The full moon glowed silver on the snow-covered ground, stars shining brightly in the night sky. A small pack of coyotes fought over a deer carcass, chasing away the ravens that gathered around them. A couple of elk staggered by through the snow, keeping a wary eye on the coyotes. All of a sudden a flash of brown darted out of the trees, stopping briefly to growl and snap at a coyote before continuing its pursuit of the elk.
The elks' heads shot up, scattering when they saw the form of a young brown-furred wolf racing towards them. They bounded away, their legs crashing through the snow and being weighed down by their heavy bodies. One of the elk stumbled on a patch of ice and crashed to the ground, struggling to stand. This gave the young wolf the opening she had been looking for, lunging forward and sinking her sharp fangs into its belly. A large black-furred wolf appeared out of nowhere, powerful jaws clamping down on the elk's throat and shattering its neck.
"Iroh, I thought that you would never catch up. You sure are getting lazy," the brown-furred female barked, sky blue eyes glaring playfully at the black-furred male.
"Ah Korra, my beloved sister. I'm not lazy, you are just impatient. I'm surprised that you haven't driven grandma crazy yet. The only ones who seem to be able to handle you great-grandma and great-grandpa, and they aren't young wolves anymore!" Iroh barked, causing Korra to pin her ears and growl at him. He rolled his golden eyes and picked up the carcass in his jaws, dragging it back to where the pack was resting. Korra let out a huff and trotted after her brother, ears flicking around as she thought she had heard something while she was chasing the elk.
Korra is 2 years old, standing 25 inches at the shoulder, She has dark brown fur and sky blue eyes, looking a lot like her great-grandmother Katara. She is stubborn and hard-headed yet extremely loyal and over protective, especially with her great-grandparents. She is Tonraq and Senna's daughter and Iroh's littermate.
Iroh is 2 years old, standing 27 inches at the shoulder. He has jet black fur and gold eyes. His temperment is so much like his great-great uncle's that his mother decided to give him that name, in memory of the wise old gray wolf that her mother and grand-parents would tell her stories about as a small-pup. He is Korra's littermate.
The siblings trotted through the woods, dragging the elk carcass along. They reached the winter den site an hour later, dropping their kill and backing away. Sokka, now 10 winters, limped over with his tail wagging. He had been injured two years before, having been kicked in the right hip during a hunt by the elk he had been chasing. His leg and hip had been fractured, causing much pain. Even though it had healed severe arthritis had settled in, causing the old wolf to become permanently lame and unable to join in the pack hunts.
Korra glanced around, sky blue eyes landing on her great-grandparents who were napping under the light of the moon. She wagged her tail and loped over, pouncing on them and pulling on the huge black wolf's ear. Zuko groaned and flopped on his side, rolling the energetic young wolf off him and placing a large paw on her back to try and keep her still. Korra struggled under the 10 year old's weight, tail thumping the snow and whining impatiently. Katara, who had been lying next to her mate, barked a laugh and nipped the young female.
"You seem real excited tonight. I guess your hunt was succesful?" Zuko asked, letting out a yawn and standing to stretch.
"Yeah! I practically took the elk down myself! Of course Iroh was late showing up, as usual," Korra barked, rolling to her stomach and tilting her head.
"That pup is just like Uncle was. That old wolf was real lazy but was a good hunter and teacher. Well then, why dont we go get our share of the kill before my brother eats it all," the elder brown-furred Alpha laughed, nudging her great-granddaughter and loping over to the kill. Zuko pulled his lips back in a grin and followed his mate, Korra not far behind.
Tonraq, who was talking with Arashi, glanced around to see his energetic daughter race over and crash into her brother. Arashi, now 6 summers, watched the squabbling 2 year olds and let out an amused huff. He watched as his beautiful white-furred mate and their brown-furred daughter raced over to try and break up the fight, only making it more intense. Azula, the Alpha's younger sister, jumped into the fray with a snarl and her tail wagging excitedly. At almost 8 summers, the small black-furred female didnt bother to disperse, not wanting to be away from her brother and the pack.
The previous spring, however, Azula had accidently been separated from the pack. They had been making their annual trip to the Spring Den, the place where each pup in the pack had been whelped. She had decided to explore for a bit, forgetting to let her older brother know. By the time she had made her way back, the pack had already left. While she searched Azula had caught the interest of a rouge male, a large red wolf who was notorius from slipping into the territories and courting the females of each pack. The black-furred female had no knowledge of this as her brother and his mate were quick to chase the interloper away long before he could get close to any of the females, many of them being the Alpha's daughters.
