Authoress's Note: This is probably the hardest chapter I had to write. No, not because of writer's block, but the emotional value that was invested in this chapter. For those of you who have lost loved ones, let me say that this chapter will involve a loss. You may want to get those tissues handy because I literally struggled to write this one without thinking of my own losses that I had in my life.

While it is not a mystery who has died, I will admit that writing about loss is a difficult subject for me, but it had to be done to move this story forward.

As for Sam, yes, he is based off of someone I know very well.  @Espeon804, you have every right to hate him, but at least you don't have to deal with the person I based it from. He is a Scorpio, so that might give you some ideas on why I know how to handle them if needed.

Anyway, I would like to thank you all for your patience as I fine-tuned this chapter to make it more meaningful.

Ah, and the image I posted at the top of this chapter is a Gothic church that stands in Spring Grove Cemetery. The area is a beautiful place to visit in Cincinnati, even during the fall when the leaves start to change colors.

Still can't believe summer's over though.

~Chibi Mirai Gogeta

Dawn of the Hunter

Chapter 5-Wayward Wolf

Rain. Dawn watched it fall outside against the window pane, and the weather seemed to reflect the sadness she felt over the loss of her father. Dressed in black clothing, the young girl looked over at the casket that held her lifeless father's body, the smell of death and ice emitting from his body that made her steer clear of it. She stood outside of the room at the Spring Grove First Baptist Church in the foyer, noticing her mother on the other side being comforted by people that the woman had not seen in years.

The soft music from the piano playing from the sanctum of the church played, but Dawn seemed less interested in what she heard. All she knew was that there were hushed whispers of strangers she never met before talking about her father, and how he died leaving his wife and a child behind. The way they looked at her as she stood at her mother's side made her uncomfortable for some reason. It was almost though they were judging her for her father's sudden and untimely death.

This was the first time she lost someone, and it was painful because she had seen her father go from the strong, dependable man into a frail one in roughly a year's time. The last time she seen her father was a month prior to her death during her seventh birthday.

_______

Sam drove Dawn back to Hidden Valley where she saw the farm house. The first thing she noticed was the lack of animals, and that saddened her because her father loved tending to them before and after a long day of work. As the car pulled down the long driveway, she noticed for the first time that the grass seemed taller and less maintained than usual.

'Pa would make sure that it's nicely trimmed, but I suppose he's been pretty sick and was unable to do it,' Dawn thought to herself.

"Here we are brat," Sam told the girl. "Just remember not to say anything to your parents."

Dawn nodded before climbing out of the car. She walked up to the front porch and noticed that even the chairs that her parents used to sit in were gone. Even during the winter months, they kept them out, but perhaps they had to sell it due to her father's illness. She wondered how much her parents had given up to make ends meet as she went inside.

"Ah, welcome home little light," John's spoke with a weakened voice. Dawn's eyes watered when she saw her father's form so thin and sunken cheeks. The smell of decay seemed stronger since the last time she saw him, but she ignored it and ran into her father's outstretched arms.

"Pa! Pa I'm home!" Dawn cried as she felt a sense of comfort from the familiar man's embrace.

"Dawn my dear, can you help me in the kitchen for a bit?" Mary called to her daughter.

"Yes ma!" Dawn pulled away from the man and walked to the kitchen. It was then that she saw how pale her mother had become and the dark circles under her eyes. This woman she had known seemed tired but smiled a strained smile to her daughter all the same.

"Can you wash the dishes for me? I need to check on our supper," Mary told the girl.

"Okay ma," Dawn washed the dishes. For the first time since she moved to Cincinnati to live with her uncle, things felt like they used to be; however, at the same time, there were changes that had taken the things away that Dawn had once known.

_______

After supper, Dawn found herself in the living room and saw that her parents had a small gift for her. Usually, it did not matter how many gifts that the girl received, but this one seemed important. She opened it and saw a gold bracelet inside.

"Pa, ma, what's this?" Dawn asked.

"This is something we wanted to give you little light when you were older but knowing that I might not be here much longer, I wanted to give this to you early..." John told his daughter. He helped fasten it onto Dawn's wrist as it seemed to sparkle in the light.

