A Long Journey

Story by Vanamee on SoFurry

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#3 of A Slave's Tail


Sorry this took so long to get up. I've been busy with moving and RL type stuff. I feel this chapter is a bit more fast paced than the last and I spent more time on character development and plot. Hope you enjoy as you all seemed to like the last one! -Vanamee-

Vanamee sighed with boredom. It had been hours since they had started to move, the wagon bouncing and tilting as the Imperial army made its way toward the port city of Jade. The young wolf shifted about on the cold wooden floor of the wagon, wondering when they would stop. He was agonizingly hungry and if it weren't for the hole he had found in the floor of the wagon his bladder would be bursting. The lupine looked up at the tiny slit in the door his wagon cell. The crimson light of evening slanted in, lighting up his face. Vanamee blinked at the brightness and turned his eyes back to the comforting dark.

A moment later he felt the wagon halt, the feral horses that pulled it letting out a loud whinny. The wolf waited silently, listening as the sound of soldiers came closer and closer. He could hear the other doors on the wagon being opened and the occupants herded out. Finally he heard the lock on his door being opened. Outside stood a tall lion, draped in heavy, red, imperial armor.

"Ok you island runt!" He growled, "Dinner time." The wolf rose slowly, his body stiff from the long hours of inactivity. As he stepped out, he heard his belly growl at the thought of food. The sun had nearly set, the last rays of sunlight dancing on the peaks of nearby hills. They appeared to be in some sort of valley, nestled between four tree covered hills. The lupine looked about and saw a line of wagons, each full of ragged looking furs, stretching from the east to the west. A dozen or so fires glimmered up and down the line, standing heroically against the coming night. The young lupine felt a strong, padded hand clamp down on his shoulder. He looked up to find the lion glaring down at him severely. "Go sit down." The cat commanded, pointing to a nearby campfire around which other young furs sat, under the watchful eye of a few Imperial soldiers. The wolf was about to walk over when the lion grabbed his shoulder again. "One last thing." The soldier added, "Try and run and they'll hobble you." The lupine looked up at him uncertainly.

"What does that mean?" The lupine asked hesitantly.

"It means they'll break every bone in your feet shorty, and you'll never be able to run again." The feline replied, giving him a rude shove toward the fire and going on to release the next slave. The lupine whimpered fearfully, then turned back and walked over to the fire. It was already quite warm, which was natural weather for the isles, and the warmth of the glowing fire was rather uncomfortable. Vanamee took a seat between a young, white furred wolf girl and a forlorn looking, brown furred rabbit. The young wolfess gave Vanamee a hesitant smile as he sat down. The rabbit merely glared at him silently.

"Hi." Vanamee greeted, giving the girl a smile in return. She was a pretty female, her fur a snowy white and quite fluffy. Her bright blonde head fur was short cropped and accented her smooth features. Vanamee blushed as he suddenly noticed that she was completely nude, turning his head away out of embarrassment. His face began to burn an even darker red underneath his fur as he recalled that he too was completely nude.

"Hello." She answered softly, averting her gaze as well. The young lupine boy was about to ask her name when a tall soldier came up behind him, reaching a wooden bowl full of some delicious smelling soup down to Vanamee. The wolf took the bowl happily and began to pour the concoction into his muzzle. It was extremely hot, burning the wolf's tongue and throat on the way down, but he was so hungry he hardly cared. As he was slurping down the last of the sizeable bowl Vanamee heard one of the soldiers speaking to the young wolf girl beside him.

"Hey there pretty thing!" The soldier laughed, leaning down and placing a paw on her shoulder. The soldier was a rather burly looking husky, his grey and white fur looking almost brown in the light of the fire. "Why don't you come with me? I'll put that pretty little ass of yours to some good use!" The young wolfess let out a fearful whimper, pulling away.

"P...please... leave me alone." She begged, her white ears lying back against her blonde head fur. The husky's playful and teasing demeanor seemed to die almost instantaneously.

"What? You think you're too good for me you stupid little bitch?" He growled, pulling back to strike her. Vanamee didn't think his next action through, but simply went on instinct, leaping over and grabbing hold of the canine soldier's paw as he brought it down to slap her. At first the Husky and Vanamee were both too surprised to speak, looking at one another dumbfounded. The soldier recovered quickly however, his face becoming livid with anger.

