• A.K.A Wolf Act III: Mute.



    That night I had a dream about Ichio. I was running and running to get to him and save him but the faster I ran, the farther he got from me. His howling in pain and need echoed through my head, haunting me. I flew awake and I was surprisingly in my human form. I was sweating a little and my heart was pounding like a drum on steroids. I heard a voice say, “You had a nightmare didn’t you?” It was Zero, but I couldn’t see him anywhere.

    “Up here,” Zero whispered loudly. When I tilted my head to where his voice was coming from he was in a tall tree.

    “How the heck did you get up there?” I whispered loudly, trying not to wake Hotaka up.

    “One of my special abilities is that I can jump around seven times higher than a normal wolf,” Zero explained (it sounded more like bragging. But what was he talking about, special abilities?

    “Special abilities?” I asked.

    “Yeah, “ Zero responded as he jumped down from his 60 foot branch, “Everyone who is like us, is ‘granted’ a special ability. I have high jumping and supreme biting strength. Hotaka has higher intelligence, and you have…” Zero stopped. I could have super strength, or telekinesis! That would be the best!

    “Did you notice anything weird about yourself, physically, after you transformed into a human for the first time?’ Zero asked, examining my body with his eyes. I felt a little embarrassed, I mean, all I had in was a scarf and here we’re talking about my body?? Then I thought back to when my knees were healed when I knew they were bleeding.

    “When I scraped my knees up, they healed in seconds…does that count?” I guessed. Zero walked around me a couple of times and then picked up a small rock and threw it at my forehead, very hard.

    “OW!” I yelped quietly as I held my hands up to by bleeding head. “What the hell was that for?!” I questioned angrily. Zero moved my hand away from my head and studied y small puncture wound.

    “Seems like any injury inflicted on yourself is healed quickly but, any injury caused by someone else, remains unchanged,” Zero explained with a small smirk. I think he was proud of his small time of genius. Great, that’s a fabulous ability to have in battle where the only thing hurting you is SOMEONE ELSE! I sighed in disappointment. Zero flicked my nose, “C’mere, I wanna show you somethin’.”

    Zero wrapped his arm around my waist so that I was face down with my arms in front of me and my legs were behind me; like a piece of luggage. “Let me down, Zero,” I ordered, still sad that I’m not a super wolf. I heard Zero chuckle and then, like a let, he sprang up with me into the trees. Just to show off, he back flipped onto an even higher branch on a colossal pine tree. Zero’s feet were practically cemented to the branch when he plopped me down next to him. “Jealous?” He snickered.

    “You’re a jerk you know that?” I asked as I folded my arms across my chest. When I went to lecture Zero, his eyes were fixated on looking forward. As I did the same I was face to face with the most glorious scenery I had ever laid eyes on. The thousands of lush, green trees was like a carpet underneath me, the full moon blanketed everything it’s light touched with a celestial shimmer. And when the wind blew, even just a little, the whole forest danced in the breeze. It was breathtaking. Zero must have noticed my awe stricken face and leaned up against the massive trunk of the tree we were on.

    “Pretty, isn’t it?” He asked nonchalantly. I can’t believe he just said ‘pretty’, this view was much, much more than that. It was pristine, serene, “Beautiful,” I whispered.

    “Huh? Yeah, I guess it is kinda beautiful,” Zero admitted. I could see out of the corner of my eye that Zero was looking at me. But when I turned to look at him in confusion, he was already jumping and flipping off of tree branches until his feet were on the ground. ‘I bet I could do that too!’ I said in my mind. But when my pathetic attempt to do the same thing Zero did, I looked like a piece of jello falling down a flight of stares. When I finally crash-landed onto a root, a sharp pain was creeping out of my right palm. I had ripped a nice gash in my hand when I tried to grab onto a branch.

    “Ow, ow, ow,” I winced as I cradled my bleeding hand. Before Zero could get over to me, my wound had healed. Even the blood evaporated; as if it never even happened. I looked up at Zero with an evil grin, “Jealous?” I repeated to Zero. But instead of laughing, Zero became really serious.

    “Why did this happen to us, Yukiru?” He asked apathetically. I didn’t take his intense emotion seriously so, I just ruffled up his hair with my right hand.

    “`Cause it was supposed too, ZiZi,” I giggled.

    “What did you just call me?” Zero asked with a smirk.

    “Oh c’mon. Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten the old times…ZiZi,” I repeated.

    “Heh, yeah I remember…KiKi!” Zero came back with.

    We immediately burst out laughing, “KiKi and ZiZi. That’s who we were,” I sad wiping away laughing tears, “Anyway, I gotta get some sleep now. Good Night, ZiZi,” I sad with a laugh.

    “Night, KiKi,” Zero replied.

    I once again fell to sleep and this time I didn’t have as such a bad dream.

    / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /

    I woke up to the appetizing smell of a dead deer. I had become a wolf over night so the smell was dwindling happily in my nose.

    “G’morning!” Hotaka greeted with a mouthful of deer meat. I replied with a small, “Hi.” And followed the scent until I saw Zero cutting up a half eaten male deer. “Oh you’re up? Well there’s plenty here so help yourself,” Zero welcomed. I ate that deer up without hesitation and it was delicious. But, with some of that deliciousness came some sadness because it reminded me of when Ichio and I used to wrestle over the last piece of leg meat. My daze was split when Hotaka yelled, “HEY! Get back here, brat!!” When I looked over to see what was going on, a dark grey wolf, about Ichio’s size, pup ran into my chest. The piece of meat he was carrying in his mouth ejected from it and landed to my right. He looked up at me with such terror in his eyes. When Hotaka came running, the pup ran underneath my belly and hid behind my front legs.

    “Give that back you little thief!” Hotaka ordered.

    “Just leave him alone, Hotaka!” I barked back.

    “B-but Yukiru, he stole—“

    “He stole a small piece of meat, which we have plenty of! And unless you see his mother around, I’d say that he’s pretty hungry!” I barked angrily. No one would fight me then. I don’t know what came over me; I guess because he looked similar to Ichio, I felt as though I had to protect him. I walked to where the pup’s meat had been flung and let him eat it. I noticed a collar wrapped around his neck and there was a small tag hanging off of it with a picture of fire on it. After a bit, the wolf pup had fallen asleep right next to me.

    “So what are we gonna do with the twerp?” Hotaka asked annoyed.

    “We’re taking him with us, of course!” I said quietly, (In my human form now.) Hotaka rolled his eyes in defeat. That subject remained unbeatable.

    “But, what are we gonna call him?” Hotaka asked again. I woke the pup gently, “Little one? What’s your name?” He didn’t answer; he only got up and scraped the edge of a large rock nearby. And when he did, sparks flew off of his claws and his whole body became engulfed in a wolf-shaped fire. I grabbed a blanket that was inside one of our tents to put him out, but Zero stopped me.

    “Remember last night? Special powers?” He reminded. ‘So he’s…just like us?’ I concluded in my head. After the pup fizzled out of his blaze, he was a boy looking to be six to eight years of age. He was wearing some shorts and a short sleeved shirts with his collar still around his neck.

    “How about, Sparks?” Zero asked. It fit him perfectly.

    “Do, you like that name, Sparks?” I asked gently. He flashed back into a wolf and pounced on me, licking my cheek softly. And for the next two days, Sparks never left my side and nor I with his.

    End of Act III