5/18/10.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................

It had been two days for Kiba to be under the spell of the Eternal Garden, and his friends had never found him. They had given up hope on Kiba, and went on without him. But Kiba did not know, or care, anymore: He was free, he was in Paradise, and he was in love.

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The forest teemed with rabbits, chipmunks, skunks, and badgers; these creatures had lived peacefully under the protection of the forest for years, never having an excuse to leave– until now.

A white wolf ran into these words in silence, chasing after a lynx, who darted around trees, bouncing over fallen logs and doubling back towards the river. The wolf followed her trail, panting hard, his legs tripping over themselves as he made a sharp turn. He ran out of the woods and stopped abruptly when he spotted the lynx.

She sat, waiting for him on a rock by the stream, amethyst eyes relaxed, yet the end of her tail twitched in anticipation. "Are you coming, Kiba?" she asked, giggling.

The white wolf's tail wagged fondly, and he padded over to her.

The lynx rolled over onto her back, sliding off the rock into the grass with a soft thud, the grass flattening out beneath her.

Kiba laid down beside her, leaning his big head over the lynx, licking her body. "Myu..." he said softly.

"Yes?" said the lynx, sitting up as a human.

Kiba looked at the girl. She wore a yellow shirt with blue jeans, while he, as human, wore a dark-green jacket over a white shirt, also with jeans. His eyes were blue, hers were purple. He was a wolf. She was a lynx. They were very different, but very much the same; they had forgotten their past, and only had each other to hold on to for the future.

"Myu..." he said again, reaching out to touch her cheek, his eyes half-closed. "Were there others before you?"

Myu took Kiba's hands in hers, saying quietly, "No, Kiba."

"You were alone..." Kiba said, almost questioning.

The girl nodded, smiling, her voice sad. "I was alone." she agreed.

Kiba took her hands, more tightly, holding them against his chest. "I will never leave you, Myu. If this is Paradise, then I was born to meet you."

Myu smiled, and leaned forward towards the boy, kissing him gently on the lips.

The man, in turn, released her left hand, drawing his right hand behind her body, pulling her closer. She made a soft noise of delight as Kiba ran his hand down her back, then under her shirt, tracing her spine.

"K-Kiba..." she stammered suddenly.

He let her go, and looked at her. "What's wrong, Myu?" he asked. He made a noise of shock when he saw the girl's face. Her eyes were very wide, teary, happy... Beautiful. He had never seen her face so full of emotion, such passion....

"Myu..–"

Myu wrapped her arms around Kiba's neck, pulling him into her as she shoved her tongue into his mouth. Kiba's heart raced as he felt her tongue glide through his mouth, exploring, tasting, feeling. His heart beat calmed, and he put his arms around the girl and pulled her closer. He slid his tongue across hers in a dance of friction, hearing her soft moans vibrate in his mouth. Kiba lowered his hands again, sliding down her back, testing her.

In response, Myu stood up, mouth still connected to his, and she pushed him to the grass, her on top.

The wolf blinked in surprise as the lynx, tail twitching, gazed down at him. "Myu..." he said, uncertainly.

"I love you, Kiba..." she said softly.

Kiba's breath caught in his throat. She...loved him? Kiba felt an immense feeling of emotion over-power him; here she was, a girl in her own Paradise, and she chose to love a wolf... Kiba felt tears burn in his eyes, and he looked away, rolling over onto his feet.

The lynx tumbled off into the grass. "Are you all right?" asked Myu, putting a hand on his shoulder.

Kiba stood up, his head to the sky. "Yeah..." he said slowly. "I'm just...happy."

Myu stood up and hugged him around the back, and Kiba leaned his head to the side and kissed her face. "Something's upsetting you." she said.

Kiba nodded. "Yes.." he looked down. "I just...I don't think I can provide for you." he admitted quietly.

Myu let him go and she went and stood in front of him. He refused to look up at her, so she took his head by the chin and raised it to look at her in the eyes. Kiba felt a pang of admiration burn in his chest when he saw the girl's smiling face, the acceptance in her eyes.

Their forms changed into those of their animals.

"Kiba..." she said. "Don't you know? This is a place where all is accepted, all is welcome, all is free..." she pressed her head into the wolf's warm, white chest, her purring. "We are together forever...."

"For eternity..." said Kiba.

Myu smiled up at Kiba and said, "Yes."

Whining softly, Kiba began to lick the lynx on the face. She withstood his affection for a few seconds before running off. Ears flying straight up on his head, Kiba chased after her. They ran together around trees, around the herds of buffalos, and 'round and 'round the pool where they first met at.