"You fucking runt!" He roared, jerking his paw away from the young wolf. The husky grabbed Vanamee's headfur, pulling him to his feet. As soon as the wolf was up however, the husky slammed his fist into the lupine's creamy white belly, sending him back to his knees. Before Vanamee could react the Husky brought his knee up into the lupine's muzzle. Vanamee's vision blurred as his world was consumed in a blaze of white hot pain. The young wolf collapsed, feeling himself start to drift into unconsciousness. The last thing he remembered was looking over and seeing the soldier dragging the pretty white wolfess by her hair, heading towards a nearby wagon as his comrades laughed.

Vanamee awoke some time later. His mouth felt dry and his head throbbed mercilessly. The wolf couldn't tell what time it was, as his eyes were covered in some sort of black cloth. The lupine tried to move, only to find that his legs were bound together and his arms had been tied behind his back, the knots so tight that the ropes they had used were beginning to dig into his skin. Vanamee wiggled about helplessly, trying to move.

"H...hello?" The wolf whispered timidly, almost afraid to get an answer.

"Oh good!" Came a deep, rumbling, male voice, "My feisty little playmate is awake!" The wolf could hear someone moving about, their footfalls heavy and deliberate.

"W...where am I?" Vanamee inquired.

"Right where I want you." The voice replied, now coming from directly behind the wolf. "I'm so glad they gave me such a pretty one this time. I do soooo love the pretty boys. They scream so beautifully when you breed them." Vanamee tried to hide the fear that had begun to creep up on him, but the heavy pounding of his heart was a so loud that he was certain that this mysterious captor could hear it. "Now," The voice continued, "I hear you've been misbehaving."

"P...please..." Vanamee whimpered, fidgeting about in his bindings, "I'm sorry. Please, I won't do it again!" The unknown person laughed, the sound both cold and menacing.

"Oh I know you won't." The mystery man said, his voice a soft hiss, "Not after I'm done with you!" Vanamee began to panic, the lion's words from earlier running through his head. The lupine was now convinced that he was about to be hobbled, and he broke down, starting to sob into the blindfold.

"Oh gods!" Vanamee blubbered, "Please don't break my feet! Please!" This only brought forth another hearty chuckle from the wolf's tormentor.

"No? You're right." The voice teased, "Maybe I should just neuter you?" The lupine began to sob even louder, struggling like mad against his bindings, writhing about on the rough ground. Suddenly he felt a smooth, clawed hand on his throat, lifting the wolf off the ground as though he weighed no more than a feather. "Now listen to me you ignorant little furball!" The voice growled, "You do a good job pleasuring me and I'll consider NOT beating you to a pulp and leaving you to die in a ditch... understand?" The wolf gasped desperately for air as the sharp claws of the tormentor's hand dug into his throat, the mystery man's grip tightening and cutting off the canine's air. Vanamee gave the voice a fervent nod. As soon as he did he felt the hand release him, letting him fall to the floor and crumple up, his tears soaking through the blindfold. "On your knees." The cold, steely voice commanded.

The wolf readily obeyed, although he found it rather difficult to do without the use of his hands. After a moment of struggling, he managed to right himself and sat on his knees, waiting for further instructions. Suddenly the lupine boy felt something long and smooth rub against his cheek. Vanamee blushed as he realized what it was.

"Get to work slave." The voice commanded, the long shaft that was rubbing his cheek moving forward and pressing at the tip of his muzzle. The lupine whined, uncertain what to do. The only other time he had a penis in his mouth it had been forced in. Not really knowing what else to do, the wolf opened wide, leaning forward. The smooth shaft slid into his waiting mouth and the lupine closed his lips around it. This seemed to please whomever the cock was attached to as he let out a soft moan, bucking his hips and pressing himself further into the canine's warm muzzle. Vanamee felt a strong, scaly hand on the back of his head as the wolf began to bob his head back and forth, letting his captor (Obviously some sort of reptile) slide in and out of the hot wolf muzzle.

"Use your tongue." The voice ordered, his hips bucking hard enough that the wolf's muzzletip rubbed against his captor's scaly belly. The lupine began to slide his long, agile, canine tongue up and down the underside of the reptile's cock, producing a pleased groan from his captor. The reptile's shaft was smaller around than Barry's had been, but no less in length and as his captor began to buck forward, the wolf felt the smooth shaft slide down into his throat, gagging him. The lupine tried to control his throat muscles, to keep from vomiting as the scaly rode his face, his strong hands forcing the wolf's head forward. Vanamee's tongue flicked out, lapping at the reptile's sensitive member. To his surprise, the wolf found no sign of any testicles. His tormentor seemed to read his surprise.

