Disclaimer: I have come once again to remind you that there is nothing here that I own. In case you forgot that.

WOW OKAY I haven't updated this in like 4 years what the heck lol

More about that in the note at the end XD

Also! There will be some death in this chapter, nothing too major or graphic or anything, but I just thought it would be best to mention that 'cause I know some people are really sensitive to that kind of stuff. Anyway, let's get on with the story then, shall we?

The one that you are looking for, you're not gonna find her here, here

Old gypsy woman spoke to me said, You're a wolf, boy, get out of this town

You're a wolf, boy, get out of this town

You're a wolf

You're a Wolf-Sea Wolf

When Gilbert awoke, he could sense that something was amiss. The usual comfort and warmth of his home was gone; in its place hung a heavy, dark feeling that the small boy could not quite place. Something was very, very wrong, and Gilbert had never felt so afraid in his life.

He glanced beside him and could see the moon glowing brilliantly through the window, dimly illuminating the small room and outlining the shape of Gilbird's cage like a silver halo. He wasn't exactly sure of the time, but he knew it must have been very late. He sat up in his bed and was about to get up when his father came bursting in the room.

"Gilly!" he cried, dashing over to his son's bedside.

Gilbert looked up sleepily at his father, noticing the fearful look in his normally joyful blue eyes. "Vati?" Gilbert began. His sensitive ears twitched as he caught the sound of something in the distance, steadily growing in volume as if it was getting closer. "What's going on?"

"They're coming," Gilbert's mother's voice called from somewhere else in the house. "We have to hurry!"

The panic on Gilbert's father's face intensified, and he gently grasped his young son's small shoulders in his hands. He looked Gilbert dead in the eye as he spoke. "Gilbert, I need you to listen to me. This is very important. Gilbert!" He shook the boy a bit to regain his attention, as Gilbert has become distracted by how loud the noise he had heard before had become.

A chilling howl pierced the air.

"Dear!" Gilbert's mother urged.

"Vati-" Gilbert began.

"Dear!"

The grip on Gilbert's shoulders tightened. His father looked like he was about to cry. "Gilly, I need you to run, do you understand? Just run away from here, as fast as you can. Can you do that?"

Gilbert nodded. "But, Vati," he asked, "what about you?"

His father smiled sadly. "I can't come with you, Gilly. Not now."

Gilbert frowned. "I have to say goodbye?"

"No, Gilly. Not goodbye. Remember what I told you? 'Auf wiedersehen.' It means 'until I see you again.' It's not a goodbye; it's a promise."

"Auf wiedersehen," Gilbert repeated quietly.

There was a crash outside, and it sounded close.

"They're here." Gilbert's mother appeared in the doorway of the small bedroom. Fear was evident in her eyes as well. Gilbert's father looked at her and nodded before turning back to his son. "You need to go now, Gilbert. I'm going to lift you out of the window here and then you run, okay? You can do this, I know you can."

Gilbert nodded. "Because I'm awesome!"

His father smiled widely, but a single tear found its way down his cheek. "That's right. My awesome Gilbert."

Gilbert quickly reached over to the table beside his bed and removed Gilbird from the cage, placing the bird on his head, where it snuggled into the soft white locks. With a soft smile from his mother and a final kiss on the head from his father, Gilbert was lifted up and out the window. His feet touched the snowy ground with a small crunch. Not a moment too soon either, as there was a loud banging coming from the front of the house, the side opposite of Gilbert's current location. Gilbert was afraid, but he tried to seem as calm as possible; he was "awesome" after all.

"Auf wiedersehen, Vati," his whispered up towards the window as his father began to turn and leave. "It's a promise, right?"

"Yes, Gilly," he replied, completely turned away now. "Auf wiedersehen."

Satisfied, Gilbert turned and ran like he was instructed to.

His father wiped the now free-flowing tears from his cheeks and joined his wife where she stood just outside the door to Gilbert's room, her usually calm eyes turning wild with protective instinct as a snarl formed in the back her throat. Her husband turned to the closet near them in the hallway and removed a small revolver from the top shelf, tightening his hand on the grip. As the front door of their home finally began to give way to the oncoming intruders, he grabbed his wife's hand for the final time and gave it a long, gentle squeeze.

"Auf wiedersehen."

Gilbert lingered just on the edge of the trees, keeping a close eye on his home. His father had told him to run and get as far away as he could, but Gilbert believed that it wouldn't be awesome of him just to leave his parents behind, so he decided to stay close until they could come to him. From his position, it was difficult to get a good view of the house, but his sensitive ears could hear what was going on with relative ease.

