The Kalgorn Trilogy: Part One

by Balto678

This is the first installment to my threepart series. It tells the story of my character, Kalgorn's, life. Part One tells of the events that happen in his first year.

The Kalgorn Trilogy
By: balto678

The events of this fan fiction and characters Kalgorn, Mist, Fira, Hiro, Clive, Slythe, and River as well as The Anglo Pack, The Inca Pack, and the Redblood Pack are (c) 2007 to me balto678. The Lylrite pack is (c) 2007 to Balto5670. Do not use any characters found in this story without my permission.

In the far north, where the landscape is covered in a thick sheet of snow and ice most of the year, wolves live in packs. Using numbers over power to hunt down and kill their prey. However, for a brief period of time, the everlasting snow melts away and a little more color can be seen. This period of time most know as Spring. Several new litters of pups are birthed at this time of year. The one litter payed most attention to is always the alpha. As soon as his mate, the alphesse, goes into heat, she and the alpha will disappear for awhile and the news of it spreads quickly throughout the pack. Sometimes the news turned out to be false, so you could never really know for sure unless you spied upon the alpha and alphesse to see what they were up to. But this is a serious crime. If you're caught violating their privacy, any punishment from exile to death can be dealt your way. When the spring comes around, everyone expects the alphess to go into labor at any minute. But this is in a pack with very little to worry about. In a pack that's on the brink of a war and currently victim to a famine, whether or not the alphesse was pregnant was the least of their concerns. While the pack, The Inca Pack, struggled to prevent the nearing battle between them and their rival back, The Anglo Pack, many of their numbers were either dieing from hunger or were too weak to be any use to the pack. It was a rough time and, with the famine and all, they didn't need more mouths to feed by having more litters of pups.

But, despite all this, nature still took it's course and the female wolf, Mist, went into heat. She was the alphesse, mate to the alpha, Hiro. Indeed, she fit the description one would expect a female of her status to look like. Slim and strong. Her pelt was a glossy smooth hue of gray. She had a pair of unbelievably warm and beautiful gold eyes. Hiro had the look of dominance. Pure brown coat and penetrating green eyes that seemed to stare right into your soul. It made one feel like he could tell immediately whether one was lieing or telling the truth. It seemed like that, he'd already executed one wolf from The Anglo Pack for feeding him false news about their agreement to a treaty. Exactly how he knew this was a lie, no one knew, but he explained to them that it was a false lead to get them off guard so that The Anglo Pack could spring a surprise attack on them. As soon as he'd ended the life of the wolf, several other Anglo wolves were seen falling back from their borders. After that, he'd exiled two other wolves found guilty of treason. No one had expected the two to betray their pack. They were two of their top fighters and had been sneaking in and out of the Anglo territory, only to return with information that, potentially, could win them the war should it break out. They were heroes in the eyes of everyone. At one point Hiro had even believed them to be outstanding, loyal, and brave members of their pack. So, naturally, everyone rebelled at the conviction. For a brief moment, it seemed that the two were going to get away with what they'd done. But, at the last minute, proof that the information they were feeding them was not only a lie, but downright madness, presented itself. As it turned out, they discovered that, had they used the information and fought The Anglo Pack then, their pack would have been slaughtered.

The two, Clive and Sythe, had personally told him that The Anglo Pack was planning to attack them on the first blue moon of the year. They would be sneaking over their borders from the north side. The blue moon came, and The Anglo Pack didn't attack. But someone did, and they came at them from the south side, not the north. They were attacked by wolves, not from The Anglo Pack, but from a pack they knew to be an allie of The Anglo Pack's, The Redblood Pack. This only confirmed it for Hiro and Mist that they were about to become the center and main target of a war. While most of their fighters marched off to their northern border, a few had been stationed around their borders in case they tried to pull some trickery and sent only half of their numbers to the north border while the other half circled around and attacked them from an unexpected direction. Hiro's suspicion and careful strategiesing saved them from a bloody day of pain and woe. While there was only about five wolves grouped together at certain intervals around their borders, those five wolves were able to hold off the attacking group of Redblood Pack wolves long enough to prevent them from causing too much damage to their pack and territory.

Thanks to the lives of five brave hearts, many lives had been saved and only one wolf was taken prisoner. Needless to say, that one prisoner was returned to them in exchange for the beta wolf they had captured as well. Sadly, however, all five of those fighters were killed that day. But they fought the Redblood wolves off until their dieing breath. As soon as they had seen movement in the serene azure light, they sent out a distress call. All five of them raising their heads and pointing their noses to the moon, letting out a loud group-howl. This caused the Redblood wolves to react. A few, maybe six, separated from the ranks and ran out to end the cries of the wolves. Their goal was for stealth, and setting off the alarm wasn't on the agenda. However, these wolves were highly trained and took all six of them out without getting more than a few scratches. By the time they had to end their howls to fight for their lives, Hiro and the rest of the pack had already heard the call. Immediately, they darted off for the opposite end of their territory. The wolves stationed a little closer managed to get there quicker and hold them off until the larger group reached them. Once the Redblood Pack's forces saw them coming, they knew they were fighting a losing battle here and retreated. While they ran away from them, a few were captured and questioned. But they revealed nothing, nothing useful that is. Because they couldn't have them returning to the Redblood pack and return to fight them again, they were executed. However, they knew the beta they had caught would be worth alot to The Redblood Pack. So, they offered a trade to get back the wolf that had been taken prisoner. The packs agreed to meet up at their borders to do the trade. Luckily, nothing went wrong with it. As soon as the beta was back with his pack, the rest of the wolves growled at them before running off to their own territory.

The wolf they had received for the beta gave them news of a traitor in their pack. The news she fed them, for it was a female wolf. Her name was River. Though she wasn't exactly an important member of the pack, she was one of the more stunning of the females. So, Hiro could only assume that their intentions for taking her was for reasons that were less than honorable. The information she gave them was enough to make a few jaws drop. The very words that spilled out of her panic stricken mouth were; "It was Clive and Sythe! They gave me to the Redblood Pack. They're siding with the enemy!" It was unbelievable. Had she mentioned the names of any other wolves and they would have more than likely tried right then. However, given how much the two in question had done for the pack and how loyal they always were to it, Hiro pushed it aside as the results of shock. She was disoriented and didn't know what she was saying. But later on when he got some time to think things over, it finally dawned on Hiro that Clive and Sythe were playing them for fools. The trade off for River had turned out to be a better deal than expected. At least, for them. The same couldn't be said for The Anglo Pack. After speaking to River again, she explained to him that she had been in the cover of her den when it happened. Clive jumped in and pinned her down while Slythe grabbed her and dragged her out. After that, she had been knocked out and when she awoke, she was surrounded by unfamiliar wolves that didn't look too friendly.

So, you've got one battle gone entirely wrong due to their information and one witness that was able to describe in depth into what had been done to her by the two. It was more proof than Hiro needed. Sentencing them to exile, they were chased off their territory, stripped of their title as Inca Pack's finest and became nothing more than loners. The attack from The Redblood Pack didn't get Hiro thinking they were at a war yet. Because the threat was between them and the Anglo Pack, The Redblood Pack was nothing more than an obstacle thrown there way to weaken them. Despite how quickly there numbers were falling victim to malnutrition. It seemed that The Anglo Pack didn't just want to defeat them, they wanted to slaughter every last one of them. The famine was just one of those unfortunate variables that worked in your enemy's favor. But the war hadn't started yet so there was hope still that the war could be avoided.

His mind was diverted from these problems however by his mate. It was the thing that he liked best about her. He always had her to look forward to every night when he layed down. But this time it wasn't for a nice talk to ease his mind of anything like that. She had gone into labor. As soon as the news reached his ears, he cursed himself for not being with her from the beginning. Without saying another word, literally leaving in the middle of a speech he'd been giving the pack's fighters. It was supposed to be a motivational speech to keep their spirits high. They weren't at war yet, but it felt like it. Anyway, someone had to fill in for Hiro. He was the alpha and had every right to drop everything to be with his mate at the moment their offspring was about to enter the world. However, Hiro was in for a big surprise when he entered the den.

The first thing he noticed was, there was no agonized yelps or screams from Mist. Did I miss it? He asked himself, padding ever closer to his den. Once he looked in, he saw that Mist wasn't giving birth or in labor at all. She was sitting down, her head bowed and silently pawing at the ground of their den. This came as something of a shock for him, not to mention a disappointment. "Mist?" He asked, stepping into their den and padding over to her. His voice holding the tone of confusion.

At his voice, Mist looked up at him and he was surprised to see that she was crying. Her gold eyes moist and her cheeks damp from the tears. Not knowing what was wrong, Hiro sat down next to her and put his arms around her. As soon as he had embraced her, she broke into tears. Burying her face in his neck and sobbing uncontrollably. While he held her, whispering comforting nothings into her ear, he wondered what had happened to upset her like this. He didn't bother asking her anything just yet. He waited for her to calm down enough to speak. Which, despite how much she was crying now, didn't take long. It was like she just had to get it out of her system. Once she had calmed down a bit and just lay there against him, breathing and whimpering, he cleared his throat and asked her the question. "What's wrong Mist?"

For a second, it seemed like she was about to start all over again, but she breathed a few times to relax herself before trying to make words. "Hiro. . ." Her soft voice started, sadness in every syllable. "You know I love you. It's hard for me to say this to you, me carrying your sons and daughters and all, but I've got to tell you something."

A sense of foreboding overtook Hiro just then. He was afraid of what she was about to say. As soon as she spoke these next words, his life would never be the same again. He tilted his head and tried to keep his expression of sympathy. "What is it?"