"My kind keep those on the inside my pet." The voice said, almost soothingly, "So don't worry. You'll get that hot load I know you want!" The wolf blushed. Without warning, the lupine felt a scaly foot, complete with long toes and sharp claws, slam into his chest, kicking him back and forcing him to let the cock out of his mouth. "Now be a good boy and get on your belly. Ass in the air."

The canine whimpered, knowing what was coming and dreading it. Nonetheless, he did as he was told, falling back and rolling onto his belly, lifting his firm, furry rump into the air. He could feel a pair of strong hands grip his ass cheeks, giving them a gentle squeeze before sliding down the wolf's hips and up his thighs.

"I can see why the commander thinks you'll be worth so much." The reptile hissed, "Such feminine features, and such a firm body. I wonder how tight you are?" With that the lupine felt one of the reptile's smooth, clawed digits press at his tail hole. He could feel and hear his captor spit on his ass, using his finger to wipe the drool around the lupine's tight entrance. The reptile's finger quickly slid in with only a bit of resistance. Vanamee's captor gave a pleased murr, "So very tight..." He remarked as the lupine's hole constricted around the invading finger. The canine whined and bit down on his lip at the discomfort. A moment later he felt another scaly finger pushing its way inside him, causing the wolf to whine loudly, the two digits pressing against his prostate as they wiggled about. The reptile wasn't wasting his time with a slow stretching, each of his digits being in up to the third knuckle. The wolf held his tongue for as long as he could, but at last he couldn't take it any more.

"P...please take them out!" He begged, "It feels... weird..." The reptile didn't remove them, nor even acknowledge the lupine. Vanamee could feel the digits snaking about inside him, purposely rubbing his most sensitive spots. The canine could feel his pink shaft sliding out of its sheath as the expert fingers of the reptile did their work.

"Good boy." Vanamee's keeper praised, reaching down with his free hand and beginning to roll the lupine's jewels about, causing Vanamee to get harder and harder. When at last the lupine was fully hard, the reptile pressed another digit against the wolf's tail hole and slowly forced it in. The wolf's ass was starting to hurt quite bad as his tormentor continued stretching him, and yet the lupine felt his knot beginning to swell at the base of his now dripping cock. Despite the pain, the wolf was enjoying this, and he began to pant as he felt an orgasm building. The lupine began to buck back against the invading fingers, trying to pull more of them into his hot, tight hole. As he felt his orgasm build, feeling like a dam about to break, the fingers suddenly pulled out and the hand on his furry sack gave a very uncomfortable squeeze.

"Not yet my little plaything." The reptile whispered, his mouth so close to the wolf's ear that he could feel his tormentor's hot breath blowing into it. "I want you to beg me to breed you first." Vanamee whimpered, feeling empty and unfulfilled. He hesitated a moment, trying to maintain even the slightest shred of dignity, but his throbbing, aching cock wouldn't hear it.

"Please!" The lupine moaned, "Please breed me! I need it so BAD!" He begged, his hips bucking back and forth in vain. Suddenly the wolf heard a chorus of laughter all about him. There were others there!? Suddenly the blindfold that had kept him in the dark for so long was torn away. The wolf was still outside, not ten yards from the fire where the other slaves were still sitting. He was surrounded by five large soldiers, each of them busily rubbing their now throbbing cocks. They had all been watching him and touching themselves the whole time! The lupine was so ashamed he could just die, when suddenly he caught sight of the one who had been tormenting him the whole time. He was a tall, thin snake person, his scales shining a bright green as the firelight danced on them. He reached one clawed hand down, taking hold of the lupine's head fur and lifting his face up.

"Keep your head right there." The serpent ordered as he positioned himself behind the humiliated wolf, "And I will give you just what you want!" Vanamee could feel the long, smooth reptile cock pressing at his stretched asshole. The serpent slid inside with a satisfied moan. Vanamee let out a moan of his own. Somehow the fact that all these other males were watching, each wanting him, made him even more excited. As the reptile reached around, taking hold of Vanamee's creamy white chest fur and holding onto it, beginning to thrust in and out of the wolf's eager ass, the lupine whimpered.

