Hey all! Well this took longer than I wanted it to. Oh well. Turns out I couldn't finish the whole chapter yet again. It was getting crazy long. So the conclusion of this part of the story will be next chapter, haha. Please enjoy the story!

Wolf's Rain © BONES

Fae and other OCs © Redmoonfae

Shit.

Shit summed it all up. It was the first thing to pop into his head when Kai had raced up to him. In retrospect, it was amazing the small fox had even found him considering Kiba hadn't even had any idea where he was. But luckily the fox had found him and quickly explained what had happened, though he nearly mauled his face in the process.

No words of haste needed, Kiba had taken off after the fox as it launched itself off his shoulder. Hairpin turns and obstacles in the street tried to slip him up, but he was a wolf and more than a match for whatever the city could throw at him. He had pushed himself to go faster and faster, his worn out shoes making harsh slapping noises against the filthy pavement.

In a way, he had feared this would happen. In the back of his mind he wondered if maybe he should have kept the pack all together for the night. This city's pack obviously felt no kinship to them and his instincts told him many of them were corrupted and twisted. He hadn't worried about Tsume or Hige. Tsume could take care of himself and Hige wasn't one to go around picking fights. But Toboe was young and, admittedly, weaker than the others. But his nature was kind and shy and so Kiba knew he wouldn't cause any trouble. But Fae had been another story altogether. Head strong and prideful, he had wanted to get her away from the laughing dogs as soon as possible and keep them separated. She was strong, but she also lacked experience. For the fifth time in two minutes, Kiba had wished he had kept them all together.

And now he could hear the sounds of battle and the cries of pain. No longer ignorant of his direction, Kiba ran with a new purpose. The small fox disappeared again. The sounds grew louder and louder and now he could also smell blood. Faster…faster…

He was going at such a pace that he nearly skidded right by the entrance to the alley. He was in time to see a human formed wolf punch a fallen form in the head and could hear a low whine. A furious roar on his lips, his maw opened wide as he charged into the fray head long and bowled the bemused wolves aside. Placing himself between them and his companion he made sure all present had a good view of his fangs. The gang gawked before regaining their composure and lunging at him with assured triumph in their eyes.

But he was not an untrained pup fresh from the city. He had fought and killed and battled his way through life to stand before them and he would crash upon them and flatten them as an avalanche does to the mighty pines. And so it was. The taste of their blood on his fangs made him grimace and howl for more at the same time. They were weak and cowardly and he ripped away their pride and self assurance with systematic precision. The blood stopped flowing too soon in his opinion.

Kiba stared after the last dog as he fled from him, tail and head raised high. He made sure that none of them were returning, and then he faced the reason for his blood lust. Fae lay in a crumpled pile on the ground, covered in blood and trembling. The sight of her made him want to chase down the dogs and rip them apart. But he stopped himself for two reasons.

The first made him bitter and growl lowly. They were in another pack's territory. It would cause copious amounts of problems if he had killed four pack members. The second reason lay in front of him. When he advanced to check on her he was surprised to find she was conscious and growling at him.

Why am I surprised?

He waited for her to calm down before moving toward her again. Lowering his head he nosed her side gently, trying to sort out how much damage had been done. Something inside him boiled when he found it was more than he had dreaded.

"Stop that…"

She was human looking again and laying face down on the ground. His now human hands itched to lift her up and carry her back to where they had decided to rest for the night, but he kept them firmly at his side. He knew that even an injured wolf could still bite your head off. Even more so if that wolf was Fae.

Slowly she got onto her hands and knees and tried to raise herself. Kiba gently placed his hands on her upper arms and attempted to pull her up easily. His attempts were foiled when she brushed him off sloppily. Temper barely under control, he nearly shook with his frustration at her inability to accept help. He thought she would have laughed at his appearance if she had been in any condition to; he wished she was.

Now she was leaning against the wall and seemed to be preparing herself. Kiba took a step closer to her, ready to catch her if she fell. He stole a glance behind him, all senses alert for any wolves that may be wandering around. As it turned out, it was a good thing he had readied himself for her to fall; because a second later she did. He easily caught her, making sure to be gentle around her wounds. A low growl escaped his throat and he hoped she hadn't heard.