He heard the sound of splintering wood, glass shattering, low, animalistic snarls, and a solitary gunshot before everything became sickeningly quiet. Gilbert shivered. This silence frightened him more than anything had thus far. What exactly had just happened? His eyes scanned the area around his home to see if the coast was clear. Deeming it safe, he began to make his way forward out of the safety of the tree line.

Gilbert knew he was disobeying his father's instructions, but he felt something pulling him towards his house. He couldn't explain the feeling that drove his small feet forward through the snow, but he knew that something was wrong; he needed to be by his parents' side.

Just as he emerged from the trees, his small home suddenly burst into flame; hot streaks of red and orange bleeding together and reaching up to the sky in some sick dance. Gilbert felt his heart drop into the pit of his stomach.

"M-Mutti!" he cried, "Vati!"

He moved as quickly as his small legs would carry him; getting tangled in his own tail and slipping against the frozen ground in his haste to reach his home. He fell face first into the snow more than once, much to the dismay of Gilbird who was desperately clinging onto the soft cushion of Gilbert's hair so as not to be sent flying.

The distance remaining between him and the blazing home seemed impossibly far, but he continued to push forward despite the sting of tears clouding his vision and the fearful convulsions that began to overtake his body.

The heavy stench of smoke burned his nostrils as he closed in, his heightened senses making it almost unbearable. He was close enough now to feel the heat radiating out from the crumbling walls, cutting through the chilled night like a sharpened blade.

"Mutti… Vati…" he coughed through the stinging smoke that had made its way into his lungs.

His crimson eyes scanned the inferno but there was not a trace of his parents anywhere. He felt utterly sick. They had to be there somewhere. They had to be. He just needed to get a little closer.

Gilbert continued to push closer and closer despite the blistering heat. Gilbird, who was still tightly nestled in Gilbert's hair, chirped a warning as they came dangerously close to being hit by a rogue burst of flame. The small boy, however, was not deterred. The front door, or at least the space where the front door used to be, was right before him now.

He heard movement just beyond the threshold and felt his heart leap.

"Vati!" he screeched, his throat burning. He knew it! He knew they were alright!

In his excitement, Gilbert rushed through the doorway and into the burning house. Cinders flew all around him and scorched his clothes and exposed skin but he didn't stop. He could see a dark silhouette just beyond him, the flames creating a crackling halo around the large form.

"Va-" Gilbert began in excitement, cutting himself off when the figure started to turn towards him. Something was wrong.

The silhouette was too large, too hulking, and radiated an energy of such intense, palpable ferocity that Gilbert knew there was no possible way this could be his kind, loving father.

The blaze and smoke were so intense that Gilbert could not distinguish who or what this figure might be, but he knew that he needed to get away. He needed to get far away and he needed to do it now. Gilbert turned on his heel and took off back towards the snowy terrain beyond the door, but once again found himself tangled up in his tail and tumbled forward with a yelp, landing on his knees against the scorching floor.

The silhouette spun around with incredible speed for their size, locking their gaze on the small boy that was trying desperately to regain his footing.

Gilbert scrambled to get back out the door, the bird in his hair screeching and tugging on his locks as if his strength alone would be enough to pull the boy back to his feet. Gilbert could hear heavy footfalls thundering down the floor towards him, closing the short distance between them with each stomp. Gilbert's entire small body shook violently as he finally managed to get back on his feet and launch forward out the doorway, just barely escaping the massive grip that had brushed the end of his tail.

He heard the figure curse behind him in words Gilbert did not understand, but the tone alone was enough to send a shiver crawl all the way up his small frame.

The figure made a move to continue after the boy, but his assault was cut short as the integrity of the burning home finally began to give in and a large beam from the ceiling came crashing down and landed before him; effectively cutting off his exit out the door and path to Gilbert.

Gilbert wasted no time in making his getaway; forcing thoughts of his parents and his decimated home from his mind. But no matter how hard he tried, he could not get the image of the figure's gaze out of his head. Those piercing, cold, violet eyes.

They burned into him more than any flame ever could.

Gilbert wasn't sure how long he ran. Time had seemed to have stopped entirely for him and he was only mildly aware of the crunching snow beneath his feet and the tears that threatened to spill from his scarlet eyes.

