"B..Brrr...." One-eye slowly opened his eye, only to close it again immediately. Ow... my head. Ugh.

He opened his eye again, this time keeping it open. He looked around. He had no clue what time it was or how long he'd been unconscious, but he did know that everything hurt, and that it was snowing a bit. The sky was dark gray and One-eye felt his coat was soaked. Must've been snowing for quite a while, otherwise I wouldn't be feeling like I took an hours-long swim in an icy river.

The old wolf raised his painful head. "Ouch, ouch, ow!" he whimpered. His entire body was aching, from his nose to the tip of his tail, but his head, and mostly his mouth, felt the worst. He'd hit the rock pretty hard with his forehead.

I guess I'm supposed to feel lucky that I didn't hit it hard enough to be dead. The gray wolf slowly but surely managed to pull up his upper body, until he was in a slouching sitting pose. My jaw, my mouth, my lips, my gums, my teeth. Damnit!

Even though it hurt, he licked across his teeth. He felt that his big, crooked tooth was in the same position as before he fainted: Over his lip, even when he closed his mouth. Well, this will make me look more attractive, an oversized, rotten tooth. As if a hump and only one eye wasn't enough. Shit.

He stopped when he reached the left side of his mouth and let out a yap of sudden pain. He'd touched the part where his last lower premolar had been, before the molars started. It was gone now. And I've lost a tooth. How wonderful!

The old wolf looked around in the grass for a bit, but there was no sign of the tooth.

FuckfuckfuckfuckFUCK, he mentally swore as he searched for it, until he finally gave in.

He got up, staggering, and tried to move his legs, which were stiff due to his old bones, the cold weather, and the pain.

Even though everything ached, he stayed up. Lynn... She's not dead...She is NOT dead. He shook out his wet fur and put his paw over his head as it hurt from the fast movement.

And I'm growing old and everything hurts, on the inside and on the outside... And how am I supposed to track those stupid humans with this snow? Their scents are long-gone!

He growled for a bit. Maybe... I shouldn't go after her.

The old wolf shook out his fur one more time, grunting, and then walked back to the den.

I mean...I swore to protect her... but these events have proven that I can't... it's useless. Maybe I should stop trying to take care of that pup, stop trying to be the good guy. It's just not in my nature. I was never meant to be caring or whatever. I'm a lone wolf, am and always have been...not counting the days back when Mom took care of me.

He stopped and sighed. Was he really going to do this? Just leave Lynn to the humans? Who knows what they were going to do to her?

But what can I do about it? Tracking them will be near impossible now, and even if I manage to find the place where they keep her, how will I get her out? With a body like this I can barely sustain myself! I can't hunt like th--

"YIAAAH!" the old wolf yelped as one of his painful legs stepped on some soil that was unexpectedly soft, and thus gave in. He rolled down a small hill until he crashed into a tree with his shoulder. "ARGH NO!" More pain. Great.

He slowly got up again, and continued his journey, this time watching his steps.

Anyways... where was I? Thinking about giving up the one thing that ruined my life. Ha. Doesn't sound so bad, actually. I mean, my life was... good... for my taste, until I broke my oath, left the Clan, and took her with me. I've become depressed. I still am... but... maybe this means freedom.

Freedom. That word got him thinking. No one. No one he had to listen to now. No father to tell him he wasn't good enough, no Clan to force him into a life of assassin, no pup he has to take care of. Just...being alone.

I could just start my life all over again. No Lynn, no Clan, no one! Just me! Me, myself, and I! This is amazing! Lone Lone One's life for me!

As he realized what liberty came with his decision, he jumped up into the air, despite all the pain, and howled with joy. "I'm all alone! I don't need anyone! HAHAHA!" He suddenly enjoyed the snow and wind in his face. "I'm all by myself from now on! WhoHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!" He ended his victorious shout in a howl.

***

"Leyta, stop fussing for once. It's so annoying," Lynn begged as the fox turned around in her cage for the billionth time.

"Alright, alright," Leyta sighed as she settled.

"Now, we have to figure out a way to get out," Lynn suggested. She and Leyta had been locked up for at least the entire night here now. The young she-wolf had realized that, when she pushed with her head to these things the vixen referred to as "bars" and looked to the right, she could see a tiny, square-shaped opening that allowed her to see what was outside. She hadn't seen much all night, just the black-blue sky, but now it colored more reddish-orange. Dawn.

"We can't get out, pup, I've told you that, what, twenty times already?"

"But we have to! I don't want to be mounted!"

"You won't be mounted, you'll just be sold. You're a wolf pup. You're valuable. I'm just a plain fox... well okay, I have more silver shades in my coat than usual, and I suppose that's why they want me. But still. Just a fox. You're safe. As I've told you twenty times before, as well."

"I don't want you to be mounted, either," Lynn said, headstrong. She didn't really like Leyta, and was still suspicious of the vixen, but they were in this together.

"I will figure out a way..."

"Look, Joney, these cages are locked. Only humans can open them. Wild animals like us are oblivious as to how. Don't you think I've tried to get this thing open already?"

