♠He feels clumsy and the sky looks whirling above. He feels… he feels flightless and wonders why this terrifies him so.

Tsume does not answer him when he asks and Kiba's eyes flash with understanding, but he does not answer either.

Toboe is used to this, to not finding the answers that he wants. He tries not to complain about it, but his mind does not stop asking and his howling voice cannot answer to the satisfaction it would need.

———

♣His fur is hot and his fingers itch, sweat beads across his brow and drips from the tip of his nose.

"Why is it so hot?" he breathes to himself.

The sky is clear and painful to look at and the ground stretching before them is endless like the ocean.

Kiba looks at him with a quiet expression. "You know why it is hot. Your true question, however, is something I cannot answer."

Toboe does not understand what he means, but… maybe some day he will.

———

♥He has a dream. He is neither human nor wolf and he is flying beneath the waves. He wakes from this dream whimpering and Tsume comes to him and watches him, silently.

"Why do I feel so guilty when we kill?" Toboe murmurs, at last.

Tsume's face becomes hesitant and he licks Toboe's cheek before answering. His voice strange and very sad, "Because you're still just a pup."

———

♦The human girl cries when she sees him and Toboe feels his heart hammering in his throat, choking him. He slinks away from her, frightened and ashamed.

Hige laughs and asks him why he did not hide himself from her.

Toboe is afraid to say he is tired of lying.