Mist pulled away from the embrace. Slipping out of his arms and sitting on her own haunches as she got ready to speak. "Hiro, I've got to leave you."

Time seemed to freeze for Hiro. He tried not to react too much over it, but he knew he couldn't just not react to it at all. It would send the wrong message. Instead of jumping to conclusions like other might have, thinking she was leaving him for some other male, he gave her the time to explain her reasons. Sitting up straight and frowning at her, he scratched his head. His confusion at the situation was preventing him from feeling the need to grieve. "Could you explain to me why Mist?"

She frowned back at him, a few more tears trickling down her cheeks and her lip quivering. "It's nothing you've done, believe me. But, there's a war about to break out. The famine continues and there's no sign of it ending in sight. You know if our pups are raised in this they won't survive long. You've got to stay and lead the pack. To be honest I think they'd be lost without you. Me on the other paw, I just hang around the place dreading what could happen at any moment and walk by countless wolves that think i'm going to go into labor at any minute. It would just be better off for our pups if I get away from this while I still can."
She honestly sounded like she didn't want to go. It was this tone that made Hiro feel the worst. He knew he had to let her go, but he also felt compelled to go with her. But he couldn't just abandon his pack when they needed him the most. Their efforts to prevent the war looked to be in vein and there wasn't a doubt in his mind that Mist had the right idea. He supposed what he was feeling was just how much he was going to miss her. "Mist. . . I don't blame you. Given a few more days and I probably would be suggesting you do this too. But I guess it's better if you're gone before it's too late." He breathed out. Admitting to what he wished there was another solution to. "But. . . what are you going to do when you finally do go into labor?" He asked, a realization coming to him.

Mist sighed and bowed her head again. "I tried waiting as long as possible. I wanted to have the pups with you by my side but. . . I don't think it's meant to be." She whimpered, causing Hiro to pull her into another embrace. There was very little he could do or say to sway her. She was a stubborn one and, once she had decided on something, it wasn't easy to change her mind. But even if he could changer her mind, he knew it'd be better if he didn't. For the sake of his pups, he had to let her go and take shelter away from here where she could raise the pups in a more 'friendly' environment. Maybe, whenever this was all over, he could go find her and finally see his sons and daughters. Even if it was for the best, it still wasn't easy to do it. It was one thing to say something, but quite another acctually doing it.

"Mist. . ." He sighed, putting a paw to her head and pressing it to his chest. "When. . . do you plan on leaving?"
Even though he had known the answer all along, he still had to ask.
"Tonight. . ." She whimpered. Hiro sighed and nuzzled her. It was hard to comfort someone upset about something when you, too, were upset about the same thing. He was going to miss her dearly, and he knew she would too. If she wasn't, he doubted she'd be crying her eyes out like this.

Everything needed to be said had already been spoken. Now the two just sat there, enjoying their last minutes with each other. Nearly an hour had passed before the movement of someone outside disturbed them. Hiro's ears shot up as did Mist's but it was Hiro who went to go see who it was. It turned out to be a group of wolves that had come to see how Mist was getting along with her birth giving. He then remembered that it was that that had gotten him to rush to her so quickly. With the unexpected news, it had been wiped away from his mind.

"I'm sorry, but it was. . . a false alarm." He explained shortly before turning around and walking into his den to find Mist standing up. Her arm raised and head leaned down, wiping the tears from her moist eyes. "Mist, I cannot tell you how much i'm going to miss you" he frowned at her. Every bit of him showing how much he wished she didn't have to go. He would relish every memory he had of her until they were finally reunited. Whether it be in a few months or a year or two.

Mist was just the same. She had stopped crying, but she just frowned at him and nodded her head. Making for the exit of the den. Hiro instinctively followed her out. Mist looked to have expected this and only walked closer to him as they made their way to the borders of their territory. "Where will you go?" Hiro questioned after some time of thought.

"Away from here." she breathed out. Voice shaky like she was only just managing to keep from crying. "Im going to head east. I know The Anglo Pack territory is to the north and The Redblood Pack territory is to the south so, obviously I can't allow our pups to be born in an enemy's terra. They'd be worse off there than here." Mist reasoned. Looking up to him, trying to put on a smile, she continued. "Perhaps i could find refuge in The Lylrite Pack. They aren't too far off and I'm positive I could make it there within a few days before our pups are born."

Hiro sighed. The Lylrite Pack. . . that was probably one of the best options Mist had as far as where she was going to give birth was concerned. Though they weren't exactly an allie pack of theirs, they weren't an enemy pack either. He was sure they would be more than willing to take in Mist, with her being so close to giving birth, and help her out. He just prayed she could make it there safely.

They had reached the border. Where the forest ended, that was as far east as their eastern border stretched. Both Hiro and Mist stood there for a minute or two, savoring their last moments together. They nuzzled each other, silently saying their goodbyes. Hiro wiped away a few of her tears with a paw before lifting her head up by placing a paw under her chin. "Chin up, Mist. We'll see each other again. Till then, you make sure you reach the Lylrite Pack and raise those pups." His voice was clear. The dominant voice he had always had had returned to him, enabling him to see her off with a little less crying or whimpering.
"Hiro. ." She sighed before licking his nose. Signs of tears were forming at the corners of her eyes. Instantly, Hiro reacted.
"Mist, please don't start crying again. Otherwise you'll never get going. Where's that brave wolfie I fell in love with?" He put his paws on her shoulders and looked straight into her eyes. "I know she's still in there." But this was enough for Mist. As soon as these words left his lips, her face became more serious and less upset. She nodded her head at him, and smiled back at him. "Thank you Hiro. Goodbye."

With that, she turned around, and walked away. Crossing the border and continuing on. He remained where he sat, watching her until she was nothing more than a speck in the distance. She was gone. "Godspeed Mist" he said silently to himself before heading back. It was only at this time, that he allowed a few tears to fall down his cheeks. Knowing now that he would be sleeping alone at night made him feel less grateful for the day to end.

Every one of the days following her departure from her home, Mist was on her guard at all times. It'd been a long time since she had left the safety of The Inca Pack territory. In the back of her mind, she knew it was for the best. She knew that if she stayed, their pups would be dead before they even got the chance to open their eyes. But still, everything about her was screaming at her to turn around and return to Hiro. The first day was the hardest. She was on edge the whole day and found sleep almost impossible to find. She lay there for nearly an hour before she relaxed enough to drift off into sleep.

Mist had decided to turn in as soon as the sky began to get dark. Being pregnant and all, she didn't want to overexert herself. Just to be on the safe side. When she would awake, she'd begin her journey onward. Heading for the Lylrite Pack territory. It was her goal to get there and, with every day, she drew closer to the day she'd give birth to the pups. She feared she wouldn't make it. It was still a long way off. Maybe if she had been running, she might be a bit closer. She continued on, trying to ignore her sore paw pads. She found that food wasn't too hard to track out here. Back in The Inca Pack territory, it had been near impossible. Not because none of them were good trackers or hunters, but because of the famine. There just wasn't alot of food left there.
A week passed by and she still hadn't reached her destination. She was finally out of time.

It had come unexpected. Mist had been padding along, praying that The Lylrite Pack territory wasn't far off. She was in a fertile plain. The grass was very green and there were quite a few trees around. It was practically a forest. The ground, she knew, could support lots of life because of the nutrition it carried. Food wasn't hard at all to come by. Within a few minutes, though she wasn't hungry at the moment, she caught a vore between her paws. It had foolishly darted across her path but she had slammed a paw down upon it before it could get away.
Hearing it's cries of fear and anguish, she lifted the paw and let it go. If she wasn't hungry, there was no point in tormenting the creature. She watched it dart away from her. Then, out of nowhere, she felt it. A yelp escaped her, not just because of the shock, but because she knew what it was and what it meant. Exactly how far the Lylrite pack was, she didn't know. And knew she probably wouldn't be making it there now.

Two hours later, Mist had found a suitable den to make her and the pups home and had given birth to her and Hiro's pups. They were beautiful. Their pelts a variety of combinations that generally stuck to four colors. Brown, white, black, or gray. The black, she had no idea where came from. But she knew her father had been black so. . . maybe she had been carrying the trait and it had just turned up in her pup. There was only one black pup out of the six she had. Two were gray, and one was white, and one other was brown. But the sixth, and last pup, had two colors. He had brown fur fur for the most part, but his chest, underside, forearms, and paws were all white. So, he had picked up the whiteness, seemingly from her. And the brown, no doubt, from Hiro. He resembled them both in many ways. But there was one thing about him that she had no idea where he might have gotten. On his back, amongst his brown fur, a perfectly shaped white Z lay. After a few licks, she was convinced it was fur and not something left on his back. Unsure what it could mean, she tried not to worry about it. Instead, she began to look at her other pups. Wondering what color their eyes would be. Maybe green like Hiro's. He looked like he took after his father. So, it was possible. But she also was curious to know how many of her pups had inherited her golden eyes. It would have to wait as none of them could open their eyes yet. Not for at least another week. They wouldn't grow their teeth for three weeks, they wouldn't be able to hear her or anything for two weeks. At three weeks old, they would bark for their first time and finally begin walking on their own.

However, as soon as she was able to rest from her ordeal, she knew something was wrong with them. They weren't whimpering or moving around much. None of them fought to feed from her. Actually, only a few began to even feed. The others just lay there, whimpering occasionally, but not moving much. Fearing what this might mean, she curled her body around them and licked at each of them. A few whimpering as her tongue brushed against their small bodies. Continually she'd whisper to herself, praying there was something she could do. She had no idea what was wrong with them, but she knew there was something wrong. Without knowing what was wrong, she had no idea what to do to help them out. All she could do was there with her pups and hope they would be alright. She felt an unbearable desire to have Hiro with her. She almost began to cry, but she fought back the urge. Knowing that, once she started, it'd be harder to stop. But, a few hours later, her urge, almost a need, to cry was only intensified as all but one of her pups had died. It was the male pup with the Z on his back. No names came to mind and, frankly, she was afraid that once she named him, he'd begin to weaken and die as well. What had caused them to die? What went wrong? Nothing came to mind, she was at a loss.