At last, the two of them fell down in the grass, laughing with exhaustion. Kiba watched as Myu went over to the pool to drink, his heart warm. The wolf sat down where he stood, and looked back at where the desert was.

"Myu..." he said quietly.

"Yes?" she asked, lifting her dripping face from the water.

Kiba stared off over the dry lands. "Do you think anyone else will find us?"

"Why would you want to be found?" asked Myu. "No one is left to be searching for you. They are all dead, Kiba..."

Kiba looked over at the pool, watching his golden eyes haze over.

Myu walked over and sat beside him, leaning her head against his shoulder. "We are at peace...with only each other..." she said.

Kiba let out a long yawn, then nodded. "I'm sorry," he said, looking at the girl. "There is something inside of me that keeps telling me otherwise...I supposed it's nothing."

"Nothing but the memory of the dead." replied Myu.

Kiba smiled and leaned back in the grass.

Myu laid down and joined him.

They laid in silence for nearly an hour, the sun never moving from it's place in the sky, the ripples in the pool never ceasing though there was no wind.

"This place is so perfect..." Kiba mumbled, a lazy expression on his face. He closed his eyes slowly.

Myu watched him, smiling. "Are you tired, Kiba?" she asked.

Kiba opened his eyes and looked at her, questioningly.

"Come with me." she tld him, jumping to her feet. She offered her hand, pulling the man up. Tleading him by the hand, she brought him up the hill, and then down it, twsting around through the forest until they reached a specific clearing. "Here we are!" she said cheerfully, eltting his hand go.

Kiba looked around himself, and noticed that there were bits of fur, blood, and dozens of footprints in the large, treeless area. On some of the trees outside the clearing, were claw markings or bite marks. Looking down, the dirt itself seemed very used.

"What is this place for?" asked Kiba.

"Mating." replied Myu.

Kiba looked over at her, and found her sitting down on the ground, smiling up at him with a distant look in her eyes.

"But we're of a different–" began Kiba.

"Doesn't mean we can't try." she replied, smiling.

Kiba nearly blushed, but he felt a smile play across his face at the girl's boldness.

"If we fail," she said, "Then we always have each other."

She says that a lot, he realized. It's because it is true, he answered himself. It really was... it very was possible that no other beast had the ability to appear both beast and human, and that no bond could be made so strongly between a species of his own kind. No..this was unique. It was pure. It was Paradise.

Kiba went over to the lynx, tail swaying slightly, and the lynx rolled onto her back submissively as Kiba approached. He began licking her body, sniffing it with his powerful nose, whimpering excitedly.

Under him, Myu giggled.

Kiba tilted his head sideways, tail wagging. "What's so funny?" he asked.

Myu took the boy's face in her hands, saying, "You, Kiba..." and she kissed him. She pulled herself closer to him, but he suddenly drew back as a wolf, and he leaned down and sized the back of her neck in his jaws, biting down firmly.

The lynx did not move. She waited patiently, enduring the wolf's ritual. After a long minute or two, Kiba let her go, and he nudged her until she stood up on her feet. He went around and put his front legs around her chest, and hunched over her, and began to mate, vigorously bringing his body harder and harder into her rear-end.

After about five minutes of this, the lynx's body was shaking from withstanding the wolf's weight, and she would yowl loudly when ever Kiba's sudden force hurt her. But Kiba stopped only when he was finished, leaving them both breathless and sweaty on the ground.

"Kee– buh.." panted Myu, limbs trembling, looking over at him with a smile.

Kiba, resting on his back, chest heaving, looked back over at her.

She smiled at him, and reached out and took his hand. "I love you.." she said.

Kiba smiled faintly at her. "I love you, too..." he said.

"Can we..." she breathed, "Do this...differently...next time..?"

Kiba nodded, sweat dripping from his hair. "Yeah..." he said, smiling.

"Kiba...?"

"Yeah...?"

"I'm glad we're together."

Kiba could only smile.

They stared up at the sky with happy, drugged-out looking faces until Kiba said, "I'm thirsty."

So he stood up, Myu following his example, and they raced to the pool, both laughing in the bliss of freedom and perfection.

Myu won the race, so when Kiba arrived, she hid, waiting for him to take a drink. When he did, she pounced on him from behind, and he fell into the water. Growling playfully, Kiba climbed out and shook the water from his fur, soaking the lynx.

They stared at each other, breathless, as if saying what they felt would make the dream-like existence of themselves disappear– changing into a reality that neither wanted to remember.

But until they would wake up, they would never have to leave Paradise.

They could live happily ever after– until their bones melted under the sun.

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