Azula had immediately fallen for the rouge, who showered her with affection and changing his Casanova ways. This had gone on for just over a moon, making the small female forget that she had been searching for her pack. Unfortunately their courtship had ended tragically. The red-furred male had been returning from a succesful hunt when a gun shot rang in the air, causing the huge male to stumble and slam to the ground. Blood poured from a bullet wound to the chest, the result of a hunter's rifle. With his remaining strength the former Casanova howled, pleading for Azula to flee.
And so she ran, with ears pinned back and tears in her eyes, never to see her love again. Azula found her brother's pack a week after her companion had been killed, her belly now heavy with his pups. The pack had greeted her with much excitement, having been extremely worried about her. Zuko had scolded her for disappearing while the ever motherly Katara comforted her when the small female told her what had occured. Her depression vanished when she laid eyes on her newborn pups, the memory of what she and their father had shared and promising him that she would protect and raise their pups well.
A deep howl caused the squabbling youngsters to freeze and turn around, pinning their ears and tucking their tails as they saw the huge black-furred Alpha trot over with his golden eyes narrowed. Zuko toward over his sister and the 2-year-olds, lowering his muzzle and biting their ears in a warning. All three yelped and frantically licked his chin in apology, whining like small-pups. Zuko reared up and shoved them to the ground before trotting away with his lips pulled back in a smirk.
"Wow. He must be losing his touch. I really think the Old Man should retire from being Alpha and relax. He isn't getting any younger," a voice barked, causing the three wolves to look up at a black-furred female with silvery eyes and her lips pulled back in a grin.
"My dear Toph. Why would you say such a thing about the one who raised you?" Zuko howled, racing over and pinning the young female to the ground causing her to growl in embarassment. Aang raced over and slammed into the old male, barking excitedly.
The two wolves that Zuko and Katara had raised so long ago were now full grown with a small pack of their own, consisting of their pups from their first three litters. They would visit the pack every couple moons, wanting to catch up and play with them. Korra staggered to her paws, stretching and shaking the snow off her brown fur. She trotted away from the others, wanting to patrol and hunt. Katara watched as the young wolf left the clearing, sky blue eyes shining as she shook her head and let out an amused huff.
Meanwhile near the middle of Pack Territory:
A pair of coyotes tore into the carcass of a fallen deer, growling and snapping at the ravens who antagonized them. Suddenly a small figure, looking much like a puppy, raced over and surprised the coyotes who yelped and raced away. The pup yipped with his curled tail wagging excitedly, only to trip over the deer leg and slam into the snow with a yelp. The pup staggered to his paws way to big for his body, shaking the snow off his puppy fur. The crunching of paws on snow grew close, casuing the pup to whine when he saw a large wolf trot by and slow to a stop.
"What is a small-pup like you doing out here alone? Its dangerous," Korra asked, lower her muzzle to touch noses with the pup.
"I'm not alone! My big brother and sister are napping nearby and I wanted to explore! Saw some strange looking grey dogs eating this animal and thought it would be fun to scare them," the puppy yipped, green eyes shining even though he was shivering from the cold. Korra pulled her lips back in a frown and flopped onto her side, pulling the puppy towards her with a large paw. The brown and white pup licked her muzzle and curled up in a ball, burying his little muzzle into her thick belly fur and falling asleep. Korra wrapped her body around the pup, muzzle placed on her tail.
"BOLIN! WHERE ARE YOU?!" a deep voice barked loudly, causing Korra to lift her head and search with sky blue eyes.
"Mako, don't worry. He couldn't have gone too far," a female voice replied.
"We aren't living behind a fence anymore. Or have you already forgotten that, Asami? There are animals out here who wouldn't think twice about killing a pup," the first voice, a male, snarled.
Korra watched as two wolf-like animals trotted out of the trees, a large black and white-furred male snarling angrily at the smaller tan and silver-furred female beside him. Korra opened her powerful jaws in a yawn, flicking an ear. She lowered her muzzle and nudged the puppy who let out a whimper, immediately catching the attention of the arguing pair. The large male's head shot up and he raced over, ignoring the female's worried barks.
"I heard you say that you were searching for someone? I think this little thing belongs to you," Korra said, standing and picking the pup up by his scruff before placing him in front of the large male. The dog studied her with bright golden eyes, making her heart skip a beat. He then lowered his muzzle and licked the pup.
"Bolin! Don't you ever do that again," the dog growled, gently scolding the pup.
"Mako, Asami. I'm sorry. I was just bored and wanted to check things out," the pup, now known as Bolin whined, pinning his ears and lowering his curled tail. Asami raced over and licked him before lifted her head to stare at Korra, who had walked over to tear into the deer.