"Oh yes..." He whined, "Fuck me... fuck me!" The canine's hips bucked back involuntarily, desperate to take each inch of the snake's smooth meat rod into him. Vanamee's cock felt like it had its own heartbeat as the lupine, panting heavily, felt his orgasm building once more. All around him the soldiers were watching, each rubbing his hard cock at the spectacle of the feminine looking wolf boy getting bred by the snake. The wolf threw his head back and let out a howl, the feeling becoming too much. Vanamee's cock erupted, spewing the lupine's warm jizz out onto the ground and causing his ass to clench even tighter around the reptile's penetrating member. A moment later, the serpent's shaft twitched and began to spew his molten seed into the canine's accepting bowels. The watching soldiers began to lose it one by one and Vanamee realized why the snake had demanded he keep his head at that certain spot. As they came, each soldier's spunk flew against the wolf's face, leaving their hot sticky seed in the canine's fur. Vanamee felt an inexplicable urge and opened his muzzle, catching a couple of the other male's thick hot ropes of cum in his muzzle and quickly gulping them down.

"Looks like this little fag has finally learned his place." One of the soldiers, a tall, muscular bull chuckled as he walked over, wiping his limp shaft against the lupine's now cum drenched face. Vanamee blushed a bright crimson underneath his fur, utterly humiliated by his own actions and his insatiable need to be bred. He felt like such a whore. Even worse than the mocking gazes of the Imperial Soldiers were the critical and accusing looks from the other slaves by the nearby fire. Vanamee could see the young wolf girl from before looking at him, her eyes a striking blue and filled with pity. Beside of her sat the young brown furred rabbit, his gaze strangely blank. Besides these two, all the others gave him an angry, accusing stare.

After he was cleaned off, the wolf was drug back to the wagon, along with all the other slaves. As they opened the door to his compartment, the wolf noticed that there was already an occupant within. The young rabbit he had seen sat silently in the far corner, hugging his knees tight to his chest. Vanamee felt a guard give him a rough shove inside and heard the door lock shut behind him.

"Guess they're running out of rooms." The rabbit spoke, his voice smooth and calm.

"I...I'm Vanamee." The wolf replied, scooting across the floor to the corner opposite the rabbit. The room was pitch black and the wolf couldn't even see his paw in front of his face, yet he could certainly feel the cottontail's gaze on him.

"Edwin." The long ear replied, "Nice to meet you." There was a moment of silence, the wolf too embarrassed to speak.

"I saw what happened earlier." Edwin informed him, "That was pretty brave of you to try and stop that soldier. Stupid mind you... but brave." Vanamee remained silent, blushing once more in the dark and feeling himself on the verge of crying.

"Listen," Edwin said sympathetically, "don't be ashamed of what happened. Hell, you should have seen the things they did to me when I was first caught!" Vanamee's ears perked up.

"When you were first caught?" The canine replied, "What do you mean?" The rabbit gave a sordid chuckle.

"This isn't my first time around slavers friend." Edwin explained, "I've been sold and resold three times now. This'll make four. I was just unlucky enough to be in that pissy little town of yours when the soldiers came." The long ear stayed silent a moment, then added, "At least I have the satisfaction of knowing my old master is going to end up in a factory or mine somewhere! Bastard..."

Vanamee leaned forward, "So... you've been a slave for a long time?" He asked.

"Since I was seven." Edwin answered, "I haven't had it too bad though. I'm a pretty good looking guy so I've always been kept as a pet. You will be too." Vanamee let out an involuntary growl in the darkness.

"First chance I get," He whispered, "I'm running away!" The rabbit merely laughed at this.

"No you won't." Edwin responded, "The first chance you'll have is when you're sold to your new master. By then you'll have a nice collar with your name, his name, and the address for them to return you to if they find you, neatly locked around your neck. That is if you're LUCKY. If not then you'll probably be branded, which is just as much a tell-tell sign of a pet as a collar. Or even worse they'll fit you with a will collar."

"W...what's that?" Vanamee stammered.

"A will collar?" The rabbit sighed, "It's a device they put on you that takes away your free will. Basically it means your master can reprogram your personality to fit his desire. You have no idea how pathetic that is. You'd be spending the rest of your life as a whimpering, sniveling little moron with nothing on your mind but pleasing your master." Vanamee stifled a sob at this. Things seemed to go from bad to worse for him.

"So there's no hope?" The canine groaned, putting his head down in his hands.

"It's not that bad." Edwin assured him, "Guys like us have it better than those poor slobs in the other wagons. We get plenty of food, a nice place to sleep, and unlike them we will probably live long enough that we'll no longer be attractive and we'll be set free."