He steadied her up and pulled one of her arms around his neck and held onto her waist with the other. He could feel the warm, wetness of her blood seeping through his clothes to stain his own skin.

"I'm bleeding everywhere…just let me go…"

Kiba shook his head in exasperation at her stubbornness. She was too injured even to hold herself up; despite what she thought, he was in fact holding up all of her weight. Despite her pathetic squirming attempts, he kept a firm and gentle grip.

Slowly, she took the first step and then the next. Kiba helped pull her along and was patient. But before they had even made it five steps, she collapsed. Kiba didn't falter at all, but gently maneuvered them both so that he could pick her up. So light… he thought, brows knitting together. Unconsciously, he held her closer to his own body. He was taken by surprise when he felt her take hold of his jacket and bury her face in his chest.

Blinking, he looked down at her and saw her curled against him. He could feel her body shaking and lurching in his grip and his shirt front grew damp. She made small, distressed noises which developed into hiccups. Without thinking, he bent his head down and placed his forehead on the top of her head and closed his eyes.

After a few minutes standing like that, Fae's body stopped lurching with sobs and her whines quieted, now only small hiccups making her body jump. Her body still shook, but not with as much force as before. Another moment later, Kiba straightened back up and began walking determinedly out of the alley.

He wasn't sure exactly where the grave yard was or even where exactly they were. His eyes stayed wide open, glaring at every shadow or sign of movement. It wasn't safe to be wandering around a foreign city, trailing blood, with hungry wolves lurking in the shadows. Fae seemed to have drifted off into unconsciousness, though she muttered incoherently, the sounds muffled by Kiba's own chest. He found it tickled.

Now he began searching for a safe place to hole up for the night-or at least some of it. Wolves healed fast thanks to moonlight and their natural metabolisms. But there was little moonlight in this rotting city and the extent of her wounds were severe. He had been forced to duck behind some boxes on the street once when a group of humans shuffled by and again when a lone wolf came sniffing around.

The wolf was relatively young and small with the same gruff exterior as all the other wolves in the city. As he drew closer to Kiba's chosen hiding spot, he decided to reveal himself before he was found. He gently placed Fae on the ground behind him, carefully untangling her fingers from his shirt. Turning, he walked out from behind the building, body tense. The young wolf stopped in his tracks and observed Kiba, nose lifting to scent the air.

"Smells like someone got into a bit of trouble." He sneered.

Kiba didn't answer. He knew he would easily be able to take the pup down if it was necessary, but he didn't have time to waste. Fae made a small noise from behind him. The other wolf craned his neck to see around Kiba. Kiba blocked his view, moving his body and growling low in his throat.

"Ya know, I would be happy to take her off yer hands for a while." The wolf said slowly, advancing on Kiba.

"I wouldn't suggest taking another step." Kiba said, dangerously calm.

The other wolf hesitated, eyeing Kiba from head to toe. To emphasize his point, Kiba took a step forward and snarled deep in his throat, baring his teeth. Without meaning to, the other wolf took a hurried step back. He jammed his hands into his pockets and looked away with a scowl on his face.

"Pfft. Whatever." He muttered turning and stalking off with hunched shoulders.

Kiba waited for him to disappear around a corner before he turned back to Fae to see her attempting to stand again. Kiba hurried forward as she slumped down once more. He adjusted their positions until he was carrying her again.

"I'm sorry…" he murmured softly.

Looking around carefully, he hurried down the streets, continuing his search for a suitable area to spend the night.

Which is how they ended up in a rather cramped alley way. He thought he had been heading the right direction to the graveyard but wasn't positive. Kiba wanted to get back there as soon as possible, but the sun had rapidly set and more of the city's wolves were out and about. It wasn't the best place to be staying, but it would do. It was long and narrow and would be easily defendable if needed, even if it wasn't very comfortable. Then again, Fae seemed to be unconscious and Kiba didn't think she really cared where they were.

He walked half way down the alley and knelt, placing Fae on the ground and propping her up against the wall. He sat next to her, closest to the alley's opening, and relaxed marginally. Looking up he could see a thin sliver of the sky. The moon would be up in a few hours time, and then he thought he would try to get them back to the graveyard.