She lay there, body curled around all six of her pups (even though five of them were dead) and breathing hard. Trying not to cry. She had every reason to cry now. Who wouldn't cry after their pups dieing just mere hours after birth? A few tears leaked down her cheeks but that was it. After that, she found herself suddenly asleep. When she awoke the next morning, the pup was still whimpering and whining in her arms. It was hard for her to do it, but she moved away from the bodies of her pups. They were dead and this last one was still alive. He'd survived the night, perhaps she still had a chance at being a mother. If only to one pup. Allowing him to feed, she prayed he'd be okay.

While Mist lay there, she decided on something. If he survived one more night, she would name him. What do you think he did? He lived. The next morning, fearing she'd find his body motionless, she looked down at him. He was still alive. Moving around for small periods of time before resting. Breathing a sigh of relief, she kept her promise to herself and watched him. For a brief moment, she thought about naming him something that started with the Z. Thus giving it some significance of a kind. It would be his initial. But that sounded stupid. Racking her brain for something she felt Hiro would be proud to refer to his son by, she came up with something. Where she'd heard it before, she didn't know. Maybe she'd created it. It mattered not. He would be named: Kalgorn.

A week later, Kalgorn was beginning to explore the den she, Mist, had chosen quickly as her home to birth Kalgorn in. It wasn't that bad, but she wished she could go hunt some food. As a wolf, she was able to go weeks without eating. But that didn't mean she could go weeks without feeling hungry. Her eyes never left the brown and white pelt of Kalgorn. Watching him wander around before coming back to her every now and then. For the most part, he looked healthy. Well, acctually, he hadn't shown any signs at all of some kind of disease or if anything of any kind was wrong with him. This relieved her. After a week passed from when he had come into this world, for the first time in his life, his eyes opened. The lids came back and allowed him to look upon his mother. Mist had been watching him the whole time as he squinted at first before opening them completely. Or, at least, as much as he could manage. Looking into his eyes, she smiled. He definitely favored his father in looks. His eyes were the same glorious green as Hiro's. It surprised her how much he looked like his father. In some ways, like the ears, he looked like her. But in several ways he looked like Hiro. It was almost like looking at him again.

"Hiro. . ." she sighed before licking Kalgorn. It had just occurred to her that it had been two weeks since she had last seen her mate. Closing her eyes, she pictured him. Wishing he could be there. One thing was for sure, even with her natural ability to go long periods of time without food, she had to get some water. And she would die of hunger if she had to wait until her pups, Kalgorn, was able to walk. Besides, if she didn't get any food or water in her, she wouldn't be able to make the milk for Kalgorn to feed on.
Looking down at Kalgorn, she saw he had worn himself out and was resting; curled up against her stomach. Mist decided she should try and sleep as well. So, curling up around Kalgorn, she rested her head down and drifted off.

As Mist lay sleeping in her den with Kalgorn, someone approached her location. Following her scent. It was a male brown wolf with green eyes. Why he was out here and not with his pack, he had no idea. He had simply acted on impulse and left the pack in the paws of his beta while he was absent. He trusted she could run the pack well. For, she was to be the alpha one day. However, that was only if something happened to him and Mist. This wolf was Hiro. He wanted to find Mist, he wanted to be there for her when she gave birth. But as it had taken him all of twelve days to decide he had to find her, he doubted she'd still be pregnant. Now she was probably taking care of the pups on her own. But. . . what if she hadn't reached The Lylrite Pack territory? What if she had gone into labor before she could reach them? Mist would be laying there with several pups, and no way of getting food. There was no doubt in his mind that she needed him. Why hadn't he just gone with her? Fira, his beta female, would have been more than happy to lead the pack in his absence.
Cursing himself for his stupidity, he ran on. Legs kicking in long strides. Carrying him at the max speed a wolf can achieve. At twenty-five miles an hour pace, he was becoming exhausted. It was clear to him that he shouldn't wear himself out like this, but he couldn't help it when he thought about Mist and the possibility that she was alone somewhere. After ten minutes of non-stop sprinting later, he was tired. His tongue hung out of his jaws as he panted like mad. Breaths coming in short quick hitches as he struggled to slow his furiously beating heart. He couldn't even begin to think how much distance he had just covered. It was probably alot further in less time than he'd ever managed in his life. Still, Mist's scent was very faint. At first, he had to rely on what she'd told him. She was going east, to the Lylrite pack. And that was where he was headed now. But, as he went further and further, her scent became stronger and stronger. He knew he was on the right track and began to feel hope that he'd find her.

However, as much as he didn't want to, he had to slow down. Running at that speed would only tire him faster. It would be better for him to run a pace that was possible for him to keep up for a long period of time. Maybe he wouldn't be traveling as fast, but he would cover more ground like that. So, slowing down a bit, he continued on. Drawing closer and closer to that familiar scent. And, as more and more distance was put behind him, he started to think that maybe Mist had made it to The Lylrite Pack terra.

Getting closer and closer to the terra, the scent belonging to Mist still remained a little faint. It had gotten stronger, but it was still hard to keep track of. He figured this was because she had covered the area over a week ago and had just remained in one spot for a long time. That could only mean one thing; she was with the pups now. It had been two days since he had set out to find his mate, so that meant he hadn't seen her or looked into her beautiful golden eyes in two weeks! It might have only been fourteen days, but it had seemed to last an eternity without Mist.

Wanting, now more than ever, to see Mist, Hiro ran on. Not stopping to rest the night. He knew that he wouldn't be able to sleep now. He had made up his mind. He wasn't stopping at all until he found her. If his body got too tired to run, he'd walk. If it got too tired to walk, he'd crawl. Determination to find her rushed through every cell in his body and every hair of his pelt.

When Mist woke, it wasn't even daylight yet. She opened her eyes, blinking a few times and looking around. What had awoken her? It hadn't been Kalgorn fidgeting in his sleep. So. . . what then? Lightning flashed brightly outside, illuminating the world for a brief few seconds. The sudden unexpected light startled her. Then it dawned on her that it was raining. She breathed out, and layed her head back down. It must have been the rain that had awoken her. Deciding that this was the cause, she stated to go back to sleep. She might have too had she not noticed something out of the corner of her eye. It was dark, regardless of her night vision. The light in her den was dim and, apart from the light flashing outside, she couldn't make out much past the entrance. But still, she was able to make out the glowing red eyes of something peering in at her. Judging by it's smell, it was male and not friendly at all. A wolverine. She felt fearful as she looked back into the bloodthirsty eyes of the creature. Mist could only hope that the wolverine lost interest in her and Kalgorn and left them. It didn't look very likely to happen, but she could hope. If it came closer or attacked, she was going to be in trouble.

Doing her best from showing fear, she refrained from whimpering or making any noise at all. Instead, slowly, she curled her body around Kalgorn's. She was a mother now and it was her instinct to protect her young. What she did next came by instinct as well, but she surprised herself when she did so. A growl made it's way up her throat. Telling the wolverine not to come any closer. Her eyes narrowed to a glare, fixated on his own red ones.
For a minute, it looked like he would back down. However, that's not what happened. He glared back at her, growled back as well, and. . . attacked. Claws and fangs bared at her, all aimed right for her side. Right where Kalgorn lay, he hadn't awoken yet, but he would be awoken very abruptly here in a few seconds. To prevent the wolverine from taking Kalgorn from her, she turned her body around so that her back faced him. Her movements had awoken her son and he now whimpered and pressed himself closer to her. Gritting her teeth, she felt the claws sink through her flesh and dig mercilessly into her back. The fangs closed around the back of her neck. Thankfully, they couldn't reach her throat.

Hiro hadn't yet stopped. Not once in the last few hours had he ceased his running. He didn't know for sure if Mist was in any danger or not, but it was his worries that made him push his body on so ruthlessly. Ignoring the burning in his legs, he ran on. He couldn't be sure what the cause of it was, but he had this nagging feeling of unease. Like something bad was about to happen. Quickly, he looked around for a set or sets of eyes peering at him. Maybe he was going to be ambushed. But he didn't see anything other than the vast forest that surrounded him. Trying to put it behind him, he honed his nose to the scent of his mate. But. . . it was different now. His ears stuck up as he heard something; but what was it? Her scent wasn't alone now. Something had followed her.

One sniff told him it was a wolverine. It's scent was so much stronger than Mist's it was almost overpowering. Immediately, he assumed the worst. Mist either had been attacked, or was being attacked. He hoped, however, that he was wrong. Maybe the beast had just wandered over her scent on coincidence. Perhaps he had, but maybe he had smelled it and decided to follow. Fur standing on end, the sound came again. And this time, Hiro recognized it for what it was: The growling of a wolverine. Fear flooded him. It wasn't the wolverine that he was scared of, it was what he might have done to Mist by now if he had found her.

