Standard disclaimer applies.
Okay, I know you all want to kill me because I haven't gotten to the revelation scene yet. And you'll want to kill me even more painfully after this chapter, because...gulps and looks away I still haven't gotten to it. I know I said I would...but it's coming really slowly. I have major writer's block for this story right now. So...please don't kill me, and trust that the next chapter will be up as soon as I can.
Enjoy.
Blue stared at the other wolves, her eyes wide and her entire body quivering with emotion. Why couldn't they understand? They didn't believe her when she said that the human was going to take the pups. Why couldn't they believe her? She knew. She didn't know how she knew, but somehow she did know that that man was taking the pups, had taken pups before…they would be treated like dogs, just as she had been. Or worse.
She didn't mind having been Quent's dog, having been a part of his family, the pet of his child. She loved Quent, had loved the child and Quent's wife. But she didn't want her children raised like that. She wanted each one of them to recognize him or herself as a unique individual independent of humans or other beings. Blue wanted them to be their own people. She didn't want them to be like her. She wanted them to realize that they were more than animals, more than the playthings and tools of men. They weren't meant to be that way! She didn't want them to think that way!
Quent had used her as his tool for years. His beloved tool, yes, but a tool nonetheless. She didn't want her children to have to do that. Blue wanted them to grow up as Hige had grown up—free, unrestricted by humans, unfettered by the desires of others. The pups should follow their own hearts, achieve their own destinies by their own means. They needed to be free and happy like Hige and the others, not confused as she was. She was confused…she was half-dog after all, not really a wolf, not really a real person.
How could she be a real person? She was half-animal. Wolves were animals. But they were different. They were free, self-aware. Each wolf was a person. But she wasn't. She was…a dog, in the end, just a dog, not a wolf. She could pretend to be a wolf, pretend to be a person, act like a person acted, but in the end it was a complete mystery to her. She didn't understand so much. So many things that confounded her were completely natural to the others. She was still learning to be a person.
If the pups went through that she would die. Quent at least had treated her almost like his own child. But this man wouldn't. He would treat them like slaves. Less than slaves.
She wouldn't be able to take that.
Kiba stared at Blue. The female was shivering, her eyes staring at nothing. He felt a chill go up his spine. He had never dealt with a pregnant female before. He didn't know how to…handle her, he supposed. He had heard that females were extremely…moody when pregnant, but he didn't know they were like this. Kiba cursed to himself. Where was that damn Hige? Damn him.
His ears flicked backwards suddenly as he heard the soft click of boot heels on the concrete outside the cage. Kiba turned slowly around, his body half-hiding Blue, both from the man and blocking her view of the bars. She was fragile enough as it was.
He drew in a slow breath when he saw the doctor at the bars. The man was standing there, clipboard in hand, staring coldly at them. Kiba hissed at Tsume. The gray wolf herded Toboe back towards Blue and then stood slightly behind Kiba, glaring at the doctor. The doctor smiled.
"Hello, bitch."
Kiba snarled. Blue shrank back against the wall, fur bristling in fear. Toboe crept up to her and pressed himself against her, frantically licking at her to try and calm her down. The human smiled again, making a note on his clipboard.
"I'm going to take the cubs, you know." He looked up at Blue. "They'll be mine."
Blue closed her eyes and began to shake uncontrollably. Violent shudders racked her slim frame, causing Toboe to press himself against her even harder. Tsume snarled viciously at the human, his fangs shining lethally in the dim electric lights. The man made another note on the clipboard.
"Why are you doing this?" Kiba demanded, glaring at the man. "Why are you torturing us like this?"
The man glanced up from his clipboard, sparing Kiba a small, dry smile.
"Why not?"
Kiba lunged at the man through the bars, his teeth flashing in a vicious snarl. The bars shot electricity through his body, throwing him to the floor. The man scribbled something on his clipboard and glanced at Blue, who was still shuddering against Toboe.
"I have something to show you." He looked at Tsume and Kiba. "All of you."
He pressed a button on the wall outside the cell and the floor dropped out from under them. Toboe screamed, a long, hissing wail that caught in the back of his throat and came out as a broken shriek for help. Tsume tried to grab the pup in midair, but it was no use…the floor came up to meet them before he could grab Toboe's scruff. They all fell with a hard thunk onto the metal floor. Blue landed last, and upon hitting the metal gave a sharp cry. The three wolves went over to her and nudged her gently with their noses and licking her softly. She whimpered her appreciation and sat up.
Tsume looked around them. The man was nowhere in sight. Where the bars protecting him had been, there was now a large blank viewing screen that completely covered the entire wall. Tsume stalked up to it and sniffed suspiciously, only to be startled by the laughter of the bastard scientist.
"Don't worry, I'm not hiding behind the wall."
Tsume snarled. "I didn't think you were!"
"Tsume." Kiba snapped. Tsume subsided and backed away from the screen.
"Do I have your attention?" The human asked. Tsume and Kiba glared. Toboe licked Blue, who closed her eyes and lowered her head to her paws. "Good. I would like you to pay careful attention to the following video. It is quite important to you."
"How can anything you have to give be at all important to us?" Tsume growled.
The man chuckled again. "Because it gives you a more realistic expectation of the future; both for yourselves, and for the cubs that bitch is carrying."
"Don't call Blue a bitch!" Toboe barked. The man chuckled and did not reply. Toboe snarled at the screen.
The screen came to life with a sudden image.