The Silver Wolf (A Naruto Fanfiction) (Complete) (Editing In Progress)

*Ch. 17: How Things Have Changed

Kari's POV

Telem and I were sitting in the living room of the cabin. I was on the same rocking chair I'd sat in when I first came to the house, and Telem was curled around my shoulder, his head resting against the side of my neck. The new diamond tomb was outside, and as-of-yet undisturbed.

"Telem... what are we going to do now?" I finally asked, breaking the peaceful silence that had descended upon the room.

The dragon lifted his head from my neck, and fluttered down to sit in my lap. He looked up at me, then seemed to shrug. ~I honestly don't know~ Telem sighed. ~We need to travel, we need to learn more about this land. I've been relying on my instincts so far, and I know you've been bullshitting a bunch of stuff~

"I have, haven't I?" I stated, smiling ruefully. "Well, I guess it's time we go adventuring, huh?"

My dragon nodded, and bared his teeth in a dragon smirk. ~'Tis~ Telem agreed. ~But what should we search for? Always have a plan, right?~

I thought back. There was something... when we, well I, was fighting Orochimaru, in that demon wolf form. I've been getting memories of what happened, and I seemed to remember something Orochimaru said. "What about learning about that Uncontrolled Koniac thing Orochimaru mentioned?" I proposed.

~That... would work~ Telem admitted, cocking his head up at me. ~I don't know anything about that. Normally, I'd say we should go to Arashi, considering it's where your clan is from. They'd know if anyone would. But we can't go back, not with Narako in power~

"So if not Arashi, then where should we start?" I queried, running my hand distractedly down Telem's spine. The dragon purred in pleasure, too relaxed at the moment to answer, so I continued. "Also, do you know if that wolf-dragon is my actual Koniac form? Or just a mutation when the Uncontrolled Koniac is activated or whatever?"

Telem wasn't able to answer as I noticed, considering I'd apparently found a spot that felt nice along the side of his spine. So I stopped my ministrations, and after Telem regained his ability to speak, he did.

~I don't believe that... creature you became is your true Koniac form~ Telem claimed. ~It was too evil, too dark. Izotz used to teach me some things about the Sasaki clan that I, as your partner, needed to know. Koniac forms are always regular animals, no matter a person's House. Meaning that no one can become a dragon or a phoenix or whatever. That creature was a little too close to a dragon to be considered normal~

I smirked, picking Telem up and getting to my feet. "Well, that's just another thing to search for, huh?" I uttered as I walked out of the living room towards my own room. "What I really look like."

~I suppose it is~ Telem agreed. He climbed out of my arms and back onto my shoulder, settling in his normal place around my neck. ~And I want to learn how to do that thing Zahra did, with changing her size. It would be really convenient~

"You need to grow a bit more," I joked, grabbing a bag from my closet and throwing it on the bed. "You're still a bit small."

I wandered around my little room, grabbing anything I thought I might need for a long journey. Weapons, a change of clothes, any money I could find. It almost seemed like I was looting the house, but what else was I supposed to do? No one lived here now, and if I didn't take it, someone else eventually would.

"Ah. Well, there's nothing else to do here except mope around and be depressed, so let's go." I shrugged, walking to my old room to gather a few things I might need. Weapons, clothes, and the like. I packed them all in a bag I then slung over my shoulder.

Making my way to the kitchen, I grabbed as much food as I could fit in my bag, non-perishable stuff like nuts and dried meat. I also opened the windows to the kitchen and left the cabinets open, so any animals who came in would get some food.

With everything done, and my supplies packed, Telem and I made our way to the door. But I stopped in the doorway, and took one last glance at the house. It seemed the same as always, as if any moment Raza would come walking out from his bedroom and tell me we had some more training to do.

But no more, I suppose. Things had changed, and time marched on. Raza was dead, Izotz was dead, and Telem and I were leaving. I guess that's life, though.

Together, Telem and I walked out, and headed towards Raza and Izotz's tomb. We stopped in front of the glittering diamond, and simply observed our fallen mentors for a minute.

After a minute, I had to break the silence that had descended. "Telem... let's go." The dragon nodded, and with one last look, I walked off.

No looking back, no turning back. It's time to move forward.

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(2/4/16: This chapter has literally been completely rewritten. I like this version so much better. The old version was basically Kari bemoaning her lack of human understanding, and Telem trying to seem wise. This seems a bit more natural. And it's been renamed)

Many thanks to sebace7 for voting and commenting! Thanks for the encouragement! I'm really happy people are enjoying this book!

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Later!