The fall sun shined brightly in the sky, its rays extending down to the lake below. A herd of elk grazed while keeping a watchful eye on their calves, who raced around in a game of chase. A grey fox was sprawled on its side in the grass, sunning itself. All of a sudden the sounds of snarling and snapping were heard, followed by a painful yelp.
A group of four wolves had surrounded a fifth, who coward before them with his tail tucked to his belly. The golden-furred male whined, flinching when one of the other wolves moved. One of the group lunged forward and sank their fangs into his neck and tossed the golden wolf over their shoulder, a loud crash and a high-pitched yelp escaped the wolf's chest. The group pulled their lips back, smirking.
"Hey Armin, where is that brother of yours? Probably ditched you by now. Its about time he got rid of such a weak wolf," one of the attackers, a large white-furred male, said.
"Hey boss, we should finish this before He comes," a second wolf, with tan fur, said.
"Let Eren come. I'm not afraid of that Cur," the white wolf laughed. A deep gutteral snarl was heard causing the four interlopers to turn and see an enormous brown-furred male racing over, hackles raised and fangs bared. Armin, whimpering in pain, raised his head to see his over-protective brother approach. His attackers laughed, on of them bitting the golden-furred male's shoulder.
"Oh Crap! Mikasa is with him! Let's get out of here!" a small dark grey male yelped making his companions freeze and look quickly, eyes widening fearfully. Not far behind the huge brown-furred male was the only one the small group was truly afraid of, a smaller black-furred female who was much stronger and more aggressive than any wolf.
The huge brown-furred male lunged, slamming into the white-furred wolf and sending him flying. The dark grey wolf growled and sank his fangs into Eren's neck, the white wolf racing back and tearing into Eren's hindquarter. Eren snarled, rearing up on his hind legs and tossing his attackers to the ground. The two downed wolves yelped and raced after their companions, who the smaller female had mutilated and chased away. Mikasa growled a final warning before trotting back to her companions, pinning her ears and whining when she saw the blood dripping off Eren's fur. She approached the huge wolf, nuzzling his side and licking his wounds clean. Eren let out a huff before turning to look at the golden-furred male, who slowly sat up and licked his muzzle.
"You ok, Armin? Sorry we didn't make it here sooner. Mikasa thought she scented something nearby and wanted to make sure noone was there," Eren said, tail wagging.
"Yeah, I'm fine. They just caught me off guard while I was napping. But… Mikasa! You don't have to worry about me! Im fine!," Armin yelped in embarassment as the female walked over and licked his wounds in a motherly way.
"Hush Armin. Just let me do my job. If we don't clean the wounds they will get infected," Mikasa growled, nipping him before continuing to clean the blood from his fur. Armin pinned his ears and sighed, knowing that he wouldn't win in an argument against Mikasa.
Eren is a 2 year old male, standing 32 inches at the shoulder and weighing in at 135 pounds. He has dark brown fur and green eyes. He tends to have a short temper, usually triggered if he is really annoyed or when his companions are being targetted. He is also quite stubborn and territorial. He is extremely loyal and very protective of Armin and Mikasa, who he is extremely affectionate with. He secretly loves Mikasa ever since he saved her when they were small-pups and hopes that she will be his mate. He is Armin's littermate.
Armin is a 2 year old male, standing 28 inches at the shoulder and weighing 90 pounds. He has gold fur and blue eyes. He is shy and quite skittish, making him a target for other wolves to attack. He is also loyal and extremely intelligent, always thinking of strategies that usually results in a successful hunt or to get out of dangerous situations. He is Eren's littermate.
Mikasa is a 2 year old female Timber Wolf/German Shepherd hybrid, standing 28 inches at the shoulder and weighing 80 pounds. She has jet black fur with a red-furred collar and dark gray eyes. She is stubborn, territorial and motherly. She is extremely loyal to and over-protective of Eren, who saved her from a pack of coyotes when she was 2 moons old. Ever since then Mikasa has been practically glued to Eren's side, never straying far and panicking hystreically whenever he left her sight. She loves Eren deeply and completely ignores the advances of interested males, who unbeknownst to her were being torn apart by her savior.