It can't be much farther…this city isn't very big… he thought absently.

Kiba looked down at Fae who was leaning heavily against him. Her breathing was shallow, but at least she was breathing. Beads of sweat lined her forehead, her jaw was clenched tightly, and her body still trembled. Her clothes were little more than shredded tatters thrown clumsily over her. There was a particularly large gash on her ribs and her left arm was caked with blood and bruising. Kiba could feel his anger boiling over again. I should've killed them.

"This really sucks…"

Kiba almost jumped at the sound of her voice. It was weak and tight with pain, but it was definitely her. Her eyes were just barely open and she was looking down.

"…yeah."

They were quiet again for a long while. Kiba made sure to listen to her breathing carefully. It was raspy and labored, but he wasn't overly worried. Wolves were tough and Fae was no exception. He turned his head to stare out of the alley, all of his senses alert for any sign of someone approaching. He was paying so much attention to the 'outside' world that it took him a second to realize he couldn't hear Fae breathing anymore. He turned back to her quickly and saw that she was only gathering the strength to speak.

"We…need to get back…" she whispered. She squirmed against him, trying to get her feet underneath her to stand.

"No, we'll rest for a while longer." Kiba said evenly, holding her down.

She made a few small noises of frustration before collapsing back against the wall. Her breathing was harsher now after her exertion and Kiba shook his head. His head whipped around when he heard something running toward their alley. Getting into a half crouch, he turned to face the on comer. A minute later Kai dashed into the alley, a white mass hanging from his jaws. Kiba relaxed and sat back down. The small fox crawled over him, depositing his burden on Kiba's lap before leaping off to Fae's side.

Kiba looked down to see the fox had dropped a roll of bandages in his lap. "How did you get these?" he asked, picking them up and examining them. They were of good quality and smelled mostly clean.

"From a clinic a human pointed out earlier. One of the windows was open." The fox replied shortly, staring at Fae with wide eyes. She hadn't yet noticed he was there.

Now her eyes opened a crack. "Where did I get what…?" she murmured, thinking Kiba was speaking to her. Her eyes rested on Kai and small pinpricks of tears welled up in the corners of her eyes again. The small fox whined softly before rushing at her, placing his front paws on a small part of her uninjured chest and licking at her face. Her eyes closed again and her head lolled to the side.

Kiba watched the entrance of the alley again; making sure no one had followed the fox to their less than ideal hiding place. "…Kai, I have to ask you to do something." He said after a minute.

The fox looked up at him, his small face expressionless. "I need you to find one of the guys; they should still be in the graveyard. Bring them back here." Kiba said. Kai rubbed his face against Fae's hand before darting out of the alley without another word. Kiba watched him go and hoped he would be quick in bringing back one of the others, preferably Tsume. It was going to be very difficult getting back if some of the other wolves found them and Kiba had to defend Fae alone.

Kiba looked at the bandages in his hand before putting them back in his lap. They would have to do for now until they could find something to put on her wounds. Gently, he picked up her left arm that had been lying on the ground and brought it close to his face. It looked as though one of the mongrels had tried to break her leg but thankfully failed. Unfortunately her arm was still badly injured and still bleeding. He sniffed at the wound to see if any infection was starting to spread. Bringing her arm to his mouth he began to clean out the wound. Fae hissed in pain and weakly tried to pull her arm back. It was a testament to how injured she was that she gave up quickly.

When he was satisfied with her arm he picked up the bandages and ripped off a length with his teeth. He wrapped it around the wound tightly. The bandage became stained quickly, but not saturated.

Fae weakly pulled her arm back and cradled it against her chest, leaning away from him.

Kiba could feel his temper nipping at his heels. "Would you rather they get infected?" he said coldly. She didn't reply and didn't look at him. "Then stay still." He said, taking her silence as a negative.

He pushed her hair away from her neck and leaned over her, beginning to clean out the lacerations on her shoulder and neck. She cringed and squirmed but didn't bat at him.

"My pack used to do this…"

He was surprised to hear her speaking, but took her talking over her wriggling around.

