Trigger jolted awake, he'd had the dream again. As always, it began one year ago, when he watched his mother, Silvia, get torn to shreds by that huge grizzly bear. He could even taste the bear's blood again. Then it would shift to 24 hours after, when his father explained he would have to leave the next morning, forever. Back to the demon plane. And, though Trigger hadn't even been awake to see his father leave, the dream still showed Sern fading into the night. Trigger shook his head quickly, jarring the sleep loose. He stood up and surveyed what had been his family's den from birth his birth, but his alone for the past year. He stretched his leathery wings as he stepped out into the sunlight.

Almost instantly, his senses, both demon and wolf, picked up rabbit. 'Good enough, I suppose.' He thought silently before pinpointing it's location. He slowly crept towards it. Five steps left. Four. Three, a good leap would finish it easily. He pounced and his claws met flesh. With a quick snap of his jaws on the rabbit's neck, the rabbit was dead. He treaded a little farther into the woods and stopped in the clearing he usually ate in. After giving thanks to his ancestors in YoruDen as his mother had taught him, he began to tear into the warm flesh. Suddenly, he sensed something else. About his size, he guessed. Probably another wolf. He chomped down the last bits of the rabbit quickly, but didn't let on he knew he was being watched, and prepared demon magic in case he would need it to defend himself.

Suddenly, a rabbit sprinted into the clearing, followed by a leaping, cream and milky colored wolf. The rabbit was pinned and killed in half a second. The new wolf, a she-wolf Trigger scented, looked up from her new kill, and over at Trigger. She emitted a growl, informing Trigger this was her kill, not his. Trigger chuckled a little. "I've already eaten." He nodded to the pile of bones and fur beneath him.

The she-wolf relaxed. "Sorry. Had my last kill stolen from me, didn't want to risk it. My name's Soledad, what's yours?" She questioned.

"Trigger. Haven't seen you around here before." The demon wolf replied.

"I travel a lot-" The she-wolf stopped. Trigger has absent-mindedly shifted his wings, revealing them. Soledad backed up. Trigger looked at her questioningly for a moment, then realized she was staring at his wings.

"Oh! Sorry if these frightened you. Trust me, they're nothing to be afraid of. My father was, well, a demon who fell in love with a normal she-wolf, my mother." He explained the strange circumstances of his early life, causing Soledad to relax a little. After a few minutes, Trigger had essentially caught her up on everything up to and including his mother's death and his father's forced removal from this world. "So, for the past year, I've just been kind of fending for myself. What about you?" He ended with.

Soledad seemed relaxed now, at least enough to have eaten her rabbit during the story, but was still wary. However, for a split second, her eyes glinted. A quick plan had formed. "Well, as I was saying, I travel a lot. My parents dissappeared when I was fairly young, so I get how ya feel about having to fend for yourself so early. But, there wasn't really a reason to stay where I was born then, so I move forest to forest. I only came to this forest about a quarter moon ago. The forest I'd been in before was running very low on prey and very high on predators, so competition was high. I managed to find a way out of there through the mountains, and next thing I knew I was here. Glad to finally meet a wolf who's actually friendly." She replied with a smile.

Trigger could feel something building within him, some alien feeling. A good one though. They continued talking for a while, until eventually the sun was high overhead. Soon, they were both walking through the forest, Trigger was showing her the best places to hunt, demonstrating his demon powers, doing anything he could to impress her. And he was succeeding, as far as he knew. After a while, they were both hungry, and Trigger decided to hunt for the two of them. He quickly nabbed an otter with some demon magic. Soledad smirked as she watched him. This would definitely work.

Hours later, the sun was setting slowly. "Well, I'm gonna head back to my den for the night. Thanks for the great day, Trigger. Wanna meet me again tomorrow? Same time, same place?" She asked.

Trigger smiled. "Sure. See ya then." He replied. Soledad stood up and walked off, Trigger doing the same but going towards his own den.

That night, the dream that had plagued him almost religiously for a year, did not come.

Trigger was up early the next morning and quickly headed for the clearing. He couldn't wait to get to see Soledad again. On his way, he caught two gophers for breakfast and soon reached the clearing. After a short while, the cream and caramel colored wolf walked into the clearing. "Hey Trigger." She greeted with a smile that Trigger returned. The latter nudged one of the gophers over to her. "Oh! Thanks." The two sat down to eat. They spent the day in the same way, walking around the forest, Trigger hunting for them, and finally ending at sunset. This time, however, Soledad asked if she could have a rabbit or two to take home. Trigger happily ablidged and she left.

Once again, the dream did not come.

They spent day after day like this, week after week. But, after a while, it really seemed like Trigger was doing all the hunting, and Soledad was just reaping the benefits. But, love can blind anyone, even a demon wolf, and he ignored hi instincts. Finally, one night, after Soledad had asked for the most yet, she would be taking home 3 rabbits and a gopher, Trigger offered to help her carry it to her den. Soledad declined quickly, gathered the food Trigger had killed for her and headed off. Curiosity nagged Trigger and he followed at a distance, tracking her with demon sense.

Her den wasn't too far away, it was actually just about a mile down the mountain chain from Trigger's own den. He remained hidden in the nearby bushes and watched Soledad go into the cave. He heard voices, so he crept closer to hear them.

"...so, you've still got him eating our of your paw?" said a male voice.

"Yeah, he'll never figure it out. We can get all the food we want for no work whatsoever." Soledad replied with a chuckle.

Trigger wasn't stupid, it didn't take him any longer to figure it out. He leapt up and into the cave, then quickly moved towards the back. There, he found Soledad and a large, dark gray wolf curled up together. Soledad quickly got up. "Trigger! What're you-"

"Save it! You were just...using me!? That was all?!" Trigger demanded. The grayish wolf began to get up but a quick bolt of black energy from Trigger sent him back down. "Soledad...I thought you actually cared about me."

At that, Soledad just laughed. "Cared about you? You're a monster, nothing but a demonic monster! How could anyone care about you!?" It took every ounce of Trigger's self control to not just lunge at her. The gray wolf was back up now, growling.

"Get out, demon. Now!" He ordered Trigger, who sent another bolt of black energy, this time at both Soledad and the other wolf, before turning and leaving. He ran straight to his den, not stopping for anything. He barely even bothered to get comfortable. The demon wolf just collapsed, almost instantly asleep.

The dream was back. He saw his mother die, his father fade, and then heard Soledad's voice.

"You're a monster, nothing but a demonic monster! How could anyone care about you!?"