Mikasa's parents were once pets, living of a huge cattle farm. Her father, a kind German Shepherd with tan fur and a black face, would help herd the cattle to the different pastures. Her mother, a dark grey Timber Wolf, was found abandoned in the field at only 2 days old and was raised and cared for by the cattle ranchers. Once meeting her parents became inseperable and had two litters of pups, Mikasa being from the second litter when her parents were 2 springs old. Unfortunately the humans were brutally murdered by a fellow rancher who wanted their cattle. Her father was killed protecting the humans and his mate. Her mother had been shot, protecting her pup till the end.
"How about we go for a hunt, then finish our patrol and return to the den?" Eren barked, green eyes shining and tail waving like a banner.
"I think we should. It's getting late and we would all feel better going to sleep with full stomachs. I've been feeling real uncomfortable lately and would feel better back at the den," Mikasa said, pressing her lean form in to Eren's powerful build and trembling slightly. The huge male looked at her with concern, affectionately nibbling her muzzle to calm her.
"Hey, I know you love each other and all but shouldn't you wait for Spring to do that?" Armin barked, pulling his lips back in a grin when his brother growled at him with Mikasa whining in embarassment.
Eren nudged Mikasa gently before trotting away, stopping to look over his shoulder at his brother and the beautiful female. Armin and Mikasa trotted over, their ears pricked and eyes shining. The huge brown-furred male lifted his muzzle to the darkening sky and howled, starting the hunt. His golden-furred brother and black-furred beauty joined in, Mikasa's howl melding with Eren's while Armin's took a position below.
Once ending the Hunt Song they loped away, following a path they often used. Eren led the hunt with Mikasa at his side, the position unconsciously claimed ever since Eren saved her. Armin loped along at their flanks, studying the pair with keen blue eyes.
The golden-furred male could clearly remember the night that Eren brought Mikasa to the den. Armin had been playing with his mother, a kind and loving black-furred wolf named Carla. His father, a stern yet affectionate gark grey wolf named Grisha, slept nearby. Not much later Eren had trotted out of the woods, blood on his muzzle with a strange black-furred pup pressing against him and whimpering in fear. Their mother had immediately stopped playing and loped over, unintentionally scaring the black pup and making her crawl under Eren's belly to hide.
Armin remembered how his brown-furred brother had argued with their mother, stating that he wanted to protect her. Their mother had sighed before turning her attention to Mikasa, her eyes softening when she saw that Eren had laid down next to the black pup and was licking her affectionately. It didn't take long for Armin and their parents to see that Mikasa was never going to leave Eren's side, much to Eren's embarrassment and their parent's amusement.
Mikasa lowered her muzzle to the ground, being the best Tracker, and searched for a fresh prey trail. It took her a couple seconds to sift through the different smells, finally catching the scent of a herd of deer. She wagged her tail, slowing to trot next to Armin. Eren surged ahead, leaping over a fallen tree and scaring the herd of deer. The herd scattered and Eren have chase, testing their health.
The huge male caught the scent of rotting flesh, his sharp green eyes landing on a large stag with a bad laceration on its side. He slowed and flicked an ear toward Armin and Mikasa, who burst into the clearing and raced after the stag. Armin lunged, snapping at the stag's hocks and dodged when it aimed a kick at his head. Mikasa loped alongside it, sinking her fangs into the deer's side and tearing it open. Eren flashed ahead and whipped around, facing the oncoming stag. He snarled and lunged, latching onto the stag's throat with his powerful jaws. Armin and Mikasa backed away as the deer screamed and thrashed around. Eren clamped down hard, puncturing the jugular and shattering its neck.