He never should have turned back. He should have listened to his father. He should have ran and hid and waited for him to come. Vati was going to be so mad at him when he and Mutti came to get him! He hadn't seen them anywhere in the house, so that must have meant that they had already run away too. He was worried that they would have trouble finding him if he went too far but he was certain they would come.

Gilbert sniffled and rubbed at his puffy eyes, slowing his pace and coming to rest against the trunk of a massive pine tree.

Gilbird, sensing they were out of danger, finally released his hold on the tuft of hair between Gilbert's fluffy white ears and hopped down to rest on the boy's knee once Gilbert had settled down into a comfortable position on the ground.

Gilbert was still pretty shaken up but was trying to put on a brave face. He was pretty sure that's what the awesome thing to do would be and he didn't want to appear unawesome, especially in front of Gilbird; although he was afraid when his parents finally caught up with him they'd say that it was unawesome of him to not do as he was told. He really didn't want that, but he was sure that as soon as they were all back together and they saw that he was okay they wouldn't be too mad and that would definitely be awesome!

"When do you think they'll be here, Gilbird?" the boy asked his small, fluffy canary. The bird chirped in reply which Gilbert took as "I'm not sure."

"It will be soon," Gilbert finally decided. "You heard what Vati said right? He said 'auf wiedersehen' which is a promise, Gilbird! Vati always keeps his promises."

The bird chirped once again, which to Gilbert sounded like an agreement.

Gilbert nodded to himself, his ears twitching as if they too agreed with his conclusion.

"It will be soon," he repeated. "Vati promised."

Hours passed.

Hours turned to days.

Gilbert waited.

The nights were cold, but they didn't bother him much. His mutti had always said that he got his tolerance for the cold from her and that it was part of what made him so special and awesome. He was worried about Gilbird, however. Gilbird didn't seem to have the same amount of special awesomeness that he did, so he tucked the small bird into the neck of his shirt and snuggled it up against his skin to help keep him warm.

He continued to wait.

The days continued to pass.

Gilbert really hoped his mutti was bringing some of her potato soup with her when she came. It was his favorite and he was really starting to get hungry.

A terrible snowstorm blew in one night and even Gilbert's natural cold tolerance couldn't keep the bitter chill from stinging at his face and hands.

He really wished they'd hurry up.

He was just about to complain to Gilbird once again about how long his parents were taking when his sensitive ears picked up the sound of movement not far from where he had been waiting.

"I knew it!" he exclaimed, jumping to his feet; the weakness he was feeling from his hunger all but forgotten. "I told you, Gilbird! They're coming!"

The canary nestled itself snuggly into Gilbert's hair once again as the small boy took off in the direction of the footsteps he had heard, his tail dragging through the snow behind him.

His keen eyes spotted a small clearing just ahead of him. That must have been where they were waiting for him!

He felt a surge of relief come over him as he closed in on the clearing. He knew his parents would never break a promise to him. A smile broke out on his small face as he burst through the tree line. His parents' names had just begun to form on his lips when he was brought to a halt.

Before him stood not his parents, but a complete stranger. The man was much older than either of Gilbert's parents. His face was lined with deep-set wrinkles and his gray hair was pulled into a ponytail that poked out the bottom of his fluffy trapper hat and brushed against the back of his neck. Gilbert froze as the man's clear blue eyes landed on him and filled with an expression of surprise.

Gilbert didn't know what he was supposed to do. His parents had always told him that was never supposed to be seen or talk to anyone he didn't know.

A long, silent moment passed before either the man or the small boy made any move.

The stunned old man looked as if he was going to start approaching, and given especially Gilbert's most recent encounter with a stranger, the boy decided it was best to leave as quickly as possible.

A wave of dizziness suddenly overcame him as Gilbert had turned to go. His hunger had really set in now that the initial rush of adrenaline from thinking he had found his parents had worn off. The boy clutched at his forehead with a pudgy hand as the trees around him began to spin. Gilbird began chirping wildly and Gilbert thought he heard someone call out before his vision became clouded in blackness.

A/N: GOLLY GEE ITS BEEN A WHILE

Honestly, I had completely forgotten about this fic until I was cleaning out a bunch of old stuff from my computer and came across it only to discover I had already written like 2/3 of this chapter so I figured what the heck let's pick it back up. Sorry it's not a super long chapter though!

I can't guarantee super frequent updates just because I'm wildly busy but I can promise it won't be another 4 years at least!

Thanks for sticking with this if you have been! I appreciate it immensely!

(also lol I'm too lazy to like in depth proof read so it there's any obvious errors lemme know and I'll fix it asap)