[PG-13] Black Forest Wolves [IC]

[iWillEatzYuh]

He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath through his nose, taking in all of the scents. The sweet grass, the fresh, morning air, and his family; the only scents that were important to the soon-to-be adult. He took in yet another deep breath, trying to find a particular scent. Another deep breath. He couldn't find it. Another deep breath, focus. Squeezing his eyes shut, he forced all else out of his mind, and thought about one particular scent. The air was silent, aside from the birds stretching their vocal chords.

His eyes opened, everything around him seemed to disappear except for one thing, he was determined. Low to the ground, the pup crept forward, following the scent that filled his nose.

A white she-wolf lay nearby, her pelt seemed to glimmer in the sunlight. Several beads of water still dripped from the ends of her fur, her scars vanished beneath her thick pelt as the seconds passed. A long, pink tongue ran along her distorted left paw.

From her tail to her shoulders, the masculine female was possibly one of the most beautiful wolves around these parts. But as you moved past the broad shoulders, her appearance changed completely. Her left paw was a bit misshaped, every bone in that limb had been crushed by an old foe and very few healed correctly. Her muzzle was covered in scars, the fur there was far too fine to cover up the many bites and scratches that part of the body had received. Now her eyes, her right eye was still near-perfect . . . her left was another story.

About two years back, she was once a lone wolf. She had found a pack and the Alpha Female became her very first true friend since leaving her original pack behind. She had gone out to hunt and discovered a pair of bear cubs. Long story short, the mother bear was not very happy with her and chased her down. She and a few others fought off the bear. The bear crushed her ribs and left four jagged scars cutting across her left eye, that eye is now nearly useless. Her ears also have a few cuts and bite marks.

The white fae froze, the grass behind her stirred ever so slightly. She twisted her neck around and peered over her shoulder, nothing. Heaving a sigh, she turned back around and stretched out across the land, laying her head down between her paws.

His honey-brown eyes locked on the larger female, one whom he'd adopted as his aunt. Success! The pup had just tracked his very first animal. He wriggled with excitement, causing the tall grass to rub together and make a noise. He froze when the female turned, his heart raced, he thought for sure his cover was blown . . . but then she turned away. YES!! It took all his might not to cry out with joy.

He raised himself up from the grass and dug his claws into the dirt. Wait for it . . . his eyes studied the females every move. One . . . Two . . . NOW!!

The adolescent male sprang up into the air and toward the larger female, his front paws extended, getting ready to take down his prey.

The older fae had a split second to react, but that was all she needed. She rolled out from under the pup and he landed in the dirt. Quickly, she twisted around and pounced on him, pinning him to the ground.

The pup groaned. "Noo!!" His ears flattened against his head and he looked up at his aunt with sadness in his eyes.

"Aw, Claidi you couldn't let him win? Humor him a little . ." a voice said from a distance. It was Ace, the white female's older brother.

The one known as Claidi looked up at her brother and down at her nephew. "No! Nobody is ever going to 'let him win' in a real life situation." She licked the pup's forehead. "Sorry honey, you made too much noise. We'll work on it."

"Osei!!" called another voice, it was his father, Ghost. Claidi stepped back and allowed Osei to escape, sitting back on her haunches afterward. Before Osei met up with his father, he tackled Ace and tugged on his ear. "Osei!" Ace grumbled. He shoved the pup off and shook out his pelt. Laughing, the adolescent pranced off to see what his father needed of him.

---

Ghost and Blanca had just returned from a hunting trip. He had brought down a white-tailed doe. It was a small doe, but that was okay because Ghost had only intended on hunting for his children. The two adult wolves had grown quite fond of each other, they were almost inseparable. But they didn't love each other as a wolf loved his mate, but more like Osei loved Celeste.

Celeste had already grabbed a nice chunk of meat from the deer and was eating it by herself a few feet away from her father. Osei ran in and snatched up his sister's food and ran away with it.

"Osei!" Celeste yelled, growling and chasing after her stupid pest of a brother. Ghost sighed and shook his head. Blanca laughed.

[LittleLionFire]

When the Eagle Flies was sitting in the shade. It was a nice breezy day, the birds were singing, life was good. She yawned, stretched her old bones, stood up slowly, and slowly padded towards the leader, Claidi. She stumbled over the two pups, Skah's little ones. She huffed, annoyed, but her gaze showed fondness. She continued towards her quest. Her right hind leg was giving her some trouble, but she did not complain.