Eren released the stag, which crashed to the ground. He turned to his companions, prancing around proudly with eyes shining and tail wagging. Armin barked happily, bouncing around. Mikasa trotted over to Eren, nuzzling his thick-furred chest and nibbling his chin lovingly. Eren nipped her gently with his lips pulled back in a grin before tearing into the carcass, his brother and secret love doing the same.
After devouring the carcass the three wolves trotted away, stopping at the lake to clean the blood off their muzzles. Eren convinced Mikasa to return to the den with Armin, knowing that she was more tired than normal. Eren loped along the perimeter of the territory, stopping every couple miles to lift his leg and remark the boundaries. He lifted his muzzle to the dark sky and howled, letting other wolves that this land belonged to him. In the distance the howls of Armin and Mikasa were carried on the wind, reinforcing Eren's claim.
Back at the den Armin lay sprawled on his side, blue eyes watching Mikasa as she paced. He knew that she was upset from being sent to the den with him, something that his brother rarely asked of her. The golden-furred wolf pulled his lips back in a grin and rolled to his belly, standing up and shaking the dirt from his fur. He barked at Mikasa and slapped his paws to the ground in a play-bow, tail wagging. Worried dark gray eyes softened as Mikasa turned to look at Armin, who was bouncing around energetically. The black-furred female barked a laugh and wagged her tail.
Armin loped over and poked Mikasa with his nose before racing around. The black-furred female pulled her lips back in a grin and chased him, snapping at his hocks and growling playfully. Armin veered to the side and whipped around, charging her. Mikasa grinned and leapt over the golden-furred male, who yelped in surprise. Armin looked over his shoulder and tripped, his paws getting caught by a raised tree root. He yelped and slid on his side into the bushes, slamming into something and knocking it to the ground. Mikasa skid to a halt and whined in concern.
"Owww! That hurt! Why did you do that Mika…" Armin whined, freezing when he felt something shift and whimper underneath him. He glanced down to see light gold fur and jumped to his paws, whining a frantic apology. The animal, a female wolf smaller than Mikasa, slowly sat up and stared at Armin with her head low and ears back.
Armin studied the female, taking in her very lean build to the point of being underweight. He watched as the female tucked her tail to her belly and kept a wary eye on Mikasa, who glanced at her before looking over her shoulder. All of a sudden three large wolves bolted into the clearing with their chests heaving as they panted hard, searching frantically for something.
"Annie! Are you ok? We were scared to death when we woke up and didn't see you! Don't you every do that again!" one of the wolves, a huge gold and white-furred male, growled.
"Please don't scare us like that. We were really worried about you. We don't want you to get hurt," the second wolf, a large brown and white-furred male, whined. The third, a large dark grey and white-furred male, rolled his eyes and let out a huff. His eyes widened and he became flustered when he spotted Mikasa, who pricked her ears and was staring longingly into the woods behind her.
"Reiner, Bertoldt, I'm fine. I wanted to check the territory out and accidently stumbled into the den-site. The golden male was playing with that black-furred female and accidently tripped and fell on me… Shut up Jean! I said it was an accident! It's not funny!" Annie said, growling in annoyance at the laughing grey-furred male.
Annie is a 2 year old female, standing 26 inches at the shoulder and weighing 65 pounds. She has light gold, almost a crème color, fur with light blue eyes. She is very swift, extremely loyal and protective. She tends to be shy around others and is submissive. She is the youngest littermate of Reiner, Bertoldt and Jean.
Reiner is a 2 year old male, standing 34 inches at the shoulder and weighing 140 pounds. He has dark gold fur with white paws and brown eyes. He is very strong, loyal and protective. He tends to be quite laid-back and likes to tease others. He is the oldest littermate of Bertoldt, Annie and Jean.
Bertoldt is a 2 year old male, standing 30 inches at the shoulder and weighing 120 pounds. He has dark frown fur with two white socks, one on his front left leg and the other on his right hind leg. His eyes are a light brown color. Like his brother he is loyal, protective and laid-back. He tends to be shy at times and is extremely submissive. He is an older littermate of Annie and Jean and the younger littermate of Reiner.
