Kiba! Kiba!
He's gone.
We can't find him anywhere.
We looked everywhere we could.
Kiba couldn't be... He couldn't.
Maybe he is. He might've been killed.
Tsume, where are you going?
To look for him again.
It's hopeless. I couldn't find so much as a trace of his scent back there.
I give UP-"
On what?
I don't give a damn about Paradise anymore.
You don't care?
Count me out.
Hige, are you serious?
I was never interested in going to Paradise in the first place.
I'm surprised to hear you say that after you've sauntered along
all this way with us.
If I'd never met him, none of this would have happened to me.
You're right.
If he hadn't shown up in the city,
we'd all still be there right now, same as always.
We probably could've lived our whole lives there.
Life there was a whole lot easier and more carefree.
Yeah. Except we were pathetic there.
We're plenty pathetic out here, too.
Come on, cut it out, okay?
It's bad enough that our bodies are a wreck.
Why does everybody have to fight,
steal from each other, and argue all the time?
Why can't everybody live together?
Wolves, and humans, and birds, and flowers...
Everybody living together as equals.
If we all got to Paradise, things wouldn't be like that, would they?
What is it?
There's a familiar scent...
Scent?
That guy, he's...
His body's almost frozen!
Just leave him! You're trying to save that guy?
He's really important to Blue!
If we don't do something, he's gonna die!
We couldn't do anything to save Blue, either, remember?
Stop it.
Don't take it out on him.
We're looking for Kiba, right? Let's go.
Toboe!
You go on ahead. I'll catch up.
See if I care if he wakes up and shoots you.
Hey.
Go on.
Don't get too involved.
When it's all said and done, he's a human.
Blue...
There you are, Blue...
I'm sorry...
Ruus!
Who are you?
Me?
I'm Mew. Who are you?
It doesn't matter.
This place doesn't care who you are.
What do you mean by that?
This is a place where everyone can be free.
I'm not dead yet?
The fact of the matter is, it's pointless to keep looking.
Do we go back and look for him inside that collapsed castle,
or do we look out past those huge mountains?
Either way, we don't even know whether or not he's alive.
Are you that worried about that "Blue" chick?
I haven't said a single word about her.
It's because you haven't said a word. That proves that you're worried.
It's not like that...
What Noble do those guys work for?
Those guys who attacked the castle... We were no match for them.
It's Jaguara.
Jaguara?
They must be one of Jaguara's outfits. She's a Noble to the south.
You sure know a lot.
I just heard the name, that's all.
Jaguara... I think I heard that name back in that last city.
Word has it that she's collecting wolves.
What the hell is she up to?
Okay, are you one of Jaguara's flunkies?
Why's she after us? What does she want?
Jaguara?
What's she trying to do by collecting wolves?!
What's the deal? What's so funny?
If you were wolves, you should've said so!
Oh, geez... The Elder's gonna have my hide for this.
Sorry about that.
You see, friends of ours were attacked by someone last night.
It wasn't us.
Yeah. It couldn't have been wolves.
For one thing, they used guns.
Also, we of the Hmong tribe believe in wolves.
In their existence, and their spirit.
Believe in us?
There it is.
Everyone lives together?
Yeah. We all travel together.
Wow...
Is that so unusual?
We live together as equals, that's all.
Horses. Dogs. And humans.
How is he?
A lot better. He's stopped whimpering, too.
He drank lots of milk a while ago.
He did, huh?
Was he attacked?
I don't know if they were poachers or what,
but they hurt just the dogs, then left.
This one put up a fight to the bitter end.
It might've been him.
That old-timer.
It couldn't have been. For one thing, he was totally exhausted.
Besides, he can tell the difference between a dog and a wolf.
How come you're trying so hard to protect him?
He was... talking in his sleep.
He said, "Blue, I'm sorry."
If they mistook them for wolves, then maybe...
Jaguara?
Maybe she's killing anything that looks like a wolf that she can get her hands on.
That bit about "believing in wolves" you mentioned earlier.
What did you mean?
What did I mean? I meant exactly what I said.
Wolves are our ancestors, that's why.
Except for the Nobles, that is.
Lyek.
Elder.
Bring our guests along.
Don't follow me.
Why not?
Aren't you afraid of me?
Not one bit.
I'm a wolf, you know.
That's plain to see.
Is this... Paradise?
Paradise?
A place where you can be free. A place I've searched my whole life for.
If that's what you think, it must be.
This is a Paradise meant for you.
Kiba... Will you stay with me forever?
Will you stay with me like this if this is your Paradise?
We're different species.
But I sense your feelings. And you can sense mine.
Are you scared?
I'm not scared of anything.
There's nothing that I'm afraid of.
Death was nipping at my heels as soon as I was born.
It was as if my birth had called death there.
Kiba.
White soul.
Do you wish to speak to me?
Why did I survive? I've asked myself that a hundred times.
Why am I here? For what reason?
I hear a voice from deep inside my body.
I can no longer stay here.
The time has come for you to set out on a journey.
You didn't survive on your own.
The flowers protected you, and the land spared your life.
Listen well to the words of your soul.
There must be a place you are meant to go.
A place I'm meant to go?
You must go, and never look back.
I've been searching for it... For the place I'm meant to go.
It's strange.
Baring my soul like this...
I've never opened up to anyone before.
Not to my friends. Or even to Cheza.
I've never felt at peace like this before.
This place is Paradise. It must be.
Long ago, when man was still an animal,
there were also evil monsters.
Mother Earth sent wolves out from Paradise to the land.
The wolves slew the monsters, fought evil,
and taught many things to the ignorant, selfish man-beasts.
And from part of their own bodies, wolves created humanity.
This tale has been passed down among the Hmong since ancient times.
Humans were created from wolves?
That is correct. Back when this world was young.
When wolves seek out Paradise, the world will end.
Or the world will end because wolves are seeking out Paradise.
It is unclear which will happen first.
When they find Paradise, everything in this world will cease to be.
Are you the one who sought out Paradise?
I wasn't the one who brought up the idea.
Was it you?
Not likely.
You?
We shouldn't try to get to Paradise?
If the world ends, what's gonna happen to everybody?
As to that, no one knows.
Where nature goes, we simply follow.
Lyek.
We're leaving.
Already?
We're looking for a friend.
But we can't pick up his scent anywhere.
What's beyond those mountains?
A dangerous place where no one goes.
A place that no one else could find, huh?
Come with me.
What you'll find beyond those rocks is a land called the Desert's Bones.
Desert's Bones?
All that's there is desert as far as the eye can see.
But it's said that anyone who goes in there experiences true happiness.
Why would people experience true happiness in a desert?
From what the spirits of this land say,
there is some giant grass that has been growing there for thousands of years,
and it guides anyone who rests beneath it to the Garden of Eternity.
Garden of Eternity?
You don't suppose that means Paradise, do you?
Beats me.
Nobody who's gone there has ever returned,
so nobody knows what the place is actually like.
Why not stay and live with us?
We can't do that.
You see, he's the one who was looking for Paradise.
See you around. Let's go.
I'm... not going.
'An.
I want to stay here!
"A Dream of an Oasis"
"Next Time"
Booze? No, not booze. Love.
No matter how old he gets, a man lives his life in love with love.
Regardless of what reality
has to say on the matter...