Coming to the alphess, she humphed again, and sat down slowly. She shook her ears, her remaining eye seeing some, but not a lot. She blinked, and lay her head down next to the young one, compared to herself.

"Nice day, don't you think?" The old wolf sighed, lay down, and rested her head on her old paws. "Osei will make a very rambunctious warrior, I think." She then sighed again, and turned her one blind eye to gaze right at the female. "I am old, Claidi. You know it, I know it, everybody knows it. I am worried about you. You are a young female wolf, leading a pack alone. But you are old, also, with out a mate. I hope you are putting your sights out there. That is all I want to say. I want to leave this pack full, and no less."

With that, the elder huffed, and got up. She limped over to her shady spot, lay down, and closed her eyes again.

----------

The grass swayed and weaved in the light breeze. The small clearing was full of green grass. The buck stood, watching over his herd of six does. He scented the air, the breeze was going towards him. He smelled nothing, and his small eyes saw nothing either. He leaned down to graze. His mistake.

Higher Than the Stars had been waiting from before dawn. He had stalked this herd, waited and now it was time. The buck had scented, and deemed clear. The male wolf was low in the grass, two deer lengths behind. When the buck lowered his head, before the breeze could change direction, her exploded into action.

From a little to the right, another wolf waited for the signal to leap. The smaller wolf, with her russet fur, leaped as well when the male wolf leaped towards the buck. At the movement behind, the male deer had leaped forwards, and the herd had scattered.

The wolves were not focused on the females though. These wolves were hunting big, for their pack. With fluid motions, the two hunters were after the food. The male, being the closest, had leaped and raked the back hind legs with sharp claws. Blood was the trail they followed, the smell like a drug.

The deers, wounded as was, was still fast. The female veered towards the deer, the male picked up speed to e on the other side. With one leap, both wolves launched themselves towards their prey. This leap was crucial. If both made it, they would have the most chance to catch and kill. If one made it, they would have a slim but still there chance. If none, they had no chance. So they gathered all strength and leaped.

Both leaped, and both landed in the buck. The deer's legs buckled under the weight of two grown wolves. The wolves latched on, with fangs and claws. They ripped at the hide, the neck, and the sides. The animal was loosing blood fast. It collapsed, and the female wolf bit the throat in the fatal killing bite, crushing windpipe and ultimately ending the life of the buck.

The wolves stepped off, and stood, panting, exhausted, but victorious. They lifted their heads and howled their victory, loud and full enough that the pack would here, and know they brought enough food for more than one family. With heavy limbs, but high hearts, the two grown wolves, one black and mottled white, the other russet, hauled the game back to the camp.

Letting it fall to the ground, the two wolves both took a bite of the large meal. They tore reasonable chunks off, and padded towards the shade.

Mystery of the Moon padded to be off by herself. She plopped down, and lit into her food. Once all done, she cleaned her chops, lay her head down, and rested, eyes open.

Higher than the Stars padded towards his mother, Eagle. He laid his food down, and sat back to let her eat her fill. Once she was done, he wagged his tail and approached cautiously. An elder can be vicious when eating, and might not be done when you think. Therefore, he was cautious.

When she nodded, Eagle wagged his tail, smiled, and plowed through his meal. Full, he began to lick his mother's head. She grunted her approval, but shook her head and snapped her jaws to tell him to stop. He smiled, stood up, and went to the small little cave in the ground that housed the new pup that the pack had allowed in.

----------

Dark Sun to the Light Moon had just gotten her hearing, and milk teeth. Now at two weeks and six days, she was exploring her little cave. When she heard the heavy but light foot falls of a wolf, she wiggled her small, un-orderly little body around to face the entrance. She saw paws, and then a face peering into the hole. She yipped a greeting, and her small black and musty white tail plopped around on the ground.

Moonsun yipped again, hungry. She wiggled over to the entrance, wanting to go out. But a firm and gentle paw pushed her back in. Rolling onto her back, the little female pup opened and closed her maws. She then rolled to her side, and promptly fell asleep.