Jean is a 2 year old male, standing 29 inches at the shoulder and weighing 90 pounds. He has dark grey fur with a white belly and white paws, his eyes a bluish green color. He is loyal, protective, stubborn and a little dominant. He is a littermate of Reiner, Bertoldt and Annie.
Armin watched as two of the three males scolded the smaller female, who cringed and rolled on her back with her tail tucked against her stomach. He knew well how Annie felt, having been scolded by Mikasa whenever he accidently strayed too far. The black-furred female had always been protective of him when they were pups. Her protectiveness grew even more when they turned 6 moons and had to fend for themselves, Armin and Eren's parents having been killed by a rouge pack not long before. Eren would always joke around, saying that Mikasa was turning into a mother. Whenever Mikasa would finish a scolding, she would always state that she didn't raise Armin to act the way he did.
While his brothers scolded Annie the dark grey wolf couldn't seem to take his eyes off Mikasa, mesmerized by her beautiful black fur and soft gray eyes. He watched as she trotted over to Armin, who laughed at something she said and introduced himself to Reiner. Jean smirked when his brother jumped in surprise, having not noticed Armin until he was right in front of them. He noticed that Annie seemed to perk up and was wagging her tail when Armin started talking to them, something his sister had only ever down when she was alone with her brothers. Finally Jean built up the nerve to approach the beautiful black-furred female and was about to compliment her when a loud THUD was heard, causing him to growl in annoyance and turn around only to freeze at what he saw before him.
An enormous brown-furred wolf, only 2 inches shorter than Reiner, had silently trotted into the den site and dropped the elk that he had been carrying. Jean cringed when the huge wolf turned his green eyes on him, lips pulled back in a warning as a low growl rumbled from his chest. Jean flinched under the brown wolf's gaze and he glanced around, surprised to see that Armin hadn't reacted to the appearance of the wolf. A worried and excited whine reached his ears making him see a flash of black fur race past him. Mikasa barked happily and tackled the huge wolf to the ground, making him yelp in surprise. Armin stopped talking to Reiner, Bertoldt and Annie and looked over his shoulder, barking a laugh when he saw Eren flat on his back with Mikasa sitting on his chest and nuzzling him affectionately with her tail wagging.
"Hey, Armin. Do we have to worry about or be careful around him?" Reiner asked, flopping on his side next to Bertoldt. Bertoldt opened his jaws in a tired yawn and placed his head on his paws.
"Not really. Eren is stubborn but he is very loyal and caring. Nothing much sets him off unless… Oh crap! I don't think this is gonna end well," Armin said, having just spotted Jean approaching Mikasa with an overly friendly smile on his face.
"Armin, what do you mean by that? What won't end ell?" Annie asked softly, shyly moving closer to the kind golden-furred male. Armin was about to reply when a loud snarl was heard.
The deep guttural growl caught Reiner and Bertoldt's attention. They looked up to see the huge brown-furred male lunge at their brother, his fangs bared and hackles raised. The grey wolf dodged, turning his head and snapping at Eren. The huge wolf shifted slightly, powerful jaws latching on to his opponent's shoulder and tossing him to the side. Jean growled and stepped toward Mikasa, who glanced at him and trotted over to sit by Armin. Eren reared up and placed his huge paws on Jean's back, slamming him to the ground and towering over him with a paw placed on either side of his head.
"Don't you dare act like that towards Mikasa! I will not tell you again," Eren snarled, biting down hard on Jean's muzzle. Jean pinned his ear and tucked his tail against his stomach, rolling on his side. Eren snapped at him in warning before trotting away, lying under a tree and placing his head on his paws. Mikasa nipped Armin affectionately before trotting over and curling up beside Eren, burying her muzzle into his thick soft fur.
"What did you do, Jean? He really seemed pissed at you," Bertoldt asked, lifting his head to look at his grey-furred brother.
"I have no idea. All I did was try and talk to that pretty black female. That huge Cur attacked me out of nowhere," Jean groaned, flopping down next to his brothers.