"I was always getting hurt…I was so clumsy and…accident prone…" she whispered, a wheezy laugh escaping her lips. He could feel her shoulders slump under his hands. "But no matter how much we tried to help them…we couldn't save them…"

She was quiet for a long time and Kiba wondered it she had fallen asleep again. But then she began to speak again.

"It was the prey…they became so easy to catch…it was weird. They were slower and dumber…we thought we were so lucky." He could hear harsh bitterness in her voice. "Every hunt was successful. We were all well fed. I know I was tubby for a while...like Hige." Another wheezy laugh. "But…something was wrong…the plants in our forest smelt strange…they had this dust all over them. It would fall from the sky sometimes. The deer…they were so slow and dumb and sick. If they could run they always started coughing and would just…collapse." She was nearly choking on her words.

Kiba didn't interrupt her. He continued to clean out the wounds on her neck, lips curling at the taste of the mongrel's saliva on her. After cleaning as much as he could he ripped off more of the bandaging and wound it several times around her neck, securing it with a quick knot. She continued her tale.

"Some of the pack was getting sick too. It happened to our elders first. They started acting like the prey; slower, dumber, and sick. So sick…they started to die too…just collapse. The others…they started getting slow and stupid too. They didn't question it when they found our prey already dead…didn't think it odd that the dust covered them and was inside them. I was scared…I wouldn't eat. They smelled horrible."

Her shoulders shook with repressed sobs. But she couldn't stop speaking. Once she had started her tale for the first time it was as though she had opened a floodgate. Word vomit. She was only dimly aware of Kiba cleaning her wounds and bandaging her. She didn't see the grime covered ground she stared at, just the ghosts of her past.

"My mother was the only other one to see what was happening. She had seen the dust falling from the sky too. She had even seen a human place a dead doe on the outskirts of our forest. She was scared too. That's when we left. She woke me up one night and we left. A few others came too…but my father stayed…so did most of the others. Their eyes were cloudy and their legs were weak…but my mother and I left with some others." She took a shaky breath to steady herself. "But they were sick too…"

Kiba eased her out of her over shirt to better see her wounds. She was limp and didn't fight against him. His eyes were intense and his ears were perked as he listened to her story attentively.

"A lot of them died within the week…a few more the next week. Soon it was just me and my mother. But her eyes were cloudy too and she growled to herself while we traveled. There wasn't any prey for us out in the wastes. Ha, I wasn't so tubby anymore…Then my mother collapsed one day and wouldn't get up. I remember…it was snowing so badly. I slept by her side and when I woke up I had to shake the snow off of me. I couldn't even see her anymore. But I knew I had to leave…I knew where my mother wanted me to go. That city…the city that smelled like flowers…" her voice grew softer and softer until it was hardly more than a sigh.

Kiba looked at Fae for a long time. It was hard to believe that their pasts were somewhat similar…only she had to see the poison sickness slowly destroy her pack one by one. He had been very young when the fire happened…

He could tell she was asleep now. Telling her story had taken a lot out of her and now her body was forcing itself to rest. With a sigh he continued to go over her body, pressing lightly with his finger tips around her ribs for any signs of broken bones. He cleaned and wrapped most of her wounds, having difficulty with the ones on her back; it was hard to prop her up, keep her shirt out of the way, and bandage at the same time. But he ran out of bandages before he could get to the ones on her chest and stomach.

Knowing he had done everything he could for now, he leaned back against the wall, Fae resting against his side with her head lolled onto his shoulder. He watched the entrance to the alley with sharp eyes and listened very carefully.

His efforts were rewarded when he heard the sound of pounding shoes on the pavement. He quickly, but gently, propped Fae up on her own on the wall, and then got into a defensive position. He relaxed a minute later when he heard an all too familiar voice.

"Jeeze, where the hell are you takin' me, rat?" Hige whined a moment before Kai ran into the alley. Hige ran behind him and skidded to a stop when he saw Kiba. "Hey, what're you doing here…" he started to ask before he noticed Fae behind Kiba. "Oh man…"

"C'mon, we need to get back to the graveyard. Where are Tsume and Toboe?" Kiba asked, turning around to carefully lift Fae back up. Luckily the alley was just wide enough for him to carry her out walking sideways. She stirred in her sleep but otherwise didn't pay attention to what was going on. She curled into herself, her head resting on Kiba's shoulder.