Mako is a 3 year old Alaskan Malamute/German Shepherd, standing 30 inches at the shoulder. He is built like a German Shepherd, tall and lean. His fur is black with a white chest that stretched to mid belly and white socks, with gold eyes. He is very loyal, protective and can be stubborn at times. His is littermate to Asami and older brother to Bolin
Asami is a 3 year old Alaskan Malamute/German Shepherd, standing 23 inches at the shoulder. Like Mako, she is built like a German Shepherd. She has long wavy fur with a tan body, silver saddle marking on her back and a silver mask on her face, her eyes a green color. She is kind, caring, and loyal. She is Mako's littermate and older sister to Bolin.
Bolin is a 2 month old Alaskan Malamute/German Shepherd. He is brown with white socks and a white collar marking on his neck, his eyes a bright green. He is built like an Alaskan Malamute. He has one ear that is flopped, like a newborn pup, and the other is half-pricked. He is extremely energetic, friendly and playful. He is Mako and Asami's younger brother.
Mako let out a huff, watching as his brother bounced around and jumped on the wolf. Asami whined with worry not sure if it was safe for the pup to do that to a wolf, especially one who was eating. They had seen wolves before, having had to chase them away from the livestock that their humans took care of. Those wolves had been aggressive and stubborn, constantly attacking and killing the livestock. Mako had once seen a wolf attack and kill the neighboring farm's dog, tearing it to shreds before killing its pups. Asami had been with him at the time, having become extremely fearful of wolves ever since.
However the brown-furred female wolf before him seemed different, nothing like the wolves he had encountered before. She had a certain presence about her, making Mako feel as if he could completely trust her. He watched as she tore a piece of meat from the deer and placed it in front of Bolin, sitting and watching as the underweight pup tore into it hungrily. Asami sat beside Mako, tilting her head in confusion. They watched as Korra licked the blood off Bolin's face and nibbled his fur. Bolin yipped and slapped his paws in the snow in a play-bow, jumping up and biting her legs. Korra pulled her lips back in a smile and raced away, stopping and whiping around to wait for Bolin.
All of a sudden a chorus of howls echoed through the trees, causing Asami to whimper and Bolin to yelp and race to hide under Korra's belly. Mako pinned his ears and pulled his lips back in a growl, tail waving back and for in agitation. Korra lowered her muzzle to nudge Bolin before looking into the woods, her ears pricked forward and tail wagging. The siblings watched as she pranced around, throwing her head back and letting a melodius howl escape her chest. Mako pricked his ears at her howl, tail starting to wag.
"I guess I was away too long and they got worried. I might as well head back before the Old Man sends someone to find me. Would you like to come with me? Its too dangerous for you to be alone, especially if you were born wild," Korra barked, studying them with sky blue eyes.
"I guess we can do that. Would it be ok though? Won't your pack chase us away?" Mako asked, watching Korra with bright golden eyes.
"Yeah! It will be fine! The pack is used to it. The pack is lucky to have since kind Alphas leading them. My grandfather, who was raised by humans, would have been killed if he had wandered into a territory that didn't belong to my pack," Korra replied, trotting away with her new companions behind her.
"You don't remind me of the wolves I have seen before. You aren't aggressive and you carry yourself as if you were the leader. But you aren't. Why is that?" Asami asked, keeping a close eye on Bolin.
"Oh. I completely forgot that I hadn't introduced myself. My name is Korra. I am the great-grand daughter of Zuko and Katara, the Leaders of the pack," Korra barked, head held high and tail waving like a banner. Three pairs of eyes, gold and green, widened as they stared at the wolf before them.
Korra and her new companions loped through the woods, Bolin being carried by the scruff in Mako's jaws. Mako loped at Korra's side, Asami on his hocks. After an hour they came to the tree-line of the pack's den, slowing to a trot. Korra raced into the clearing, barking happily and licking her parents' muzzles. She looked over her shoulder and pulled her lips back in a grin, watching as Mako walked over with ears back and heads lowered. Asami raced into the clearing behind her brother, skidding to a halt and accidently slamming into Iroh. They both crashed to the ground, Asami sprawled on top of the large black-furred wolf.
Having seen what happened, the entire pack started laughing, causing the dazed black-furred wolf to whine in embarassment. Asami jumped to her paws, apologizing frantically to Iroh as he groaned and stood. Iroh shook his head and licked her muzzle, letting her know that she didn't have to apologize. Mako lowered his muzzle to the gently put Bolin on the ground, watching as the pup raced over to jump on Korra. Senna and Shiro tilted their heads, studying the newcomers. Korra pulled her lips back in a grin and loped over to her great-grandparents, rearing up and placing her paws on the old black wolf's back. Mako pinned his ears and lowered his head when he saw the old male look at him with deep golden eyes and trot over.
Zuko towered over Mako, who flinched and lowered himself to the ground. Mako cautiously gazed up at the huge wolf, taking in the shiny black fur and the white muzzle that showed his age. It was as if the young dog was looking at his future self, at what he wanted to become. Zuko studied the young male, seeing his younger self in the dog. The crunch of paws on snow made the older male turn to see his beloved Katara trot over, their beautiful great-granddaughter at her side. Mako's eyes widened when they landed on the brown-furred Alpha female, who Korra looked identical to.