[SilverAce]

Beautiful Invisible flower placed her paws carefully on the slippery rocks that poked outbof the water. She was quite getting the hang of it, and began to go faster on the rocks, placing them perfectly on the stones so she wouldn't fall off, and was running fast enough that she was sprinting. She reached the other end of the long river and hipped happily. This would help train her in hunting when she needed to place each paw down carefully and at the right places. Fern finally settled down and calmly walked back towards the camp. She was a couple lengths away before she stopped short and scented the smell of something. She began walking slowly again, acting as if she didn't even scent them. She grinned at his attempt to scare her and whirled around and jumped at the white pup.
Rainless cloud whimpered a bit as Fern pinned the puppy down.
"Ok! Jeez, you win..." he pouted as Fern got off of Cloud. Fern chuckled.
"Try to check the wind next time," Fern said laughingly at her younger brother. The two made their way back to camp and Fern sent him back to his den before she decided to go to the big oak just a couple ways away from the camp. She payed down at it's base and put her head on her paws, ears pricked to pick up the sound of anything interesting to her.

[iWillEatzYuh]

Her eyes trailed after Osei until he disappeared behind the brush. She slid back down to the ground, crossing her front paws and resting her head on them. Her head lifted back up when Osei's name was called again by another pup, Celeste.

Osei came into view again, a large chunk of meat dangling from his jaws. A black female was close behind him. She tackled her brother to the ground and bit at his neck and his face, anything she could reach - she was furious. Her teeth sunk into her food and she pulled, resulting in a tug-of-war match between the two adolescent wolves.

Claidi just simply watched, she didn't even consider breaking them up, a good brother-sister fight was healthy. The white she-wolf turned her attention to the elderly wolf and she sat up. "For now," Claidi said in response to Eagle's opinion on the weather, "It's going to rain." She lifted her nose to the heavens and breathed in the air's scent. Claidi was young, but she knew the weather very well. She nodded. "He learns quickly and he's very determined. He has yet to mature, however. But he's still a pup."

Honey eyes shifted to the grass below as the female Elder spoke. "I prefer to go it alone. But I understand. Thank you." She gave a respectful dip of the head before the Elder got up and walked off. The Alpha slid back down to the ground, folded her paws, and rested her head again. If only they knew. They'd understand. Nobody else knew about Claidi's late mate and pups. Nobody else knew that Claidi's heart would probably never be fixed. Nobody else knew she stayed up almost all hours of the night, hoping that maybe, just maybe, that they would come back to her.

Her ears perked at the sound of a howl, interrupting her thoughts. She watched two other wolves enter the clearing with food, but the adolescent's distracted her.

Celeste eventually ripped the meat from Osei's grasp, winning the tug-of-war match, but that was besides the point. The meat fell from her jaws and she tackled Osei again. The two fought, a blur of fur and teeth and a little bit of blood. They were nothing like a true adult fight to the death, but it was close enough.

Claidi was a bit uneasy now. She stood, watching the two very closely, Ace did the same.

From the distance, Blanca heard snarling. At first she thought it was Claidi and some other wolf, so she rushed out of the woods and into the clearing to see a black adolescent ripping into her brother. "Ghost!" she called.

Ghost hurried into the clearing and looked towards the commotion, his children. "Osei!! Celeste!! Enough!!" he yelled, his voice echoed through the forest. The two didn't listen.

[LittleLionFire]

When the Eagle Flies smiled, as she lay down, then jerked her head up at the sound of the vicious snarling. She shook her head, then came up on her old feet rather quickly when she saw some blood. The little pups were fighting viciously, and not listening to their parent. She shook her head, and limped over to the balls of fur. She barked once, sharp, loud, and commanding. "ENOUGH!" She snarled at the pups, like she would harm them, but everyone knew she would never. She loved them. They just needed to listen to their parents.

----------

Higher than the stars yipped back at the pup, and smiled. He did not know whose pup it was, but she was left, a couple of days before, on the path to their pack. She smelled like humans then, now, not so much. She smelled more like the wild. Her little body was growing, and she was eager. He smiled again, not realizing she was the key.

He turned at the sound of a bark, and padded towards the sound. He sighed as he saw the cause of the commotion, and saw his mother standing over them, and sighed. He knew her time was almost up, but he hoped not for a long time. Sadly, her bones and strength were failing her more often than not, and he knew she would never admit it, at least, not in front of the whole pack. Which the whole pack was here now.