Hige stumbled back quickly to let Kiba by. "Oh man…what the hell happened?" Hige asked quietly, staring at Fae with wide eyes.

"I'll explain on the way, but we need to hurry. It's practically full dark now." Kiba said before setting off after Kai, who trotted a way ahead of them, keeping an eye out for anything in the night.

It was only a few minutes later that Hige was filled in to what had happened. He shook his head dumbly. "Man…I thought she was…you know…indestructible…" Hige muttered, glancing at her every few seconds.

"Heh, yeah…" Kiba muttered.

It was going smoothly until Kai suddenly puffed up ahead of them and hissed violently as five humans stepped out from an alley to their right. Kai dashed away, disappearing instantly. The humans advanced on the three wolves lazily. One, who seemed to be the leader, held a switch blade in his hand, flipping it open and shut annoyingly. Kiba and Hige stopped walking, eyeing the group of humans. Hige stuffed his hands into his pockets with a sigh and Kiba glared.

"Step aside." He said evenly as the group formed a semi circle in front of them.

"Heh, and who do ya think you are ta be givin' orders, huh?" he drawled, causing his goons to laugh lowly.

"Hey guys, c'mon. He's just givin' you fair warning." Hige said with a sigh.

"And we're just givin' you a warnin.'" Said one of the cronies in the group.

"We're bein' awful generous to yas." Said another.

"What would be 'awful generous' of you would be to shower once in a while…" Hige said, nose wrinkling in disgust.

"Tch, big words for a kid." Said the leader of the group, continuing to flip his blade. "But I'm feelin' generous tonight. Leave your wallets and the girl and we'll let ya pass. Easy, right?" he said with a laugh. His followers laughed with him and stopped when he did.

Kiba was about to reply when he felt Fae stir against him. Looking down he saw her uncurl enough to look at the humans in front of them. Shakily, she extended her right arm, palm up, and flipped them off.

The humans 'oooed' and laughed dumbly among themselves. "C'mon man, just leave her here. We'll take good care a' her." The leader said again.

"Thanks, but no thanks." Kiba said coldly.

Without another word, both Kiba and Hige blurred toward the humans. Their weak eyes couldn't see the speed of the wolves' movements, only feel fists or knees ramming against them, then all going dark. Hige punched the last human soundly in the head, sending him off to lala land with the rest of his gang. Kiba landed next to him and looked down at the humans sprawled at their feet. His arms preoccupied he had kicked one in the head and kneed one in the stomach.

"God humans are annoying…she ok?' Hige said, looking at Fae.

"Shut up…" she murmured, chin resting on her chest.

"Heh, you heard her. Let's go." Hige said, following again after Kai who had reappeared.

It was only another five minutes of walking before they came to the old broken down stone house that was their resting area while they stayed in the city. Kiba lay Fae down on the cool ground, covering her with her over shirt and placing his own jacket under her head as a pillow. Hige knelt next to him and also looked down at Fae.

"Damn…she really got torn up…" Hige muttered.

"We can find some plants to put on her wounds in the morning. She'll be alright till then." Kiba said. "And you don't know where Tsume and Toboe are?"

"Nah, they ran off only a little bit after you did." Hige replied.

Kai curled against Fae's side, looking up at her face with bright blue eyes.

Both wolves stood suddenly when they heard a long, low note coming from far away. "It's Toboe." Kiba said when the howling continued. "I'm going to find them. You stay here with her. I'll be back soon hopefully." Kiba said. With a last look at Fae he took off at a run in the direction of Toboe's sad howl, his worn out shoes making harsh slapping noises against the filthy pavement.

I really hope you liked it! This was a really difficult chapter to write. I did research on wolves for this to determine how Fae and Kiba should react to one another. The licking wasn't meant to be sexual. (you pervs) It's a fact that injured wolves are groomed intensely by other pack members for both physical and mental comfort. So ha. There. Licking is completely justified, haha. Remember, even if they look human, they are wolves!

Anyway, please review and I'll see you next chapter