| [Oct. 22nd, 2017|09:39 pm] |
It smelled like blood and wild things.
The colossal stone ribs arched and converged in the center to make a towering sort of roof, pierced and pockmarked by a random constellation of holes. It almost put Kakashi in mind of coral, except on land and mountain-sized.
The light darkened blue, twisting through shadows and alcoves. Hiding places that would have made Kakashi's neck tingle, if his skin weren't already crawling. Killing intent soaked the air.
A memory slipped into the light, just for a moment. His mother's voice from years ago, teaching an important lesson: Ninja are wolves. The first Kages tamed us. But we are still wolves, even bound with rules and brought to heel, and we cannot forget it.
Compared to the immense energy ahead of them, he was feeling more pup-like.
Claws scraped stone, and a monster slunk out of the dark.
Fur like ink, gleaming teeth longer than Kakashi's arm, lambent yellow eyes. As big as the Kyuubi had been; bigger than Minato's giant toad summons. It padded forward silently, and predatory threat unrolled before it.
This was death, and they were standing in its home.
Pakkun flattened himself against Kakashi’s shoulder. Behind them, the stench of fear filled the air like rank smoke. One of the younger dogs whimpered, flattening to the ground.
The wolf stared at them expressionlessly, and two more immense beasts came forward to flank it. One was the color of perfect snow, almost luminous. The other was the ashy grey of a scorched field.
The weight of their attention was crushing.
A growl rumbled through the world. It took Kakashi a second to realize there were words in it. “Why do you bring humans here?”
Pakkun fought to sit up. Saishou beat him to it. She stepped forward, bracing herself in front of Kakashi. Her ears were pinned flat to her skull, but she raised her nose and made a soft, insistent sound. The grey-muzzled male, Yori, left Kurenai’s side and limped forward to stand at her shoulder. He was achingly lean next to her. Kin crept around Kakashi’s other side and touched her nose to Saishou’s flank; she was shaking, her eyes showing whites all the way around, but she stood there.
The black wolf lowered his head to study the three of them curiously. His breath was scalding. This close, he was all Kakashi could smell: wilderness and slaughter, the iron-tang of earth and the rank, overwhelming musk of a very definitive male. He had to be ancient, but his eyes were clear. His teeth were the bright white of scrubbed bone.
This growl made Kakashi’s bones vibrate. “Help them?”
The white wolf made a sound like breaking rocks, laughter magnified until it bounced off the walls. The grey wolf snarled. Fate-lines snapped through the Sharingan, showing a twist of future that made Kakashi’s lungs ice. He grabbed Kurenai by the arm and lunged to the side, too fast for grace. The grey wolf moved like a snake and bit through the air where they’d just been standing. Its head swung, thwarted. Kakashi hit the ground in a skid, crashed into the closest pillar, and leapt again, yanking Kurenai with him.
Kin barked in furious terror. Saishou leapt into the grey wolf’s path.
The black wolf moved even faster and caught his brother by the ear, teeth clamping down. A dark streak of blood sprayed across the ground, and steamed. The grey wolf reared back, snapping and snarling. Saishou scrambled out of the way of their deadly paws.
She’d been one of Kakashi’s best fighters, a handful of years ago, before she’d retired to start her first family. She landed at his flank like she’d never left it, guarding Kurenai’s open side, while Kin bolted on their heels. Yori, with an old dog’s sense, had ghosted quietly out of the way. Kurenai’s fingers were clamped bloodlessly on Kakashi’s shoulder. Even when they made it out of range, swallowed back into the pack, she didn’t let go.
Ryouma grabbed Kakashi’s other shoulder, bared steel in his free hand. He looked wildly at the fighting wolves. “Do we wait or run?”
“Wait,” Kakashi said. |
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