He glanced over to the female that was one to the elusive pack members, Mystery of the Moon. He sighed, shook her head again, and sat. He yawned, baring his canines, and then blinked, and just sat, watching. He then saw Beautifully Invisible Flower, and headed over to Fern.

He nodded his broad head at the female, and looked towards the camp, as she was lying underneath an oak not far from it. He smiled a little. "Osei and Celeste are at it again. I think Celeste will be a very formidable fighter, as well as healer. She does not let her brother get away with anything." He chuckled. Then turned his gaze to the female. "How is Rainless Cloud doing?"

[SilverAce]

Fern dipped her head in welcoming at Higher than the Stars and listened to what he said about the commotion that she had heard earlier, and her eyes grew worried when the male brought up her brother.
Fern sighed at his question.
"Restless as always, but I don't think he's still believing the story I had told him about our father... I just hope the coward would show his face soon, that is, if he's still here. It's like trying to find a needle in a haystack. No other older male wolf has the same coat as him, and I take after my mother."
Fern stopped short at the mention of mothers, and glanced at Star.
"Uhrm, did the sentinel patrol check the northern border? I had come across something a bit interesting when I was hunting in those parts..." Fern stood up and shook her fur.
"May I suggest sending yourselves to those parts to check it in your next patrol?" Fern said with a smile.

[Alanoth]

Summer is a very special time of year, so many things all come around that don't happen any other time of the year. The animals react differently, mating and birthing season having long since ended. The plants exude new aromas, causing the insect life to begin re pollinating the plants to ensure they stay green. Grass either turns brown with the heat, or thrives into an emerald shade due to the abundance of cool rain and river water. Mostly, things begin to change, and that can do many things to a wolf. Especially, a wolf like One Who Is Made of Night, who hated change more than anything.

As he sat on the top of a hill overlooking a large portion of the northern plains near the pack den, Shadow had to wonder and think. Summer always changed things, at least it seemed that way for him. Summer was the time of year that he was cast out of his old pack--late summer. He had lost everything that year...his family...his home...even his real name. Because of that, the pack only knew him as Shadow, rather than his full name. At least, that was the way most of the pack knew him.

One Who Is Made of Night shifted uncomfortably, having to push away those thoughts. What had happened, between him and Claidi--that made it so important that the rest of the pack didn't know his name--was something he didn't want to think about.....He had sacrificed much, and taken a huge risk with sticking around, and all for what? He had never once been a true help, no one had ever given him a thank you or even appreciated his presence here, so why did he stick around? Because you have no where else to go, and you know it. Your father and mother are dead, the old pack is looking for you all near their old lands. They wouldn't dare cross Claidi, and so she is your safety. So the voice within said, the voice of himself expressing what he already knew.

His self discouragement therapy session was over with heated debate coming from the den, and Shadow recomposed himself to do his duties. After all, Claidi had asked him to be Beta Male, which mean that right now he was slacking in his duties as a deputy. He ran as fast as his paws could take him, bounding down the hill and up the trail, doing his best to get there quickly. By the time Shadow arrived, the Elders had already settled things down. He looked around, from face to face, avoiding Claidi's, then spoke up to no one in particular. "Anything wrong here? Sorry I'm late, I was rather busy."

[iWillEatzYuh]

Celeste and Osei broke away from each other and cowered to the ground in front of the Elder female. Both were wounded, though not severely. Their snowy father stood over them, scolding them silently enough for their ears only.

Silently, the Alpha Female of the small pack observed everything around her. It should have been her that laid into the adolescents about disobeying their father. It should have been her who scolded them. And Claidi was going to do just that, just not as soon as Eagle had. In Claidi's eyes, fighting was very healthy and they needed to learn no mercy at a young age, just as she had. Violence would teach the young that the world is no playground and that no matter what happens, you don't trust anyone. Not even your family. Claidi had trusted so many, and each and every one of them had turned on her. The only one who hadn't yet was her brother. Ace was the only one Claidi trusted.

Nevertheless, the scarred female knew better than to stand around watching. As Alpha it was her duty to keep order in the pack. Another female distracted her from the adolescents, a chestnut colored female of three years old, Third-in-Command of the pack; The Beautifully Invisible Flower. The name was given to her at birth, though she typically went by Fern.