Acting quickly, he made a beeline for the beast, a growl of his own emitting itself from his vocals. In his urgency, he had unwittingly done something he hadn't meant to. His pace had gone all the way up to it's maximum once again. But the adrenaline rushing through him kept him going. No doubt he'd be pretty sore and exhausted later on, but right now he didn't care. He had a suspicion that his love, Mist, was in danger and he had no intentions on letting harm reach her. He tore through the trees. Showing his way through bushes, tree limbs cutting through his face as he ran right through them.
His breathing picking up, he began panting. The sounds of the growls had gotten louder. There was no way he could be much farther away. The wolverine had to be on the other side of that bush! Plowing through it, Hiro almost tripped. But he managed to keep his footing and, as it turned out, he had reached the creature. He saw it, growling and crouched, looking into the den he was sure Mist lay in with their pups. However, as he watched, the sound of someone else, a wolf, growled back at it. This triggered the next thing that happened before Hiro could even react. The wolverine pounced in. "No!" he shouted and ran toward the place the wolverine had just been.

He reached the hole in the ground a second too late. The sound of a yelp reached his ears and caused something that could only be described as a fury took over him. He leaped in and sank his claws into the wolverine's back, dragging him away from the curled up figure of a female wolf.

Mist whined as the teeth tightened around her neck. Neck, meaning what connected her head to her shoulders, not throat. That was at least something she could be grateful for. However, she couldn't do anything to get the male off her. She had to protect Kalgorn! But how? Whatever happened next, she couldn't be sure of because it happened in a fraction of half a second. All she heard was growling, then the teeth digging into her neck let go and the claws in her back came out. The wolverine was either leaving, or was being dragged away. She was too scared to look. All she did was lay still, body wrapped around Kalgorn to protect him and listened. From the sounds of it, it seemed to her that something was fighting the beast off. She heard multiple yelps that didn't sound like they could have come from a wolf, and, above all else, growling.

Hiro was overcome with rage. He showed no mercy to the wolverine. This creature had just attacked a vulnerable wolf. What was the worst part about it was that the female had been Mist. As soon as he had dragged the wolverine away from Mist, he attacked. Not going for the throat, but still intending on killing this thing. The male wolverine fought back, but he was no match to Hiro. Hiro's claws ripped through it, his teeth tore into it, blood spilled from it from countless cuts and gashes, only to be washed away by the rain. Finally, once the wolverine was yelping and whining to much to growl anymore, Hiro ended it. His fangs tore into its throat and ended the creature's miserable life.

Like some kind of magic, his anger vanished on the spot. He'd relinquished every bit of anger and madness he had upon the wolverine. But it was that adrenaline that had energized him. Now that it had been exhausted, he felt extremely tired. He hadn't slept in at least two days, ran most of that time, and had just brutally murdered a wolverine. Hiro didn't let it get to him though. Mist was. . . right there. Not even a foot away. He padded over and looked in. "Mist?"

Whatever went on just outside the den, Mist hoped she never found out. The sheer sound of it was bad enough. However, what she heard next was more welcome than anything. It was the sound of a voice she knew all to well. Her head lifted hastily and her eyes opened. Looking over her shoulder to the entrance where she saw the head of Hiro looking at her. Cheeks raising to a smile, her jaws parted and she cried out "Hiro!"

Before she knew it, he was inside and right next to her, nuzzling and licking her. She tried not to get to emotional but it was hard when she hadn't seen him in two weeks and had almost been killed by a wolverine. It still seemed a bit unreal that Hiro was acctually here.
Hiro, however, was just glad he had gotten here when he had. A few minutes later and Mist probably would be dead. It would have been more ideal if he'd gotten there maybe a minute earlier, but he was content with what he'd achieved. All Mist had taken from the male beast was a few scratches and a bite mark on her neck. Breathing out, he licked the blood away from the minor injuries. He was so happy to be with her again that he'd forgotten she had given birth. However, he remembered as soon as he saw her curled around something. It was their pups. He smiled at her and licked her nose. The only thing he wasn't sure of, was why exactly was Mist looking at him like the way she was. She had seen him looking at her curled up body so she must know he wanted to see the pups.
"Mist? Is something wrong?" He asked, giving her a confused look.
Mist shook her head and sighed. "No Hiro. It's just, when i gave birth, something went wrong. I'm not sure what but. . . they died. Only one survived" she spoke in a quiet tone. Looking down at the ground and eyes closed. This news came unexpected to Hiro. To be honest, he was shocked. He frowned and shook his head. "That's. . . unfortunate. I wish I could have been here with you."

Mist opened her eyes and looked up at Hiro. Her golden eyes looking into his. "I, too, wish the same" she then uncoiled her body and allowed Hiro to take a look at their son. "I've named him Kalgorn."
Hiro looked down from her eyes to the small pup laying at her stomach, looking over his small body. Taking in his brown and white pelt and the white Z on his back. "Kalgorn eh? Looks like he's inherited my fur." He looked back up at Mist grinning up at her, doing his best to hide his grief that all their other pups had died. He didn't care to know how many there had been, knowing how many of them had died would probably upset him even more.

"And your eyes." Mist smiled. "He's got the most beautiful eyes, just like his father." She leaned toward him and nuzzled his neck. Rubbing her muzzled against the wet fur of his neck. She was so glad to see him that her hunger had been forgotten for the time being, thankfully.
Hiro chuckled at her words, his eyes drifting back down to his son. "I just want to ask you something. The Z on his back, any idea what that is?" He had noticed it immediately and couldn't make much sense of it. Normally, when someone is born with a mark like this on their back, there'd be some kind of prophecy. However, he knew nothing of any kind of prophecy that involved a male wolf with a white Z on his back. That acctually relieved him more than anything. Those characters always went through the hardest and roughest times. Often they would die at a young age or come close to dieing several times. He didn't want his son to have to go through that. He wasn't going to raise him to be a coward, he would be brave and strong. But he didn't want to see his son die before he did.

"No. I know no more about it than you. All I can say about it, is that it's just an oddly shaped spot. Maybe it was supposed to just be a spot. You know, with this codominace thing he's got with his genes. I haven't given in much thought."
Hiro layed down behind her. Pulling her and Kalgorn closer to him. He was bone tired and the prospect of sleep was more than welcome. "Let's get some sleep. We can talk more tomorrow, right now, im just so tired." His head rested on her shoulder, he closed his eyes. He heard Kalgorn make a small sleepy grunt before dozing off as well. Mist fell asleep last. She had to wait for sleep to take her. Not that she minded though, it gave her more time to enjoy the gentle inhales and exhales from Hiro. But, at last, she finally drifted off. All three of them sleeping as a family, she had never felt more happy with her life.

A month had passed since Kalgorn was born. In all this time, Hiro had stayed with Mist. She urged him on several occasions to go check on The Inca Pack but he never would go. She offered to go with him but, as she had known he would, he wouldn't hear of it. Kalgorn may be able to walk and talk and everything now, but he insisted on waiting until Kalgorn could fight back if he was attacked. Which meant they'd have to wait another month or two.

While that might seem long, it wasn't really. With The Inca Pack in the paws of Fira, Hiro was confident she could lead them to the right path. Hopefully, the famine will have lifted and the threatening war with The Anglo Pack would have been avoided. Since Kalgorn couldn't be left alone just yet, and he still wasn't old enough to hunt, Hiro was still hunting down food and bringing it to Mist to keep her alive. It also provided Kalgorn with a meal too.

Having already decided he would, Hiro planned on teaching Kalgorn how to fight. He was going to prepare his son for the world as best he could. The day he was going to begin training him was only a week away. The same day he started hunting, he figured it would be a good idea. Once Kalgorn caught something, he could practice fighting it. The only flaw with this plan though, was that things small pups were able to catch tended to fly or run off as soon as they got the chance. If only there was something Kalgorn could practice on.

Right now, however, wasn't the time to be contemplating such matters. He was out hunting food for Mist. He, himself, was hungry as well so hunting down prey was fine by him. If he could catch something of decent size, maybe it'd be able to fill him, Mist, and Kalgorn up. So, with his sights set on large prey, he sniffed a few times, attempting to pick up the scent of lunch. After a few minutes of patient, quiet sniffing and slow movements, he smell something. The only thing was, it wasn't exactly what he'd expected to smell.

It wasn't a vore or arctic fox or anything like that, it was the smell of something familiar. He'd only just had an encounter with one just over a month ago. It was a wolverine. Only, it wasn't just one, but three. His senses became alert and he tensed up. Ready to fight them off if they attacked. He wasn't sure yet if they were headed for him, or if they were just passing by. Tracking their own lunch as well. But that idea brought up the thought that maybe he was their lunch.

Padding quickly away from the scent, he did his best to ignore their scent. He was still on his guard, but he had something he needed to be doing. And after a few more minutes of sniffing, the scent of the wolverines had doubled. They were getting too close. He looked over his shoulder to see if they were behind him or not and felt relieved when he saw nothing. When he looked back around, what he saw startled him so much he almost had a heart attack. Directly in front of him was the growling figure of a wolverine. His blood red eyes baring into his. Hiro found he was rooted to the spot, he tried to back away but couldn't. Nothing was preventing him from doing so, but the thoughts going through his head kept him where he stood. He figured once he moved, it would set the wolverine off and he'd attack. Which brought up the question: where were the other two?

He didn't speak, he didn't make any noise at all, He barely even breathed. All he could hear was the sound of growling. After a minute or so, two other growls joined the current one. What was he supposed to do now? He could fight off one wolverine, maybe two. But deffinatly not three. He began racking his brain for some kind of ploy to get away from them. He had to stop shortly afterwords though because just then, the wolverine barely a few inches from him spoke. His voice deep and every syllable full of hatred. His fangs bared, saliva dripping down from them in long ropes. "You're going to pay for what you did to Thesa!"
Hiro didn't know what made him say it. It was sheer stupidity, but before he could stop himself, he was talking right back to the enraged beast. "Thesa? Sounds like a girls name. Sorry, i thought he was male."
Big mistake. Even for a wolf with his strength and speed, three wolverines was deadly. If he made one wrong move or didn't move fast enough, it was over. As soon as those words rolled off his tongue, the wolverines attacked. The one closest to him lunged forward. Being not even a foot away in the first place, there was virtually no time for Hiro to react. Not chance at all for avoiding the collision. The wolverines strong frame rammed into his chest, knocking him backwards and onto his back. Out of instinct, he put his arms up infront of him and felt the chest of the wolverine crash into them. His fangs was just a mere inch away from his throat. But that was just one stopped. There was still two others. He lifted his legs underneath the mad creatures stomach and gave a strong kick, flipping the beast off him.