"How... how long does that usually take?" Vanamee inquired.

"How long?" Edwin answered, giving another sigh, "Usually pets lose their resale value at about... thirty or so. Depends how in shape you are." Vanamee gave a defeated groan. 12 years of this? 12 YEARS?! At that moment, the thought of killing himself entered the wolf's mind. The next stop he could just throw himself into the fire and end it, or steal a guard's sword and cut his wrists...

"Thinking about killing yourself?" Edwin asked, breaking the wolf's train of thought.

"How... how did you..." Vanamee responded stupidly.

"I had the same thought when someone first told me." The rabbit answered, "But you come to realize it isn't that bad. All you have to do is yiff some pervert and you get a free bed and food. Could always be worse."

"How can you say that?!" Vanamee exclaimed in disbelief, "They... they rape you!"

"Really?" Edwin replied, "Was that what that was a while ago when you were begging them to breed you?" Vanamee felt himself become livid with anger and embarrassment.

"I... that... they..." The wolf stammered, uncertain what, if ANYTHING he could say in response.

"Don't get all jumpy!" Edwin said quickly, "All I meant is that it's only rape if you let it be rape. Most masters don't want to just use you like a piece of meat. They want you to WANT it." The wolf sat silently, considering this. "They want you to enjoy it too Vanamee." Edwin continued, "I mean... some of them don't care. Some of them just buy a pet and tie them to a wall and fuck them whenever they get horny, but most aren't like that. Most masters are pretty gentle with their pets. Treat them like lovers, they do!" Vanamee leaned back against the wall, turning his head to the side as he silently mulled over the long ear's words.

The next morning, Vanamee awoke to the familiar rumbling of the moving wagon and the sound of someone calling his name. The wolf rubbed his eyes wearily and looked over at Edwin. The rabbit was still sound asleep, the first rays of sunlight streaming through the window of their room and turning his brown fur a glowing orange.

"Over here!" The same voice called. It seemed to be coming from directly beside the wolf. Suddenly Vanamee realized that it was coming from whomever was on the other side of that wall.

"Hello?" Vanamee answered, leaning his head against the wall to listen.

"Are... are you Vanamee?" The voice inquired, the wolf now able to tell that it was a feminine one.

"Yes." The young canine boy answered, "Who are you?"

"My name is Karamee." The female replied, "And I wanted to thank you for what you did."

"What do you..." The wolf started to ask when he suddenly realized who she was, "Are you the girl who that soldier..."

"Yes." She answered timidly, "I just... I wanted to thank you for trying to stick up for me. And..." At this point the young female wolf broke down and Vanamee could hear her sobbing through the wall. "I'm so sorry for what they did to you... It was my fault..." The young wolf boy felt his heart break as he heard her sobbing.

"No!" The lupine told her fervently, "It's no one's fault! It's just the way things are."

"I miss my mom..." The girl responded with a sniffle, "Do you think I'll ever see her again?" Vanamee waited a moment.

"Yes." He lied, "I'm sure you will. I lost my mom too... they... they killed my dad." He could hear Karamee sniffle on the other side of the wall, "Don't worry Kura. We'll see our moms again some day."

This seemed to placate the poor girl for the moment. The lupine unexpectedly felt something warm and soft brush against his hand. At first he thought that it was a rat and was about to jerk away in horror, until he looked down and saw that it was a snow white hand. There was a small crack in the wall, down near the bottom that the wolf hadn't noticed before and Kura was sticking her hand through. Vanamee gave it a gentle squeeze back, his tail wagging slightly at the affectionate touch. Nearby he could hear the doors of the wagon being opened, one by one. At last the door to his compartment was opened and Kuramee pulled her hand back into her cell. A guard looked in from outside, holding two bowls of the same stew from the previous night and two crusts of bread. He pushed the paltry meal in and gave Vanamee a smile, but not one like he had seen from the other soldiers. The Imperial soldier was a tall, thin, mainland wolf with blotted grey and white fur.

"Hey kid." He greeted, "You feel ok this morning?" Vanamee gave him a scared nod. "Ok. By the way, my name is Lagano, and it may not mean much to you, but I don't enjoy these slave raids. If you need anything let me know." And with that this peculiar Imperial shut the door back and locked it tight, moving on to Kuramee's cell. The scent of food seemed to have roused Edwin and the rabbit sat up and yawned.