"Sentinel," her voice was firm. She knew the names and the ranks of each and every wolf in the pack, though when she barked orders she often called them by their ranks. Her eyes drifted over and onyx female and a multicolored male, both lounging. Blanca responded immediately, scrambling to her feet and awaiting the orders from her leader. Once the other sentinel had responded as well, she spoke. "Make your rounds. Specifically near the northern border." Her honey eyes landed on the Delta Female. "You will accompany them."

"Healer," her voice remained firm and full of authority, "Take Osei to the creek and tend to his wounds. I will take care of Celeste." She eyed the female adolescent. As soon as the Alpha's gaze landed on her, her ears folded and her head hung. Claidi was going to have to give her a good speech on controlling her temper. The black female reminded Claidi of herself, she knew what she was experiencing.

The scarred female turned her attention to yet another wolf, a male who went by the name of Shadow, the Second-in-Command of the pack. "Good morning, Shadow. You missed a small fight, nothing big. There's food if you're hungry." Claidi turned and began walking to the creek. The small river was on either side of the clearing, beginning at the waterfall and bordering the clearing, almost in a complete circle. Claidi expected the other healer, Mystery of the Moon, to take Osei to the creek opposite of where the Alpha was taking Celeste. "Come Celeste," Claidi commanded. The adolescent female obeyed. "You may accompany me if you'd like, Shadow," she said before she disappeared into the brush that hid the creek.

[LittleLionFire]

When the Eagle Flies Sat down, watching the young female leader take charge. She sighed, and looked at Claidi with sadness. She knew the wolf better than most others, besides her brother, Ace. She knew that the wolf had suffered a large amount of misplaced trust in her life. She just hoped that one day, a male would wiggle his way into her heart, and her into his. She just hoped that male would be good enough. Really, she saw no one here. Everyone had there secrets, and Claidi needed a wolf with none. She sighed, and limped back to the shade, and lay down again.

----------

Higher than the stars smiled at Fern, and tilted his head in acknowledgement. He then took note of what she said about her father, and stood up. He looked into the sky. "Well, not necessarily. If you really want to look for the wolf, you need to look out of this territory. But that would take you away from Cloud." He sighed, and looked at the female wolf besides him. He kind of knew why she kept the pup from the truth, but he did not like it. "The pup needs to know know, not later. That is my suggestion. Think about how the pup might think of the truth, and think about how he would act. If you still think it would be bad to tell the truth, nothing will stand in your way. But it would be best, in my opinion, to tell the truth. Always." He smiled, breaking the dull moment, then headed off after Bianca and Ghost, nodded at them, and asked if he could join.

----------

Mystery of the Moon got up from her place, and padded towards the black pup. She looked down at him, shook her head, frustrated, but her eyes showed compassion. She nudged him up, and headed towards the stream, opposite of the leader, and sat, waiting for the pup. She knew fighting was part of life, but she hoped that the pup would know that no matter what, as long as he could, he should hold on to the ones in his, life. No matter what, some times, you just had to trust. She sighed, and looked over the pup, looking at his scratches.

[SilverAce]

Ferndrew her eyes down in thought, and nodded as the male bounded away to join others in talk. Fern stood up and shook her chocolate colored coat. She acknowledged the Alpha Female's request and decided to tag along. They Sentinel guards were not yet ready to go, so Fern bounded in the woods and ran across the crunchy pine cones, knowing she was scaring away all the prey, but she did not care. The wolf bounded into a clearing, not too far from the camp, and settled down flat on her back. The smell of flowers and the feel of tall, soft grass on her fur and paws. A breeze gently swayed through the wind, and Fern lifted her nose in the air as the breeze went through her coat. Huh.... the same smell she had scented earlier while out hunting near the northern border...
Fern bounded towards the scent and ran wildly through the underbrush and nagging trees. The scent began to overwhelm her as she grew closer and closer, until suddenly, the scent stopped. It was then that Fern realized she was at the river she had practiced near not too long ago. Fern stamped her law down in a bit of anger, and it was then that she noticed a print in the dirt...
Fern whimpered a bit as she suddenly realized what the scent was.