Hiro was up on his paws in a heartbeat. Braced for an attack from another. But he wasn't prepared for the direction he was hit next. He'd expected to see another charge at him or jump at him from the front of behind. When two sets of razor sharp claws tore into his side from the left, it took him by complete surprise and a yelp escaped him. Growling, he turned to look at the wolverine just in time to watch it sink its fangs into his side as well. He gritted his teeth against the pain and swung at it with a paw. Missing by only a fraction of an inch. It got the wolverine off him though.

Maybe it was his near hit or maybe it wasn't. In any case, he felt the body of another wolverine collide with his and he stumbled sideways. Reacting instantly, jumping toward his attacker and closing his jaws around whatever they reached first. In this case, it was the throat. Perfect, one down two to go. Or so he had thought. After hearing the cry "Carson!" a set of fangs closed powerfully around his leg. As a result, he had to let go of the wolverine, Carson, to save his leg from being broken. He managed to get the wolverine to free his leg by sinking his teeth into the thin layer of skin of its ear. After a yelp, he let go of the leg in his jaws and pulled away.

From who knows where, a third wolverine attacked him. He had ran straight at him but not tackled him. Instead, he stopped abruptly infront of him and swung his claws at his chest. First the right claws cut through his chest in a downward angle, then the left claws in the same way, but in a different direction. Leaving his chest shredded and diamond shaped cuts down the middle of the painful injuries. Blood seeped out of them immediately. Hiro didn't care how he got these guys off his back anymore, he just had to do it and stay alive. Perhaps now would be a good time to run.

No matter how strong or skilled a fighter is, they had to know when to run and when to fight. And, so far, this fight was convincing him more and more that he should run. Shake them and perhaps pick them off if they pursue him too long. Then return to Mist to make sure she was alright. He planned on carrying out that plan the next chance he got.
After his chest had been cut the way it had, Hiro reached forward with his jaws, closed them around the male wolverines neck, and pulled back all in a few seconds. Upon pulling back, he dragged the beast right off his legs before another of his attackers jumped in to save his companion. It was too late though. Hiro had already ripped his throat, he was dead.

Having taken the life of two of their close friends, the two wolverines looked angrier than ever now. He swallowed and took a step back. If looks could kill he'd have died a very cruel death now. Their eyes practically glowed red with rage. Despite this though, he thought to himself with a feeling of achievement One down.
"You are-" one of them started but Hiro cut them off, already knowing what they were going to say. "going to pay for that. I know, I know. Tell me one thing though, what was this ones name? Debbie?"
Both wolverines charged him down and tackled him at the same time. For a few seconds, all three of them were rolling around, biting and clawing at each other. During this time, all three of them sustained several injuries that spilled blood onto the ground. When they finally stopped and took a few steps from each other, it was obvious who was more torn up. Hiro was bleeding from a dozen deep wounds, one shoulder was layed open to the bone, and a long cut went down the side of his neck. Had the injury been a little further over, he would have been killed. It was just barely a miss. He growled at the two, his eyes darting at each of them, wondering who was going to attack next. But he'd had it, he couldn't win this. There was only one thing for it.

Turning around, he ran. Kicking his legs; hard. Not daring to look behind him for fear of seeing them snapping at his heels or tail. The sounds of their pursuing bodies behind him reached his ears, encouraging him to go faster. He could hear their panting, their growls, even the small metallic snap as their jaws closed hard on the air that had only seconds before been where his tail had. Taking a quick turn, he made an attempt to shake them. If he could just put some space between him and them, maybe he could pull off a few maneuvers to get them off his back. However, all hope of that was wiped clear away when his paws slipped on something wet and he crashed into a tree. Knocking the breath out of him in one painful collision.

It felt like he'd done more than knock the wind from him. His side ached like he'd never felt before. He gasped for air, trying to fill his lungs again. Remembering hearing the sound of cracking, he concluded he'd broken at least one rib. At first, he'd assumed that was the tree.
While he was still struggling to catch his breath, pain tore into his other side. Two sets of claws sank into the flesh and dragged back, ripping the skin open. With one loud cry of pain and anguish, he kicked the wolverine away from him, only to have another slam him against the tree and cause his vision to go foggy. No! I can't die. Mist still needs me!
Thinking of nothing else other than Mist, he fought to hold onto consciousness and save himself from death. There was still too many things he needed to do before he could let himself die. Picturing Mist laying there, playing around with his son, Kalgorn, he willed himself to fight back. And with the mental image, he found the strength to do so. As soon as the wolverine charged him again, he moved out of the way. The male's shoulder impacted straight to the very solid trunk of the tree. There was no doubt in his mind that that had hurt him. He could see it in his very eyes.

But he spared him no mercy. They were trying to kill him so why should they deserve it? In anger, he pushed the beast to the ground and shoved his claws right into his exposed throat. He struggled in vein for a few moments before he became motionless. Leaving Hiro, panting weakly and bloody. Pain filled his body to the point where it was almost unbearable. He grunted with every movement he made. It wasn't just the injuries that pained him, it was how sore his body was. God, how hard had he hit that tree? His ribs felt like they were on fire!
But he was so relieved that he'd survived that last attack that he barely paied any attention to the fact that he'd taken out only two wolverines. The third was still out there. It wasn't like he'd forgotten about him, he just figured he knew he was going to die trying to kill him. He had made the smart decision to run.

However, he hadn't run at all. He was just in hiding. Watching Hiro, waiting for him to present the perfect opportunity to end his life. He was now more enraged than ever. He'd taken the life of, not just Thesa, but also Kin and Navox. He, Carson, was the only one left. How was this possible! Three to one battle and this wolf was going to take all three of them out! No, it was not possible. He might have taken out his two colligues, but not him. He wasn't going to die by the wolf's fangs. This wolf was going to die by his fangs.

Even as Hiro padded closer and closer to his den, he supposed he had always suspected that third wolverine to jump out at him and attack. But after about ten minutes, he started to let up a bit. Wherever that guy had run off to, it couldn't be far enough from him. He closed his eyes and stopped for a second. Taking a short breather to catch his breath before coming face to face with Mist. As soon as she saw him she was going to practically freak out and ask him what happened. He knew that, he was just preparing himself mentally for it. But this was a mistake. He should never have stopped. What would have been smarter would have been for him to start running. Not just running, but sprinting.

As soon as he lifted his head to start off again, he suddenly found something had closed tightly around his neck. The sharp teeth in it digging painfully into his neck. As soon as it hit him that his throat was in the jaws of something, he began to panic. But before he could react, the teeth had pierced his throat. His legs gave out under him and his vision went black. He was dead.

Though Mist was happy right now with the way things were going, she did still feel a big upset about all of her and Hiro's pups dieing in their first hours. Kalgorn was still alive and looking healthier than ever. But the thing she didn't like right now, was how Kalgorn had no siblings to play with. All he had in his life was her and Hiro. So, naturally, he wanted to play with them all the time. She sighed as she sat, watching Kalgorn sniff around. He had only a week left before she and Hiro planned on teaching him to hunt and Hiro wanted to show him how to defend himself properly. Not that she had a problem with that. Just so long as Hiro didn't push him too hard or was to rough on him.

While she kept an eye on Kalgorn, she couldn't help but wonder just where could Hiro be. He'd been gone for several hours now. He had told her he was going to go hunt some food and bring it to them but. . . that had been in the morning. It was now well past afternoon. To be honest, she was starting to worry about him. Everytime she felt the urge to go look for him, she determinedly told herself he was just having trouble finding food. He was just being stubborn and wouldn't accept that he couldn't find any food. It was odd though, this place flourished with all sorts of animals they could feed on. On average it took less than an hour for Hiro to find a meal and bring it back.

Kalgorn, on the other paw, didn't look like he was worrying about anything. He just sniffed around for something he'd picked up earlier and was looking for it again. However, he wasn't having much luck with his quest. After several minutes, he decided to throw in the white towel. He was bored anyway. This task he'd struck up was merely only something to keep him preoccupied while he awaited his dad to return. He had left that morning and hadn't returned yet. He was starting to get impatient. Walking over to his mother, he sat down infront of her. Green eyes looking up to her friendly face before asking her: "Mom, where's dad?"

She sighed and shook her head. "I don't know Kalgorn." She would have told him where he'd gone and that he had been gone unusually long but wasn't sure if he would understand. He was still very young. Kalgorn looked down at the ground and frowned. "I wish he'd come back." These words were immediatly followed by a few affectionate licks from his mother.
"I'm sure he's on his way back now even as we speak."

That didn't seem to be enough for Kalgorn. He just continued to frown before an idea came to him. He looked up at her and said "Let's go find him mom." Mist started to shake her head and say no. However, she couldn't think of a reason not to so, why not? Besides, this would be a great chance to give Kalgorn a lesson in tracking. Stopping midway through the word, no being only two letters all she said was "N-", she changed her mind. Nodding her head and standing up, she smiled to her son.
"You know what, that sounds like a good idea." These words brought a bright grin forth upon Kalgorn's face. He jumped up, tail wagging, and followed her as she headed to the right. On long sniff had told her the direction he was in. She stopped though, leaning down to Kalgorn and asking him a question. "Kalgorn, how about I give you a quick lesson on tracking a scent? You're pretty familiar with your father's so let's see if you can find him."