Dawn felt the tears run down her cheeks as she hugged her mother and then her father, "T-thank you... thank you both..."

"There is one more thing," Mary told her daughter. She looked up at her husband who seemed to stand up. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Yeah," John told his wife. "Come on little light, I want to show you something."

Dawn was perplexed, but she followed her father and mother outside. Sam stayed inside the house while they ventured outside. She saw her father heading to the barn as he pushed the door open. When they walked inside, Dawn's eyes widened when she noticed an old tattered blanket lying on the ground.

"What's this pa?" Dawn asked her father quizzically.

"This is where I found you seven years ago on this day," John told his daughter. "You see, you were left here in this barn during one of the coldest winters, and yet, you seemed perfectly fine. I just wanted to tell you the truth about how you came to join us since you will probably wonder one day where you came from."

'I already do,' Dawn thought silently to herself.

"Little light, I thank God every day for you, and want to apologize for sending you away to your Uncle Sam's house," John confessed. "Even now, I wish things had been different..."

"I... I feel the same way pa," Dawn told the sickly man as she went up and hugged him. She felt Mary's arms wrap around her as well.

"Dawn, no matter what, I'll always be with you..." John promised his little girl. Those words made the tears run down her cheeks. She wished this moment could have lasted forever, that she would never have to go back to Cincinnati, and that everything could have stayed that way.

Sadly, like any moment, it slipped away, becoming a part of the fondest memories that Dawn would carry with her for the rest of her life.

_______

"Dawn?" Mary's voice broke through the girl's memories, bringing the little girl back to the present.

"Why did pa have to die?" Dawn asked her mother.

"He had been sick for years, but I never imagined that it would have progressed as fast as it had," Mary told her baby girl.

"I wish he was still here," Dawn told her mother.

"Me too, little light," Mary hugged her daughter. The way Dawn felt was horrible, but she could see that her mother was also affected by the loss.

"I... I want to come home, even if pa's not around anymore..."

"Oh sweetheart, I wish we could go home, but right after your birthday, we had sold the farmhouse."

Dawn's heart sank. "What? Why?"

"Your father's medical bills while he was in hospice were high, and we had no other options..."

"I don't want to go back to Uncle Sam's house," Dawn told her mother.

"Dawn..."

"He hates me and treats me like an animal," Dawn continued, not caring anymore that her uncle overheard.

"He did what?" Mary was startled by this news. She noticed the man standing far away with other guys as he talked to them. She marched right over to the man and looked him directly in the eye. "Did you hurt my Dawn?"

"Hurt? Why would I hurt that little brat?" Sam denied flatly. "She did disobey at times, but other than that, I made sure she stayed disciplined."

"You made me sleep in the basement, threatened not to feed me, and told me never to tell my parents," Dawn countered. "I don't care if you throw me out on the streets anymore..."

"You little brat," Sam started towards the girl, but Mary put herself between her brother and daughter.

"You will NOT touch my daughter," Mary vowed angrily. "How dare you?"

"How dare I? Do you know your daughter's retarded?" Sam questioned. "She'll never amount to anything, and it's a miracle she's even in that private school because I've helped pay for her tuition. She's been failing her classes, and I used what money I had to bribe her instructors to get into the first grade. Tell me Mary, can you still raise her if I let her go back home with you? Doubtful since you can barely take care of yourself."

"At least I'm trying to raise my daughter," Mary's voice was raised. People's heads turned as they saw Sam and his sister arguing. Dawn felt uncomfortable as she shifted behind her mother's back.

"Raise her? She's a little thief," Sam pulled the brooch out of his pocket and showed both Mary and Dawn; the latter's eyes widening.

"How...? I thought that I sold that..." Mary gasped in shock.

"That's mine! Give it back!" Dawn tried to reach for it, but Sam held it away from her.

"Nope, I think you should be sent to juvey for stealing, you little brat," Sam grinned.

Dawn felt panicked. She thought that she had hidden that well enough, but apparently, her uncle had found it while he shuffled through her belongings. It would explain why she saw him come out of the basement the other day after he confiscated the books she had been reading for class.

"Give it back," Dawn pleaded again, feeling her heart racing.

"Dawn, that doesn't belong to you and..." Mary started, but saw something change on her daughter's face.

