um, in case you haven't seen my profile (or the stuff about my stories part of it), then i should probably mention that in this story, everybody's older. like, five years older or something. making husky and nana fifteen or so, like eya, and cooro's about sixteen, and senri's. . .well, actually, i don't know how old he is. but they're all older. and i'm only mentioning it now because if you thought they were still younger, like ten or eleven, eya's answers about stuff might not've made sense.

but yeah. just so you know. . .

disclaimer: don't own +anima

Eya POV

"We have to be careful. These woods are crawling with wolves."

I stepped lightly along the tree's trunk, fallen parallel to the path that wandered west of Atley. We'd agreed as a group to stay as far from the town as possible.

Group. I was one of them now. It felt weird, because I'd been on my own for the longest time.

I'd ended up leaving most of everything back in the house. Just some extra clothes, a couple books, some ink and a pen. That's all I carried in my side bag now. Funny how being chased out of your home makes you realize how little you really need.

"Wolves scare me," Nana said, shuddering. Then she blushed, seeming to remember I was a wolf +Anima. "I-I mean. . n-not that I'm scared of you, Eya, but. . ."

"It's okay, Nana," I said, jumping to the ground as the tree ended. I glanced back over my shoulder at her and smiled reassuringly. "Lots of people are afraid of wolves."

People like me. . .once upon a time.

She let out a breath, relieved. "Are we gonna see any?" she asked nervously.

I shrugged. "Probably." At her alarmed expression, I quickly added, "But only in the peripheral! Like, they'll come see what we're doing, but they'll leave us alone, trust me. I haven't been attacked here, we'll be fine."

"Attacked here?" Husky echoed.

"Uh. . .I, uh, used to live out west, in the mountains, and a pack of wolves tried to attack me when I was out in the forest. . ." I trailed off, the surge of buried feelings coming dangerously close to surfacing. I shook myself mentally; I couldn't have a breakdown. Not now. Not here.

And besides, the wolves were my friends. They were only rough so I wouldn't lose myself in my grief. They snapped at me and pushed me around and smacked me with their paws to remind me I was still alive.

At least, that's how I see it. That's how they'd acted. Because once I let it go, once I let myself laugh again, they laid off the tough love and turned more playful, like pet dogs. . .

"Oh! Are you a Kim-un-Kur, like Senri?" Cooro asked, yanking me out of my memories. " 'Cuz we went to Moss Mountain once, and we met one of the tribes. . ."

"Uh, no, I'm not," I interrupted. "It was. . .uh, well, I didn't live near anybody, really."

"Have you always lived by yourself?" Nana asked.

I blinked. "No. I've only been on my own for a few years."

"How long's a few?" Husky asked dryly.

"Um. . .five, maybe? Six?"

Ever since Mom and Dad died. No. . .ever since I left the wolves. But they're not really people. They can't talk or laugh or cry.

"What happened to your parents?" Cooro asked.

Nightmarish images flashed behind my eyes. Images of shadows through the trees, screams over the pounding rain and howls through the roaring thunder.

I shuddered. "They, uh, d-died. A little before I became a +Anima."

Stupid! I hadn't meant to say that!

"Did you turn into a +Anima so you wouldn't die with them?" Cooro asked, unashamed. Husky whacked him over the head with his staff and he cowered. "Oww!"

"Maybe she doesn't wanna talk about it, idiot!" Husky snapped. "Leave her alone!"

I glanced up at the sky in an attempt to ignore the mini-argument that ensued. In looking up, I caught sight of the pale gray clouds in the distance. I frowned. It was going to rain again today. I hated storms.

I fought back my instinctive fear. Yesterday--was it only yesterday?--I'd come close, but hadn't felt more than a few stray drops of rain. I hadn't really been stuck out in a storm since I first became a +Anima. That horrific day when I lost my parents, my life, my ability to call myself "human."

"Eya, I'm talking to you."

"Huh?"

Husky POV

She blinked, turning to me with a half-blank, half-confused look on her face. "Sorry. What?"

Nana and Cooro had gone on ahead, Senri close behind. I doubted they could hear us, especially with Nana chattering about something or other.

"I was wondering. . .um, well. . ."

I didn't know how to say it. She'd said she used to live in the mountains, but not to have met any Kim-un-Kur would've been unusual. She was lying about something, or maybe just wasn't telling the whole truth.

Maybe I should just leave her alone, like I'd told Cooro.

But then I blurted, "Are you from Sailand?"

I immediately regretted it--the flash of pained surprise, of paralyzing fear in her bright blue eyes was hard to watch. I knew the answer already.

Eya POV

Are you from Sailand?

My breath caught in my throat and I froze up. Husky stopped beside me, watching in concern as lifetime of flashbacks flickered through my mind at hyperspeed. . .

The western mountains of Sailand, where I was born.

Mist Peak, where I lived with my mother and father. . .

. . .where my father went missing, hunting in the thunderstorm. . .

. . .where my mother and I went to look for him in the rain. . .

. . .where my mother died, crushed by tree that had fallen to lightning. . .

. . .where I saw the wolves emerge from their cave just twenty feet away. . .

. . .where I became a +Anima, and found the will to survive the storm. . .

. . .where I befriended the same wolf pack that witnessed my mother's death. . .

. . .where I followed the wolves to where my father had died, fallen in a gorge. . .

The base of the mountains, where I left my wolf friends behind.

The mid-west plains, where I could run and run and never have to stop.

The eastern foothills, crawling with bandits.

Market Town, where I was first sold as a slave for 720 gillah.

Stella, where I was re-sold by my first master to Lady Crystala's caravan, this time for 950 gillah.

The Diamond Star, the ship that carried me to Astaria, where Crystala set me free. . .

Then I was back in the present, staring blankly into Husky's deep sapphire eyes.

"Uh. . .I, uh. . ." I stumbled over the words, unable to string together anything coherent. "Y-yes, b-but. . ."

"I-it's okay, you don't have to say anything!" Husky said hurriedly, turning a little red. "I'm sorry I asked, it's obviously painful for you to. . ."

"N-no, it's fine," I lied instantly. Anything to get him to stop babbling like that. It was almost funny, if the original question hadn't brought up a slew of not-too-pleasant memories.

I took a deep breath. "Yes, I'm from Sailand. I lived in the western mountains until I was nine, when my parents died and I became a +Anima. I don't really wanna talk about it."

"I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean. . ."

"It's okay. Stop apologizing."

"I'm sorry. . ."

"Stop it or I'll hit you with that stupid stick of yours!"