Kalgorn was ecstatic over the offer. He licked her nose in gratitude and his tail wagged furiously from side to side, his green orbs glimmered in exuberance. Giving every possible sign through body language that he would like that. No, not just like it, he would love it! Lately he'd been rowing more and more anxious to learn the skill and art of hunting down prey before overpowering it and then, consume it. However, neither his mom or dad had offered to teach him anything about it. So, as any other pup would have done, he tried to teach himself. As you can probably guess, he had no luck at all with it. "Oh, would I!" he practically barked out.

Mist chuckled and told him to settle down. At her words he immediatly sat down and remained still apart from his wagging tail. Smiling, Mist briefed him with the procedure a wolf would go through to sniff out a prey by either lowering their nose to the ground or pointing it out in the air. Demonstrating it briefly by tracking down a hare and releasing it. The fact that she'd found the small meal so quickly and with so little effort made her worry more about Hiro. She forced those thoughts out of her head though by stubbornly telling her mind to shut up and that he was just looking for something large enough to fee all three of them.

Coming out of her head, she looked at Kalgorn again, speaking in a incouraging tone. "You try it. Go on, give it a go and tell me which direction your father's scent is coming from." She added a loving smile for good effect. There was no needing to coax Kalgorn to try it. He'd probably go for it with out being told to. This was just to give him a boost in confidence. As she watched, the brown and white pup that was her son lifted his nose in the air. The black stud at the end of his muzzle twitched a few times, his nares flaring as he sniffed out the scent.

She hadn't expected him to succeed his first try. After all, there were so many scents lingering in any given area varying in age and strengths, it was confusing to know which scent was the one you were looking for if you weren't all that familiar with the scent. However, Kalgorn's features shifted to confusion after a few sniffs. It was only for a second though because the next second he was smiling and pointing a paw to their right. "Dad's that way."

It took Mist by surprise. She knew which direction Hiro was in, having already gotten his scent, but seeing Kalgorn find his scent like a pro his first attempt blew her away. Was this really his first time? Or had Hiro been sneaking in lessons with Kalgorn behind her back? She laughed a little and licked Kalgorn. "Wow, your first time too! Impressive. I'm proud of you Kalgorn."

Kalgorn beamed up at his mother, feeling pride rush through him. But he was surprised too. When he'd sniffed, all he could smell was. . . a confusing mixture of several animals he'd smelled before and several other scents he had never smelled before. He had picked up something that had was a little familiar, but vague. He wasn't even sure if that had been his dad's smell, but he took a guess. It had, pretty much, just been a lucky guess. But he wasn't about to tell his mother that.

"Well, come on Kalgorn. Let's go find your father." With that, the went on. Kalgorn following beside his mother, not a worry in his mind. He was too busy sniffing the ground and the air to think that just maybe, his dad was in trouble or hurt. He'd thought he smelled blood, but after another sniff, he decided it was a dead meal that had already been devoured. Now, Mist on the other paw, knew better. Her ability to smell the air and make out one scent from the other was better than Kalgorn's so, once she picked up the strong smell of blood, she immediatly feared the worst.

"Well, come on Kalgorn. Let's go find your father." With that, the went on. Kalgorn following beside his mother, not a worry in his mind. He was too busy sniffing the ground and the air to think that just maybe, his dad was in trouble or hurt. He'd thought he smelled blood, but after another sniff, he decided it was a dead meal that had already been devoured. Now, Mist on the other paw, knew better. Her ability to smell the air and make out one scent from the other was better than Kalgorn's so, once she picked up the strong smell of blood, she immediatly feared the worst.

Part of her told her that everything was fine. Hiro must have caught something and he was just a bit tired. The other part screamed at her that he was hurt. Possibly even worse, dead. Because of her anxiety, without meaning to, she picked up the pace a bit. Causing Kalgorn to get further behind. When she looked to her side to see Kalgorn and didn't see him, she stopped. Heart racing, she looked around. She was relieved to see he had just fallen behind and was right behind her. "Come along Kalgorn. I'll teach you some more about tracking later."

That was fine with Kalgorn. Gave him more time to try and figure this thing on his own. So, padding along a bit quicker, he followed beside her. Wondering why she had sped up. He was about to ask, but they had to cut through several thick bushes. It would have been easier to go around, Kalgorn mentioned, but his mother just continued, pushing the branches out of the way and allowing him to pass her so that they didn't swing back and slap him in the face.

Once they managed to get through the bushes, he shook the leaves from his body and looked up at his mother. She had a strange look on her face. Her mouth hung open a bit and her eyes wide. "Mom?" He asked, wondering what was wrong with her. He started to follow her gaze and look to whatever it was she was staring at, but she grabbed him and put a paw over his eyes. "Mom! What are you doing" He barked, raising his paws and trying to pry his mothers paw from his eyes. "You don't need to look" he heard his mother speak. Her voice sounded tearful and shaky.
With his vision blocked, he couldn't see anything but the way his mothers voice sounded made him give up his efforts to pull her paw from his face. Instead, he just sat there, listening and waiting for her paw to lift from his eyes.

The sight had come upon her so suddenly and unexpectedly, she couldn't help but get surprised. At first, she wasn't sure what she was seeing. It couldn't be. The figure of a wolf lay motionless and in a bloody puddle. His throat, well, pretty much his entire neck mangled and bloody. It was Hiro's dead body. The sight paralyzed her and she found herself unable to move at all. She couldn't accept what her eyes were seeing. Hiro couldn't be dead! But here he was, motionless, his body torn and abused. There was no other logical conclusion except he was dead. But what had killed him? It was only when Kalgorn finally spoke that she remembered he was there and immediatly, she covered his eyes. He was too young to see something like this. For a few more minutes, she held him next to her and bowed her head. Mourning for their loss. Kalgorn obviously sensed something was wrong because he stopped struggling and sat there without complaint or any other words.

They walked away after those few minutes were up. Mist took care to keep her paw over Kalgorn's eyes until she was sure he couldn't see even if he did try and sneak a glance. "Mom, what about dad? Aren't we going to find him?" He asked, trying to turn his head away so that he could see where he was walking. When he heard his mother reply, just the way she spoke clarified it for him. Something bad must have happened to dad. "Kalgorn. . . we wont find him."

"But what about tracking his scent? Mom, what happened?" his voice demanded an answer. Mist however, didn't know how to tell him this. How was she supposed to explain to him that his dad was never coming home? How could she tell him when he was so young that his dad was dead? She didn't know, but she knew she needed time to think of the best way to put this to him. "I'll tell you when we get home, Kalgorn. Until then, don't ask anymore questions."
She removed her paw from his eyes, allowing him to see again, and nudged him forward. "Come on"

They reached the den that made up their home all too soon for Mist. She was dreading the moment she had to explain this to Kalgorn. He was too young to have to know about something like death. He was too young to not have a father! What had killed Hiro anyway? If she found the one who did this to Hiro. . .

Unknown to her, but if Mist had looked around, she would have seen exactly what had killed Hiro. The fallen bodies of the wolverines Hiro took out before that last one snuck up on him remained where they had fallen.
Taking a deep breath, she pointed to the den, indicating to Kalgorn that he was to wait for her inside. He did as he was told without question, padding into the den and sitting down. Waiting for her to explain to him what had happened to his dad. While he was alone in there, he was left with nothing but questions. What could have his mom have seen to make her give up on searching for dad? What had upset her the way she looked. Once she had taken her paw away from his eyes, he saw tears on her cheeks, which brought up more questions.

Mist stood outside the den, preparing herself for what she was about to have to explain to her innocent son. Gosh this was going to be hard to do. It only made her more angry and upset for what had been done to her mate. However, she couldn't stay out here forever. Kalgorn would get impatient, like he often did, and come out here to question her. So, turning around she filed inside and sat down opposite Kalgorn.
"Mom-" Kalgorn started, but he was cut off by her before he could ask what he'd intended to. Instead, he just had to listen. He got the vibe from the way she looked at him, that he had to wait until she was done explaining to ask questions.

"Look, Kalgorn. . . your father. . . well, he isn't coming home." Gosh, one sentence and her eyes were already beginning to grow moist. The confused look Kalgorn gave her grew fuzzy as tears welled up in her eyes.
"Why? Where is he?" Kalgorn blurted out before he could stop himself. He could sense that something was wrong, but he couldn't figure out what. One minute she had been headed toward his dad, and the next, she was turning away and going back. What could she have seen that she didn't want him to? While he waited for her to continue, he bit his tongue to keep himself from asking anything else. At least for right now.

Mist sighed, trying to decide how to explain this to Kalgorn. "In this world, there's alot of good things to life. But there's also some bad things. You see, every thing that lives eventually dies. Their spirit leaves their bodies behind and the move to a much better place. Your father wont be coming home, because his spirit has left and gone to this better place." She wasn't sure if Kalgorn would understand this much, but it was the best she could do to explain this to him.

Kalgorn did his best to understand what he was hearing. Not all of it was clear, but one thing stuck out to him more than anything. Your father wont be coming home. . . "Does this mean dad's not going to train me to fight?" he asked, looking up at his mother.
Mist was having a hard time not breaking down in tears right about now. She shook her head at Kalgorn and pulled him close to her. "No, he's not Kalgorn."

