I know you're hungry, but try to wait a bit longer. Aunty Yuki is gonna take us somewhere where we'll be safe" she says softly. Then, a car pulls up in front of the alleyway. The window rolls down, and a woman is shown on the driver's seat, looking towards the alleyway. "Aimi? Aimi, are you there?" she calls out, both loudly and quietly. The leopard woman appears out from the dumpster, who is now revealed to be Aimi.

Aimi enters the car, Xen still in her arms. "I'm glad you came, Yuki" she said to the woman next to her. "For you, my sister, anything" Yuki said to her. She puts the car in drive drove off away from the alleyway. "Man, the fights between humans and beastmen have gotten worse over the past few weeks. And the traffic was just as bad" she said, as Xen starts fussing a little more, so Aimi takes out a bottle, full and a bit warm, and gives it to the newborn. He sucks on the nipple, happily content with the warm drink. "Man, he certainly has an appetite. Takes after you" Yuki jokes, chuckling while doing so. "Oh, you're very funny" she said to her with a smile. Sadly, her smile fades as she asks her sister "so, where are the docks at?" "Just a few miles northwest. I know someone over there that'll help you get to the city" she said. For the rest of the way, they drove in silence. Aimi honestly didn't want to leave her home or her family behind, but with humans having a big distrust for beastmen, it wasn't safe for her or her son. She had heard a great deal of things about the place they were going. It is a place called Anima City, a safe haven for all beastmen. It's like any other city, but at least her and Xen will be safe. They drove for another thirty minutes until they finally reached their destination.

Yuki parks in front of the docks, and exits the car, with Aimi and Xen, who was sound asleep in his mother's arms, following behind her. Standing at the docks, a purplish grey mink waited for the three of them, standing next to a boat with three other beastmen on board. Her hands in her pockets, she walks up to them. "Well, you finally arrived" she said to them. "Yea, sorry for keeping you waiting" Yuki said. The mink looks at Aimi and said "so, you must be the one we'll be escorting to the city?" "Oh, uh, yes, miss. I'm sorry to say this, but I almost mistook you for a weasel for a moment" the leopard replies. "The name's Marie, and you're right, I'm not a weasel. I'm a mink, not a ferret or a martin, a mink" she said, saying the last part a little too loudly. "If you please, keep your voice down. There is a sleeping baby here" Yuki said, gesturing to the sleeping baby leopard. "Oh, apologies about that. I hope you know that I'm not doing this for cheap" Marie said to the woman. Knowing what she ment, Yuki pulls out her wallet, takes out a heaping amount of cash and hands it over to the mink. "I hope this will satisfy you" she said while handing over the money. Marie looks it over, and then said "sure, I suppose it'll have to do". She leaves the two sisters, giving them some time to say goodbye.

"So, I guess this is it then" Yuki said, looking at her little sister with sadness in her eyes. "Yea, I suppose it is" Aimi said, giving her the same look. The older woman puts her hands on the younger one's shoulders and said "are you sure you want to do this?" "Yes, I need to do this. I appreciate you, Mom, Dad and Juno for everything you've done, but I can't risk your safety and put your lives in danger" Aimi explains. "I understand, I just don't want you to get hurt" Yuki tells her. "You don't need to worry, I'll be fine" Aimi replies back with soft smile. Her older sister sighed and returned the smile. "You take after our grandfather, you know. You're both caring as well as independent. Also a bit stubborn" she said, joking a bit. Aimi laughs, but not too loudly. "You and Mom always said I take after him most of all" she said to her. "That is true, little sis. Oh, before I forget, I wanted to give you this" Yuki said, digging into her pocket and giving her a small, wooden flute. Aimi gasps at this, not really expecting this. "Your handmade flute? Yuki, are you sure? I couldn't possibly take this" she tells her. "It's okay, you can take it. It'll mean a lot to me, that way you'll have something to remember us by" Yuki said. Reluctantly and hesitantly, Aimi takes the flute with one hand, looking at the remarkable details her sister put on over the years. Tears start to wield in her eyes, her hand starting to shake a bit. "I'll be sure to take good care of it" she tells her. "I know you will" Yuki said, as she began to cry as well. Then, the two sisters embraced each other in a long, heartfelt hug.

"Hey, I don't mean to ruin the moment, but we are in a rush here" Marie shouted out, ushering Aimi and Yuki to hurry up. The sisters released themselves from their embrace, and Yuki placed a gentle kiss on top of Xen's forehead, whispering a warm goodbye to her nephew. She looks back at her sister, her cheeks now strained with tears. "Goodbye, little sis" she said, wiping away any leftover tears on her face. "Goodbye Yuki, I hope we can see each other again soon" Aimi said to her, causing Yuki to give her a small nod. Then, with that being said and done, the leopard woman gets onto the boat with Xen and Yuki's flute in her hands. "Alrighty, next stop, Anima City" Marie tells her friends. The boat leaves the docks and makes its way to the city before it. Aimi looks back and sees her older sister still standing there, watching her go farther and farther away from her. "Until we meet again, Yuki" Aimi said, as she cried once again, turning away to look at the city, anxious and nervous to start a brand new life in it.