"Korra told us that you don't have a home. It must be hard for you, especially when you have to take care of a small-pup. You can stay with the pack, if you like. It will be safer and you won't have to worry about your little brother wandering too far and getting hurt," Katara said softly, pressing into her mate's thick-furred shoulder and smiling at the Alaskan Malamute/German Shepherd.
"Are you sure? It won't cause any problems with your pack? You do realize that I'm not a wolf like you," Mako asked, standing slowly but keeping his head down submissively.
"Boy, we never turn away someone who needs a home. It has been that way since I myself joined this pack many springs ago. I was able to find a mate and a place to call home. Maybe you can do the same," Zuko said, taking Mako's muzzle in his jaws and releasing it. Korra wagged her excitedly and pounced on Mako, licking his muzzle and placing her head on his back.
Zuko and Katara laughed and loped away, leaving the two youngsters. Azula chased Toph and Aang around the clearing, trying to catch them. Arashi wrestled with Shiro, yelping when she pushed him into the snow and sat on him. Tonraq and Senna watched as their normally lazy son played with the tan and silver-furred Asami, rolling on his back and struggling as Asami playfully put her jaws on his throat. Bolin raced around, yipping and pulling on the tails of the older wolves. As always Sokka once again became a puppy playground, this time for Bolin, yelping and complaining about 'being too old to be a puppy chew-toy. someone make him stop!'
"So, Farm Boy. What do you think?" Korra asked, grabbing Mako by the scruff and rolling him onto his back. She stood over him, her front legs placed on either side of his head.
"It's different from what I know. I have always seen wolves to be ruthless killers. But, now I see that I was wrong. I'm glad that Bolin was found by you. Thank you, Korra. I will stay by your side, no matter what," Mako growled, rolling onto his belly and crawling out from under Korra.
"There are wolves like that, but their territories are nowhere near here. Don't worry Farm Boy. You are Pack now and we watch out for each other. Stay long enough and you will see a litter or two whelped in a couple moons. That means playmates for Bolin and getting your ears and tail tugged," Korra said, pulling her lips back in a grin with sky blue eyes shining mischeviously. Mako gazed at the beautiful wolf beside him, golden eyes going soft as he admired her.
After awhile the pack flopped down in the snow to sleep, regaining the energy they used while playing and hunting. Sokka lay on his side with his legs propped on Azula's back, with the black-furred female's year old son on the old wolf's other side and Sokka's year old daughter next to the young male. Suki, Sokka's beloved mate, had passed away last spring. She had complications while whelping their final litter, killing her and the pups in the process. The normally goofy wolf became inconsolable, grieving for his mate. A severe scolding from Katara snapped him out of it, reminding him that he still had a piece of Suki at his side. One pup had survived, a little female. Azula, having whelped her own litter a day before, adopted the pup and let her nurse with her own litter. This benefitted both of them. Azula's pups would have a father-figure, as her mate had been killed. Sokka's daughter would have a mother, as her own had passed away giving birth to her.
Aang curled around Toph, placing his head on her back. Tonraq was sprawled on his side, his head on Senna's hind-quarter. Arashi and Shiro lay next to them, Arashi's head on Shiro's white paws. Zuko and Katara trotted through the pack, marking the bushes and trees. They wandered back, making sure the others where comfortable. They stopped and stared at Iroh, who had somehow managed to fall asleep with the tan and silver-furred female sprawled out on his back. Katara pulled her still brown lips back in a soft smile before trotting away.
Zuko followed his beloved, stopping to study his adorable great-granddaughter. Mako was curled around her with his head placed on her back protectively, nuzzling her thick-furred shoulder. Bolin had somehow wedged himself under Korra's curled legs, burying himself into her thick soft belly fur. Zuko lowered his muzzle and licked between Korra's ears before trotting over to his mate.
"My Dearest, you are such a softy. No wolf would ever let interlopers stay. I'm proud of you. I might just reward you in the spring," Katara growled seductively, nibbling her strong mate's chin.
"My sweet Katara, I did learn from the best. You have the biggest heart and are so loving and beautiful. Be careful with your rewards though, you might just be pupped long before Spring," Zuko growled, golden eyes shining mischeviously. He pressed against her, placing a large paw on her back and putting his head on top of hers. Katara laughed softly before lying down, pressing herself into her mate's large powerful build and falling asleep. Zuko opened his jaws in a yawn and buried his white muzzle onto her shoulder, following his beloved into a peaceful sleep.
The pack slept peacefully. The Fate of two having been decided that night.