Kalgorn didn't know exactly what this 'die' meant, but from the connections he was able to make, he understood it meant that he wasn't going to see his dad anymore. He bowed his head, feeling his mother pull him closer to her . "Will I die too?" the thought had just come to him, but even so, he asked it without thinking.
She couldn't answer that question. That was one thing she didn't have the heart to say. It had been hard enough explaining Hiro was dead to Kalgorn. Instead of answering his question, she layed down next to Kalgorn and licked his muzzle.

After three months after Kalgorn was born, Mist had already taught him most of what she could. He was surprisingly quick at learning. After teaching him more on scenting, he was able to track down things extremely fast for someone only three months of age. Because he was doing so well, Mist decided to test him, if he passed it then she agreed to move on to the next step. What she did was nothing too elaborate. She just caught a hare and dragged it's body across the ground, winding around, cutting across the path in a different directions, and several other tricks that she didn't think a hare would be capable of before she finally tucked it beneath a bush.

What Kalgorn had to do was follow the path until he finally located the hare. If he didn't manage to find it, the training in hunting would be post-poned to next week. Now, Kalgorn being the impatient wolf he was, wasn't willing to wait another week to learn how to hunt. So he had a bit of motivation to find that hare. There was no surprise at all when he found it only a few minutes later. So, after a quick lunch, in which Kalgorn ate the hare, Mist gave him his first lesson in hunting.
We already know that Kalgorn learned how to track scents extremely fast, so it shouldn't come as any surprise when he excelled in hunting too. In that first lesson, Mist took him out to a field and told him to track the scent of an animal. Simple and easy. He did so without question and picked up a scent. She then told him the technique of disabling the prey by going for the throat. After a brief explination of this, she told him to track the animal down, and kill it.

The first part, tracking it down, was easy. The second part. . . not so easy. He had located the scent of a small mammal called a beaver. As soon as he found it, the creature ran from him. Obviously it knew he was approaching. What did he do wrong? He turned to his mother for an answer. "You got to approach it from a direction so that the wind doesn't blow your scent toward your pray. Also, you might not like this, but you've got to be patient. Sometimes hunting is about timing and choosing the right moment to strike."

After tracking down another animal, this time another beaver only this one looked a little bigger, he made a mental not not to make any noise at all. Treading lightly, practically crawling with his stomach to the ground, Kalgorn approached the furry creature. He'd already made sure he was downwind of his prey so there wasn't any chance of it smelling him out. The only problem he faced now, was when to strike. He didn't know what he should be waiting for but he watched the beaver move around still.

After a minute of so of seeing nothing, Kalgorn decided to just wing it. He jumped up and ran towards the beaver. Immediatly, the furry animal scampered away and into hiding, At that same time, Mist stepped out of her hiding spot and shook her head. "Kalgorn, you've got to be more patient if you want to ever catch something in your life."

So, the first few lessons didn't go so well. But eventually Kalgorn started to catch on. Whenever he got impatient, he tended to make mistakes. The only way for him to get over this, was to keep his attention focused entirely on the movement of his prey. After about a week, he finally caught something. It wasn't a beaver, but it was a hare he'd gotten all on his own.

After a couple more weeks of practicing this, Kalgorn had it down. He was getting stronger too. He'd taken down things that were nearly twice his size. But, as a wolf, you know he's carnivorous. However, wolves will eat grass to purge their digestive systems when they have eaten something that does not agree with them. They will also eat wild berries and other fruit as a minor part of their diet.

Something Kalgorn had eaten just didn't go down right or something, but he began to experience 'belly aches' and after eating a bit of the grass surrounding him, it did help. He was completely over it by the end of that week. It was also at this time, that he started to learn about plants. His mother told him everything she knew about the subject, but Kalgorn didn't pay attention. He just looked at her, not really seeing her, but still making it seem like he was. The results of his spacing out became apparent as soon as his mother asked him a question about what could a certain plant help cure. "Uh. . . upset stomach?"

He never cared to know about plants. He didn't intend to eat them much in the future. The only time he'd do that again would be if his stomach started hurting again or he was about to die and eating them could save his life. He was grateful that she didn't know much about them either so there wasn't much about them that she could teach him. Not that he was even paying attention.

At three and a half months of age, Kalgorn had grown quite a bit since he'd last seen his father. He stood several inches taller and he weighed several more pounds. He'd reached the Juvenile Period in his development. At this time, he was growing at a much quicker rate, gaining about a pound and a half each week. He'd continue to grow at this rate for the next three months. By that time, he'll be nearly just as tall, if not taller, than his mother.

The next three months came, and then went so fast it seemed like he was going to sleep one night, only being a few months old, and when he woke up, he was already half a year old. Being a male wolf, he had grown to the same size as his mother now. Yet, he still hadn't changed that much. His tracking and hunting skills had only grown more honed over the time. He no longer fed entirely off small mammals he managed to catch or his mother caught. They both tracked down a descent sized prey, usually elk and occasionally caribou, and took it down. Kalgorn would sink his fangs into the struggling animals throat, then its body would become motionless.

There was just one thing odd about Kalgorn. He was perfectly normal and strong, but the only other wolf he'd ever known, was his mother. For a brief month, he'd known his dad, but after that incident, it was just him and Mist. It was nice because it gave Mist more time to train Kalgorn. She knew he had everything she could teach him down, but he still had trouble with one small issue of his he had trouble getting over. His impatience was his downfall almost everytime he tried to go after prey. He got it right every now and then, but he'd get too confident and slip up. Going after the animal too soon or attacking it even after it started to run from him.

"Kalgorn, when are you going to learn that you have to be patient?" Mist sighed, sitting down near a frustrated Kalgorn. He didn't reply to her question. He just dragged a claw across the ground, growling. He'd just messed up again for the third time in a row. There was nothing wrong with his technique in taking out the prey or taking it down, he just had a problem in the area of waiting for the right time to go for it. "I'll try and explain something to you" Mist started, turning to her son. "This kind of thing, it can't really be taught. All I can tell you, is that this is instinct. You have to wait until you feel something inside you to tell you when it's the right time."

These words brought a sigh out of Kalgorn. He shook his head. Letting himself fall down onto his haunches. Mist noticed this and decided on something. "Come on, we'll try one more time then I guess we're done for today." But Kalgorn just shook his head. "No, i tired right now. Maybe later." He didn't sound tired. It looked to Mist more like he was just frustrated and, well, low on confidence. He got up and walked off in the direction of their home, his head held low to the ground.

Mist sighed, watching his brown and white figure walk off. She couldn't blame him for getting low on confidence, he'd failed at catching a prey three tries in a row. That one small thing was throwing him off big time. Staring out in the direction Kalgorn had set out in, she contemplated for a way to help him get over this issue. This was one good thing about him not having any siblings. There was no one there to tease him. But, then again, there was no one there to incourage him.

At the end of that month, while Kalgorn was still trying to get over his impatience when hunting, Mist noticed something she had overlooked awhile back. While she had been busy getting Kalgorn ready to survive on his own, humans had approached. They probably hadn't noticed them or even knew they were they yet, but as soon as she picked up their scent, she knew they were close by. It was time for her and Kalgorn to move.

"Kalgorn" Mist called, trotting up to him. He had been laying on his stomach, staring absently into water of the river that ran through near their den. "Look, we got to go." Her words got Kalgorn's curiosity and he sat up, turning to face her. "What do you mean? What's going on?"
"Humans. I can smell them nearby. We've got to go before they spot us." her voice sounded urgent. At the mention of humans, Kalgorn stood up on all fours and, without another word, followed behind her as she ran off.

They ceased their running only at nightfall. They had both traveled at a fast run, eager to get away from the threatening presence of humans. As brave as she was, humans was one thing she was afraid of. She knew once the human picked up their trail, they usually would follow it and take out the wolf for food. Right now, with Kalgorn only seven months old, she didn't plan on leaving him. While she was sure he would be able to take care of himself and survive, he still needed to learn how to fight another wolf.

When they had finally come to a stop, both she and Kalgorn were tired. Having run most of the day, it was no surprise. Neither of them could tell for sure just how far they had run, but it didn't matter. As long as the humans were tailing them. Both of them just layed down underneath a tree, curled up, and slept the rest of the night away. The immediate danger was gone so they both decided they could do with some rest.

Over the next few months Kalgorn and Mist seemed to be plagued with near-encounters with humans. Wherever they ran, within a few days they were already able to pick up the scent of more humans. Over this time, Kalgorn managed get over his little issue for the most part. It wasn't constant any longer, but every now and then, he was unfortunate enough to go for it and his prey would either resort to it's own means of defense, or run. Like last month, when he'd foolishly tried to kill that porcupine. He didn't know if it was either the animal shot the spikes out of his back, or it just slapped him with its tail, but he did know that while the creature made it's get away, he held his muzzle in his paws whimpering. Several, two or three, of it's quails lodged deep inside his muzzle.

Thanks to the help of his mom, she bit down on the ends of them and plucked them out of his muzzle. Each time one came out, he yelped. Whimpering while he dreaded the pain the next one coming out would bring. It was a relief when all three had been removed. He had three holes in his muzzle, but they'd eventually close up. Kalgorn was now ten months old. The weather had steadily gotten colder and colder as that entered the coldest part of winter. The white substance known as snow covered the ground in thick sheets, temperatures dropped well below what Kalgorn was used to. His coat kept most of his body warmth in and his 'undercoat' helped keep out most of the water from the snow. But still, it was freezing. And since they'd been running from the ever-approaching humans, they hadn't managed to locate a proper den.

Instead, Mist showed him a way to keep warm in the cold, even without a den. He watched her dig a hole big enough for her to curl up in, then she explained to him that this would help insulate their body warmth inside the space they curled up in. Shrugging, Kalgorn gave it a try. Digging away at the snow until he'd created a hole just about his size and layed down inside it. It wasn't exactly the most comfortable he'd ever been, but at least it helped him stay warm.