"Morning already?" He asked, crawling over toward the nearest bowl, picking it up and giving it a sniff. "Ugh... what is this?" Vanamee picked up his own bowl and took a whiff, starting to drool as the unmistakable scent of chicken hit his nostrils.

"Chicken stew!" The lupine answered cheerfully, bringing the bowl up to his lips and pouring a bit into his mouth. Edwin made a disgusted face, reaching a paw into the bowl and beginning to pull out the pieces of meat.

"Chicken? Bleh! I can't eat meat! I'm a rabbit damn it!" The long ear spat. Vanamee watched as the buck took the pieces and stacked them on the floor next to him.

"I'll trade you my bread for the rest of your chicken." The lupine offered. The rabbit smiled and nodded, pushing the poultry over to the wolf as Vanamee handed him the stiff crust of bread. The lupine ate, feeling happy for the first time since the night before his capture. He recalled sitting in the village square with some of the other young boys, eating his lunch and watching as travelers and townsfolk moved about on their business. As the wolf was busy with this pleasant memory he suddenly recalled Kuramee.

"OH!" The lupine boy exclaimed, "Edwin! I have someone you should meet!"

"Coming up with imaginary friends eh wolf?" The rabbit replied, giving him a jokingly concerned look.

"NO!" Vanamee laughed, gesturing for the rabbit to come over. "Kuramee!" Vanamee whispered. For a moment there was no response.

"Yes?" The girl answered after a time.

"Have you met Edwin?" The young canine asked her.

"Is he that rather grumpy looking rabbit that sat beside you last night?" She inquired.

"GRUMPY?" Edwin gasped, "I was not! And even if I was, I would think I have a good reason to be!" This response produced a feminine giggle on the other side of the wall.

"Good point!" Kuramee laughed, "Nice to meet you." Edwin responded the same.

"So your name is Kuramee?" The buck inquired, "Are all island wolves named something mee?" Vanamee laughed now.

"No." The canine explained, "The mee part is just a tribe name. My technical name is just Vana, but it's tradition to say someone's whole name when talking to them."

"Oh! And her name is just Kura?" Edwin responded. Vanamee nodded. "Does that mean you two are related?"

"Probably not." Kuramee answered, "And if so, only distantly. The Mees are a large tribe. Do you have a tribe name Mr. rabbit?"

"No." The cottontail replied, "But I do have a surname. La'Lap. Edwin La'Lap!" Vanamee and Kuramee both laughed at this, much to the buck's confusion. "What's so funny?" Edwin asked.

"In Canine, La'Lap is the word for dinner!" Vanamee chuckled, poking Edwin teasingly. The trio continued to talk as the wagon rode onward, each discussing their past and speculating on where they were headed. Kura and Vanamee had both lived in the quiet and now ruined town that the caravan had just left, even though they had never seen one another. Kuramee was the daughter of one of the town guardsmen and Vanamee's father had been a mildly successful merchant. Edwin told them that he had been born in Hareworth, a small, exclusively long ear town in the far northern parts of the Western Isles. He had been caught by slavers one morning when he had gone out to gather strawberries in a nearby field. Since then the buck had been traded and sold to a couple of different masters and refused to go into any further details of his time in captivity.

The lupine boy talked to his new friends for the rest of the day, finding the conversation a welcome distraction from the boredom of the ride. Vanamee knew that before too long he would be forced to part from them, but he pushed the thought to the back of his mind for now and simply concentrated on trying to keep himself occupied. That evening passed without any incident, the caravan stopping and letting the slaves eat and rest before they were herded back into the wagons for the night. As Vanamee laid down and prepared to go to sleep he heard Kuramee softly call his name.

"Yes?" Vanamee answered.

"Vana?" She asked timidly, "Will you hold my hand till I go to sleep?" The wolf didn't answer for a moment, rather surprised by the request. "I feel stupid asking but... I think I would sleep better if I knew you were here."

"Of course I will Kura." Vanamee answered kindly, sticking his hand through the hole in the wall, feeling Kuramee's soft paw take hold of it and squeeze it softly. The wolf sighed. "Goodnight Kura." He whispered.

"Goodnight Vana." She replied. Vanamee considered wishing Edwin goodnight, but judging by the sound of the long ear's deep, rhythmic breathing, he was already long asleep. The lupine smiled to himself. This new life may be difficult, but if he could have strong, kindhearted friends like these two around, then maybe it wouldn't be so bad. With that thought rattling around in his brain, the lupine laid his head down on his arm, listening to the night birds calling out in the forest and fell asleep.