Wolf Children 2

Chapter 3: Wolf Children

The sun soon peaked out from the horizon, bright warm rays of light shone through some of the windows. Yuki could feel the warm sun pressed against her skin, waking to the sound of the birds tweeting. It might've seemed like the ideal way to wake up in the early morning, but that wasn't the case at all. The brown haired girl was drenched in her own sweat. And the cause? 'Another nightmare it seems...' Yuki thought, bringing her hand to her face to wipe away some of the beads of sweat forming on her forehead. She couldn't seem to remember what her nightmare was about, but she knew that the probability of it resurfacing later that day was quite high.

"Maybe it was about that wolf from last night...? That wasn't a figment of my own imagination, was it?" Yuki wasn't even sure what was real anymore.

"Are you alright, dear?" Hana appears from the kitchen, making her way over to her. "Seems like you were having a dream of some sort..." She pushed back the loose strands of hair that hung in front of Yuki's forehead. "You feeling alright?" Hana probably thought her daughter was possibly sick or something.

"Mhm, I've just been having the strangest nightmares lately..." Her eyes narrowed a bit, peering down at her hand. "I feel like they're trying to tell me something. Weird, huh?" She let out a small laugh, soon enough it faded away.

"I wish you would've let me known earlier, will you be okay?" Hana had no clue how to help her daughter, all she could really do was hope she would get better. "Come, I've made breakfast. You've got a long day ahead of you, right? Maybe having a nice meal will help you feel better."

"Mhm," Yuki agrees with a beaming smile, but inside she was still worried.

The two headed towards the small wooden table in the dining room, taking a seat. "Enjoy, there's lots, so eat as much as your heart's content," the mother picked up her chopsticks, taking a mouthful of white rice. She'd put an egg on top so it wouldn't be too bland by itself. "Yummy."

Taking a bite herself, Yuki delivered a smile of satisfaction. "You're right, it really is delicious!" She stuffed her face with some leftover udon from the other night that her mother heated up for her. She then ate what was leftover from the rice in her bowl, making sure she didn't leave any scraps untouched. "There's one thing I can just never get sick of, home cooked meals." They were one of her favorite things about coming to visit her mother. Well, besides seeing her of course.

Hana wasn't surprised to see Yuki practically inhale her food. Her daughter's appetite never seemed to decrease, if anything it only grew as she got older.

"Thank you for the food. I'll be heading off now, I do have school today, after all," Yuki says as she waves to her mother, walking over to wall where she had set her bag.

Her mother nodded, waving back. She followed her to the front door as her daughter slipped on her shoes. "Make sure to be safe out there," Hana smiled. "Visit here again soon, you're always welcome. Perhaps you could bring your boyfriend, Souhei next time," her mother teased. Yuki could feel her face burning up, "didn't I tell you we were just friends...?"

"You know I'm only kidding," Hana giggled as she pulled her into a hug. "Come again soon, okay? I'll be sure to make lots more delicious food next time." As they pulled away from each other, they gave one last meaningful smile at each other. "I'll be sure to come back soon," Yuki promises.

Sliding the door open, she headed outside, waving to her mother as she departed. While walking back to the train station, her eyes focused on the ground for the majority of the time spent walking. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see something engraved in the soil nearby. Being the curious teenager she was, she went to go examine what she had seen. Walking closer, Yuki's eyes widened a bit as she knelt down to get a closer look. "Paw...prints." Her fingers softly ran along the soil, as if to draw over the paw print that was carved there. Her fingers never touching the soil directly, as she continued to inspect it.

"Is this from that wolf that we encountered last night?" She spoke, muttering to herself. She wasn't that far from her house, so the chance of them being the wolf's was incredibly high. Standing up, she brushed her clothing off, continuing on her way. Yuki wanted to resume her little investigation now that she came across some evidence, but now wasn't the time for it. At this rate, she would be late for school.

"I must hurry!" She tells herself, picking up the pace.

—

Deep in the forest;

Last night Amaya had taken the appearance of a wolf, heading out in search for whatever food she could sink her teeth in. The farther she strayed from the cave they were hiding out at, the better chance she had at finding something. After walking around for what seemed like hours, a strong aroma hit her nose, and soon enough, the scent was luring her in the direction in which it was coming from.

She saw a few lights silhouetting the trees nearby, as she peaked her head out to observe where they were emitting from. Sure enough, there were two humans sitting out on the front porch, heads looking upwards towards the sky. The two were chatting away, suddenly standing up as if to head back inside.

That's when she noticed it. A low-pitched growl came from her throat, glaring at the two. 'That girl, she's a wolf alright. What's she doing with a human?' She couldn't understand the scene unfolding before her. Amaya was hesitant to approach them, quickly escaping after they'd made eye contact.

She didn't want to take any chances either, deciding she valued her life. She did have siblings that she needed to provide for.

That night, she didn't get lucky with finding anything to eat either, heading home immediately after. When she returned, her siblings were disheartened seeing that she didn't find anything.

Amaya couldn't feel like a much bigger disappointment as a leader in that very moment. Not only did she let down her other pack members, but also her younger siblings too. "I'll do my best to keep searching in the morning," she tells them as she transforms back into her human state.

—

"Do you think we'll ever find food?" Taku asks his older sister as she pulled on her sleeve. He had dark colored hair, and sky blue eyes. There'd been a younger girl sitting beside him who looked practically identical to him, except she had longer hair that was pulled into ponytail, small red ribbons holding the strands all together. The small boy continuously tugged at the older's girl's sleeve as she ruffled his hair.

"I know you're hungry, I'm doing my best to look for food, but it seems around this area it's scarce." Her eyebrows furrowed a bit at the reason why. "Those humans..." She cursed under her breath, irritated at the very thought of them. Around this time, many hunters entered the forest in search for deer, wolves, and just about anything that moved. Amaya, the eldest sister of her two younger siblings, Taku and Ava, was the leader of a wolf pack that consisted of only few wolves. The others had left in search of food like her and had yet to return.

"Those greedy humans," she gritted her teeth, trying not to let her thoughts get the best of her. She'd gone out earlier in a last ditch effort to find something, not mattering if it was the smallest creature. Amaya just needed to find food for her siblings and other pack members, quick. They were famished and had gotten weak the past few days, even Amaya herself found it hard to continue. Her compelling determination is what kept her going all this time, and she wouldn't stop now.

"I'll give the surrounding area another quick look to see if anything catches my eye, please stay here and don't move, okay?" Amaya glanced back at her two siblings, who nodded obediently. The girl then headed outside of the cave in another attempt to find food. 'Even just some berries would suffice for now...' She thought, walking into the forest once again. Perhaps, they should just move along to a new area entirely...

'Hm...' Red eyes scanned over the forest trees carefully, making sure to take everything in. The forest was tranquil, only the sound of the rushing stream nearby resonating was hitting off of her ears. She heard a few owls and the constant buzzing of the cicadas nearby, too. Amaya let out a deep sigh, about to turn and head back for the night, but when the snapping of small, delicate tree branches reached her ears, she stopped dead in her tracks. Her eyes focusing on the trees in front of her for a few moments before realizing what she was now staring at.

Standing beside the trees was another wolf coming into her vision, and it was not a pack member either.

Amaya was stunned.