Lina woke up slowly to the sound of labored breathing coupled with pain. Her crimson eyes opened and saw blood. Memory hit her like a fist to the stomach and she quickly found the source of the blood. Maookami lay a mere six feet away from her, covered in his own blood from the gaping wounds in his sides. His jewel-like eyes were dim and halfway closed, barely focused on her.
"I'll take it you won." She scrambled to his side and attempted to heal him, but once more his horn absorbed the power.
"Barely," he said as he exhaled.
"You're still alive, that's good." She continued to pour magic into him, hoping that he would begin to heal visibly.
"Barely," he repeated.
"Hang on; if you've survived this much, you can't die now." She told him.
"Too tired." His eyes closed for a long minute.
"No, not yet." She bit her lip. " I haven't explained how sorry I am."
"Is okay." His jagged and slow inhalation preceded his words.
"No, it's not!" She doubled her efforts and watched as he slowly began to heal. "Do you really want to doe? To just give up and let your life got to waste?"
"Pack waits." He winced. "Be with them."
"Do they want you to die, Maookami?" She whispered. "Or are they telling you to stay?"
"..." He did not answer, he merely closed his eyes and breathed slowly as the blood that was in his lungs was reabsorbed by his circulatory system. "They want..."
"Yes?" Lina began to feel faint from the constant outflow of energy.
"They want..."
"What?"
"Stay." He opened his eyes very slowly. "They want me to stay."
Already exhausted from her own wounds and earlier exertions in combination with the recent drain on her energy, Lina only managed to smile weakly before passing out. Therefore, she was not conscious to see the last of the white wolf's wounds heal.
When she regained consciousness, Maookami was gone. There was a bloody patch in the grass where he had lain, but he was nowhere to be seen. In his place was a note penned in thin, slanted script. It read:
Dearest Lina:
I thank you for what you have done for me on this night and forgive you for your actions against my Pack. I saw them last night while I slept, and they bear you no malice. They are happy where they are now, and as you said, they want me to live my life out. The demon is dead now, and the villagers are safe, but I must take my leave of your company. It is nothing you did. I must go on a journey of self-discovery, or something like that. Perhaps one day we shall meet again, perhaps not. I am sorry that you were forced to suffer grief on my account, but I do not regret our meeting, only the circumstances that surrounded it. You do not know me, but I know you. I hope that your further adventures fare better, and that I have done no permanent damage to your swordsman. Bright blessings, my bright lady.
Sincerely, Maookami
Some distance from the forest, a man clad in white silk touched his lips and remembered the chaste kiss he stole from a fiery redhead.
One day, I may tell her, he thought, focusing his blue eyes on the forest behind him. "Wolves only mate once, and that is for life. Lina Inverse, I have chosen you..."