Lynn blew her long hair out of her mechanic eye, which still annoyed, and even frightened, her.

I will get out of here... or One-eye will come to rescue me... I know he will. But even if he doesn't...I'll have to find a way out for myself. I don't even know if these humans kept him alive... what if they taxidermized him?

"Hey...Leyta?" She hesitated.

"What now?"

"Uhm...before I got taken here...I used to live together in a territory with my Dad... Do... do you happen to know what they did to him? I think I passed out before I saw what happened."

Leyta yawned. "Mmm... I haven't seen anyone else besides the humans, their dogs, and you for the past few days, to be honest. So no, I have no idea. Sorry."

"It's okay," Lynn said, holding back the tears. He's probably dead... right?

She shook her head. You have to get out of here, then you can look for him. Just... think... think... THINK!

She looked at her paws and sighed. Then, she noticed the shadow of the bars. Shadow.

The young she wolf got up and stared at the shadow at her paws, which had the shape of a dark lizard, instead of the wolf you'd expect. My Guardian...

Dark Guardians, the embodiment of the sad or angry emotions of one's soul, lived in the shadow of the Carrier. An event that evokes a lot of negative emotion can bring out the Guardian to its physical form.

Lynn was a Guardian Carrier, she'd known that for a while now because of her shadow, but hers had never appeared before. She'd been too young and her shadow hadn't yet taken the right shape back when her father had been killed, so there was no appearance of the physical Guardian.

Now, however, she was around the right age for the first appearance to happen. But do I want it to? One-eye told me that he knows very little on Guardians, but he did tell me that the first appearance will always be the worst for the Carrier... and... when it appears, it'll only make my bad emotions worse... There's nothing good about them besides the fact that maybe mine can break the cage if I can get it to, somehow.

She tried. She tried to get really mad, but she didn't feel anger. Sure, she hated the humans and the dogs, but she just couldn't get genuinely livid. Just couldn't.

Then, she tried to be sad. And she was sad. Really sad. Mourning the fact that she might have lost One-eye, may never return to her old home again, was all alone here with a strange fox she didn't trust. But it wasn't enough gloominess for her Guardian to come out, either.

Why can't I just do this? I'm the right age! And I feel so miserable! Why won't this work?She sighed. My emotions aren't strong enough, I suppose.

Rumbling noises made her look up, through the "bars". She heard Leyta get up, too.

"What's that?" Lynn whispered, afraid.

Leyta seemed to relax. "Just the humans. They come here every morning around this time."

Lynn yelped in fear and pushed herself to the back of her cage, as far away from the bar-part as possible. She didn't want the humans to grab her and take her to wherever these other animals had gone off to.

The noises became louder, and eventually a big, rectangle-shaped thing opened, and the three humans plus two dogs came walking through. Lynn put her tail between her hind legs when she recognized the two hunters and Wilson among them.

They're after me!

The last human, who Lynn smelled was feminine, closed the door behind them and started to spark a conversation with the two men.

Lynn heard Leyta speak. "The woman and the tallest man own this house. The other man is his poaching-buddy, from what I can gather."

"Who is that other dog?" Lynn muttered, pointing towards the dog that sat behind Wilson, a tiny, pure white animal with short ears and a stubby tail. It almost reminded Lynn of a cloud with legs.

"Oh, that's Heidi, the woman's dog. Not an animal used for hunting, but she's much more short-tempered than that big hunting dog, whose name--"

"Is Wilson," Lynn finished, whispering.

She eyed the hound, who was sitting beside the men, ears perked forward. I could ask him what he did to One-eye! she suddenly realized.

Blinded by her love for her adopted father and eager to know whether he was okay or not, she walked towards the bars and put her paws on them, staring intensely at the hunting dog.

At first he didn't notice her, but after a minute he finally saw her and slowly but surely approached her, hairs bristling.

"What do you want, monster?" he growled.

Lynn didn't know fear at the moment. She stared the hound right into his eyes.

"What did you do to my father?" she snarled back.

Wilson laughed at this, to him ridiculous sight: A one-eyed, funnily small wolf pup in a cage trying to act all ferocious. But then he got back to his business.

"Why would I tell you that?"

"Because he is my father."

"You can't fool me, pup. That guy was way too old to be your father, and you didn't exactly have the same smell. He isn't your real dad."

Is it that obvious to strangers?

She suddenly heard Leyta join them.

"Wilson, calm down, she's just a pup worried sick about the only one she lived with, am I right, Joney?"

"Yes," Lynn said, staring at her feet. Leyta was right.

Wilson rolled his eyes. "Your overly-attaching pack ways are useless," he commented.

"I don't care! Where is One-eye?" Lynn barked, furious, tears dripping from her only eye.

The hound yawned. "He was unconscious when we left him," he finally gave in. "I'm not sure whether he died or not. And to be fair I could care less. My masters didn't see anything worthy in him, so nor do I."

Lynn wanted to ask him something more, but Wilson already had retreated to his owners.