The last two months passed by in a haze. He and his mother pretty much stayed close to each other. They pretty much just had each other right now. Their situation hadn't changed all that much since spring had come about. It was warmer, so they didn't have to worry about trying to keep warm. But they still seemed to be chased by humans where ever they went. They hadn't been physically spotted yet, but it was deffinatly odd how the scent kept finding its way back to their noses. Kalgorn, by now, had seen the look upon his mothers face several times when that scent reached her again. She always froze, like she had been paralyzed with terror, then she'd take off running, nudging him forward or calling for him to follow. He already knew humans were dangerous and a run in with one could more than likely result in death, but it didn't matter how many times they ran from the scent, it always followed them.

At the end of Kalgorn's twelfth month, in which he was now one(and had reached sexual maturity), he had reached his full size. Mist decided that they had to get help. They couldn't waste away the rest of their lives running from humans. "Tomorrow, Kalgorn, we set out for The Lylrite Pack territory. Maybe they will be able to help up out with our situation here."

Kalgorn nodded his head in agreement, sitting down. After all the running he and Mist had been doing for the last few months, Kalgorn's muscles, particularly in the legs and chest, had developed rather well.

They had only just stopped running to rest for awhile, but Kalgorn was already having this insatiable thirst. His mouth had gone dry, but he hadn't said anything about it until now. "Mom, look, im going to go find some water. Want to come with me?" the offer looked wanted. Liked she had wanted to drink as well, but hadn't wanted to bring it up unless he was thirsty too. "Yea, sure. Come on, im feel like I could drink a lake."
Kalgorn chuckled at her comment agreeing completely with her. "Same here mom. Same here." He lead the way, listening intently for the sound of water. His tongue hanging out as he breathed in and out heavily. For awhile, it was pretty much quiet. Things actually seemed. . . relaxing; peaceful.

But just as soon as the calmness had come, it left. As soon as they managed to find a river, Kalgorn spotted something at the bank of the river. It was a human, he appeared to be drinking from the river, but he couldn't tell from this angle. His mother, who hadn't noticed the human, started to approach the river. She might have been spotted had Kalgorn not pulled her back and pointed a paw towards the human.
She backed up further, hiding herself as best she could. Kalgorn however, kept low and out of sight, but still made sure he could watch this creature. He wanted to see what made them so threatening to them. He felt his mother tug on his tail urging him to come with her. He swallowed, pulling his tail out of his mothers teeth while watching this human.

As he watched, the human rose to his feet. Apparently done with his drink or whatever task he was doing at the river. The first thing he noticed about the human, was that he looked to be dressed in various animal hides. Then, his eyes fell upon the spear in his hand. His eyes widened as the fell upon it's sharp point. Again, he felt the tug of his mother on his tail, and this time he started to back up. Moving slowly, not wanting to make any noise or move to suddenly and allow this human to spot him and his mother. His heart raced in his chest at what felt like a million beats a second from the fear he felt. Now he knew why his mother had been so afraid of them.

He hardly drew a single breath the whole time he backed away. He didn't know how keen this creatures senses were, but he didn't seem to have noticed them yet. He didn't take his eyes of the human until he was out of sight either. Not looking back to see how his mother was doing, not looking anywhere else but the hand that held that spear. He could feel her behind him, still pulling on his tail. Obviously she just wanted to get out of there as fast as possible. It was almost ironic. He, Kalgorn, had always been the impatient one and Mist had continually told him the importance of patience. Well, it seemed the table had turned. "Mom" he whispered in a hushed tone to her. He was trying to get her to stop whimpering, fearing it would give them away. She must have gotten the message because she stopped as soon as he spoke.

It took them a while, but after several minutes of slow backing up, they got far enough away from the human to run. As soon as they started running, they sprinted as fast as they could run for as long as they could keep it up. Traveling several miles before stopping to catch their breath. Kalgorn's sides were on fire and it was almost painful to draw breath. Mist wasn't much better off. She sat, breathing in short quick hitches. Their thirst all but forgotten, but neither of them wanted to take the risk of seeking water with humans everywhere. Instead, they wandered around cautiously, searching for a safe place to rest.

They didn't find a 'den' exactly, but they did manage to find somewhere they could rest knowing they were safe. At some point, a tree had either been chopped down or just fell over. The tree fell almost entirely to the ground, however, he didn't quite make it to the ground. Because of how tall it was, it got stuck in the branches to the other trees nearby and rested at an angle. It was just low enough for the branches on it to be slightly above the ground and allow them room to curl up in and sleep under. Even if a hunter came by while they were under there, they would never guess two wolves slept underneath the tree. The leaves on it prevented anything from seeing in, but they were on the inside so they were able to see a little between the leave. Kind of like tinted windows.

After finding some place that was so safe to them, Kalgorn and Mist managed to get alot or rest. They hadn't been disturbed at all except for once where they heard footsteps. Both of them woke up at almost the same time. But neither of them moved a muscle. They were afraid to even move their ears to hear what the human was saying better. He stayed in place there for about a minute before he walked away. Leaving both Mist and Kalgorn with a feeling of relief.

After looking at each other to reassure themselves that each other was still there, they went back to sleep. Now that they were well rested, they set out again. Because Mist knew which direction The Lylrite Pack terra was, she lead the way. Kalgorn just made sure he kept up with her and stayed at her side. There was no telling how far they were from The Lylrite Pack's territory, and there was no telling how close they were either. They were pretty much just doing their best to survive and reach the only safe place they could think of.

It was scary, really. Not knowing if they were going to run into a human every time they seeked water. They worked together when it came to hunting food, but it was still dangerous. They had no idea where the human had come from either. For now, all they could do was run. But, even that turned out to not be enough for Kalgorn and Mist.
Around mid day they had stopped drink from a river they were passing. They knew if they waited they'd be dead thirst and possibly not come across another water source for awhile. It was pretty much just thinking ahead really. While they were drinking their fill, two humans spotted them. They were dressed similarly to the way the human Kalgorn had previously seen and both of them carried a spear. Once they'd spotted Mist and Kalgorn, they decided they would be a good meal. Two wolves, two hunters. While neither of them would be able to finish off an entire wolf on their own, at least they'd be able to feast like royalty with this catch.

So, looking forward to a healthy meal, the humans silently and stealth fully approached the wolves from behind. As you would guess, they were downwind of Kalgorn and Mist so the two wolves were unable to smell out the hunters until it was too late.

Kalgorn drank a bit more than his mom did but that was because he had drank less the last time they came across water. Now however, his thirst had caught up with him and he found himself drinking more than he'd intended too. He'd only just finished his drink when it happened. He pulled his muzzle away from the river and gave his mother a smile, about to gesture for them to continue when, out of nowhere, two humans jumped out at them, brandishing their spears. Jabbing it's sharp tip at them threateningly. Both Kalgorn and Mist shrank back in fear at first. But once it set in that these humans intended to kill them, their survival instincts kicked in. Kalgorn and Mist both growled at the two humans in unison, baring their fangs. Gnawing at the sticks that were being thrust at them, determined to take the point off them and eliminate it's threat to them.

While they both managed to render their spears useless, getting away from them was another story. You would think that running would be the easiest part for them, what with how much of that they'd been doing lately, but ironically, it turned out to be the hardest part for them. As soon as they ran off, the humans abandoned their sticks and started hurtling stones at them. The collisions of the small pieces of earth against their bodies stung and no undoubtedly would be sore later, but it did nothing to stop them.

The level of noise generated by this fight attracted an amazing amount of humans. Both Kalgorn and Mist were beginning to panic. They ran on, sprinting faster and faster until they reached a twenty-five mile an hour sprint, driving themselves to go faster so that they would get away and live. But there were too many of them. They wound around, often stopping and turning around in another direction to run to make their escape. Desperately trying to get away from the humans. Several of them had spears and they too were jabbing them at their sides whenever they came close to getting away. From what Kalgorn could see, he counted at least eight of these humans. Six of which had spears and every one of them surrounding him and Mist.

He felt like having a heart attack right then. Who knew what these creatures planned on doing to them if they caught them. He didn't want to think about it, but he did know those spears looked painful. He did his best to avoid them, but there were so many coming at him in different directions it was hard to not get hit by all of them. After getting jabbed, rather hard, in the shoulder with one, Kalgorn yelped with pain. The sudden rush of adrenaline made his seize the stick in his jaws and jerk it forcefully out of the humans hands. While he was unarmed, Kalgorn ran at him growling and showing his teeth.

His plan worked. With the human having nothing to defend himself with, he immediately ran clear of him. It gave him a very brief window of opportunity to escape. It was brief enough for him to get through, but he couldn't be sure about his mother. As soon as he got out of the surrounding humans, one or two of them launched their spears through the air towards him. Both came very close to hitting their target, but they missed, thankfully.

Not wanting to get killed by these things these humans were throwing at him, he ran away. His fear preventing him from thinking too straight. However, after nearly a minute of his sprinting, he realized something. Looking back, preying he was wrong, he saw that he'd left his mother behind. "No!" he mentally screamed. But what he saw, was not what he'd expected. The humans weren't still jabbing their spears at a wolf. It looked like maybe she'd gotten away too. But he couldn't be sure. "Mom?" he said, more to himself than anyone else. He didn't hang around for them to spot him attack again though.

Without knowing what had happened to the only wolf he knew, Kalgorn ran. He planned on running away from the area then circling around to go find his mother. However, things didn't quite work out that way for Kalgorn.

The End