The sadness seemed to turn into anger, and it was directed at Sam as he continued to hold it away from her.

"I said GIVE IT BACK! GIVE IT BACK NOW!" Dawn yelled as Sam was startled by the girl's sudden change of demeanor. He released the brooch as Dawn quickly grabbed it. The man's fingers managed to tear the bracelet from her wrist as it fell to the ground. Dawn did not realize that she lost her parent's gift as she ran out the doors of the church as fast as her tiny feet could carry her.

"Dawn!" Mary called as she chased after her daughter's retreating form.

"Little brat," Sam pulled out his cell phone to call the police. He decided to ensure that his 'niece' was locked away for a long time after disrespecting his wishes.

_______

Dawn had no idea where she was going in the downpour that seemed to weigh down the clothes on her back. The only thing she knew was that she had to get as far away as possible despite how cold she was feeling. The brooch she held seemed to help her focus, but she was still feeling fear from her previous actions. While she ran, there were a few people trying to stop her, but she ran around each one, not wanting to be stopped by anyone.

Turning the corner, Dawn saw that there was a steep hill that lead to the woods. She was about to change direction, but she saw that she was being followed by her mother of all people. Deciding to take her chances, she jumped over the guard rail that was there to deter cars and half-slid, half-rolled down the steep incline. The water drenched her clothes at the bottom of the hill, but she managed to get up, muddy and wet and ventured further into the woods. By the time Mary reached where Dawn jumped, she had lost sight of her daughter as the young girl ventured further into the woods.

Dawn felt the barren branches grab at her soaked clothes while she continued pushing herself further into the wilderness that seemed more welcoming by the minute. There was no turning back anymore—her uncle was threatening to lock her away from her mother, and it was all due to the brooch that she clung to for support. If she had lost it because of him, then there would be no way she could learn more about her origins.

'I need to find those wolves I met years ago,' Dawn thought while stepping over a fallen tree carefully. She needed answers, and she knew that the wolves had offered this back when she was back in Hidden Valley. Would they still honor the request after being taken away a couple years ago by her own father? If so, she would be more than willing to go along since she had nothing left after her father had died.

It felt like hours had passed before Dawn found a hollow tree and curled up inside of it to shelter herself from the rain. By then, she was feeling very cold and lethargic, her eyes barely open. Her body felt disconnected from everything—almost though she was dying at that very moment.

'Maybe I'm better off if I did die,' Dawn thought, her eyes drifting shut. 'At least then, I'll be reunited with pa...'

_______

Warmth was the next thing Dawn felt as her eyes opened slowly. She heard the crackling of a fire as she noticed a tall, dark-skinned male standing on the opposite side leaning against a young tree, his short raven hair cropped just above his shoulders. Over the flames, she saw a large buck cooking, almost though he was just passing through hunting whatever he needed to live off the land.

"W-who are you?" Dawn asked weakly. She felt so worn out that she had no idea how long she had been out. All she knew was that it was nighttime, and she was still in the woods.

"A friend, unless you are still affiliated with those humans," the man told the girl.

Almost instantly, Dawn recognized the voice despite him being in human form. "Midnight?"

"Correct," the man confirmed with a nod.

"You're a human, but... I thought you were a wolf..."

"I am not human, but a werewolf just like you are," Midnight explained.

"W-werewolf? I heard that they're scary monsters," Dawn seemed confused and scared. How was she a werewolf? If she was one, it would make sense why she was so different, but at the same time, it left her with more questions than answers.

"Monsters? No, the real monsters are the land destroyers you call humans." Midnight snorted indifferently. "Before their kind came, we had no reason to shift into this form, but now, they threaten our way of life."

"I don't understand," Dawn looked Midnight over. He was wearing human-like garments—a black T-shirt and a pair of blue jeans.

"You will once you are well enough to take you to my tribe," the man told the girl. Dawn glanced at the man as he began to carve off one of the deer's front limbs and offered it to her. "Eat up. We'll need the calories where we are going."

Dawn did not wish to argue with him and did as he asked. Wherever she was going, she knew that Midnight was intending to take her there. The question is would she be welcomed to her kind? Or would they shun her like many others had in the past?