"It's because you were showing too much interest in Mikasa. My brother has always been extremely protective of her. Like I was trying to say, the only thing that will really set him off is when another male flirts with or tries to mount her, especially in front of him. I can't remember how many times I have seen my brother become so aggressive to the point of killing the interlopers. It's quite scary to see," Armin replies, shuddering at the thought.
"I'm sorry for how Eren acted. He has been real stressed the past moon or so. It's most likely because the Season isn't that far away. I think you should stay with us. He might not look it but Eren doesn't like leaving others to fend for themselves. It has been that way since he rescued me when we were small-pups. Armin is the only family that he has. Eren is my only family," Mikasa said, startling the others when she appeared behind them.
"Are you sure? We don't want to cause you any trouble," Annie asked, head lowered and ears back.
"You won't cause any trouble for us. Well, maybe Jean will. Eren won't let anything happen to or hurt us," Armin barked softly, lowering his head and nudging Annie to calm her. The light golden-furred female pulled her lips back in a shy smile before turning to growl at her brothers, who were grinning and teasing her.
Jean approached Mikasa and apologized for his actions, being sure to keep a close eye on the huge sleeping brown-furred wolf. The strong black-furred hybrid dipped her head to the grey wolf, accepting his apology. She trotted over to the elk that Eren had caught, tearing its stomach open with her sharp fangs and powerful jaws. Armin and the others loped over to get their share. Reiner and Jean started snarling and snapping at each other, trying to get the best pieces for themselves. Every once in awhile Annie or Bertoldt would become caught in the cross-fire, yelping in pain after getting caught by the fangs of their squabbling brothers.
After getting bitten by Reiner over the kill Armin backed away and trotted over to lie on his favorite spot, a large moss-covered rock which sat next to the stream that passed through the den site. He placed his head on his paws, laughing softly as he watched Mikasa growl at the huge dark gold male and his smaller grey-furred brother. Bertoldt and Annie laughed hysterically, watching their strong large brothers cower and whimper like small-pups as the smaller black-furred female severely reprimanded them. It immediately became clear to the four siblings that fighting over a kill was not allowed here, a rule that Eren made when he was 6 moons old to ensure that his companions remained healthy and strong.
"Alright, Mikasa. I think you've mothered them enough. They understand the point. It's late and we should get some rest," a deep voice barked, making everyone turn to see the huge brown-furred male staring at them with his lips pulled back in a grin.
Mikasa let out a huff and loped over, lying down next to Eren and pressing her lean body into his powerful build. She placed her head on his leg, nuzzling his thick-furred chest and letting out a content sigh. Eren licked between her ears and placed his head on her back protectively, his sharp nose taking in her lovely cherry blossom and lavender scent. A spicy metallic scent reached him, causing Eren to flinch. He inhaled deeply, noticing that the scent was coming from Mikasa.
Eren groaned in agitation. He knew that scent well, having smelled it on Mikasa many times before after they turned 6 moons. Mikasa was starting to go into heat, which usually made her quite moody to the point of being aggressive. Instead of coming into Heat each Spring like a wolf Mikasa would have her heat twice a year, much like a dog. Once this happens Eren's protectiveness of her increases ten-fold. He becomes so aggressive to the point that he has killed many an interloper who has attempted to force Mikasa into breeding with them. This year was going to be different. Eren was going to claim Mikasa as his mate, not knowing that the beautiful black-furred wolf hybrid was thinking the same as he.
Armin watched as the others found a place to sleep. Jean was flopped on his side, tail thumping the ground. Reiner lay curled up next to Bertoldt, who was lying on his side with his legs propped up on Reiner's back. The golden-furred male glanced at his brother, who was curled protectively around Mikasa. He noticed that Annie lay close to Reiner, fidgeting in her sleep. Armin whined softly in concern before placing his head on his paws and drifting off to sleep.
Sometime during the night Annie lifted her head and stood, shaking the dirt from her fur. She glanced at her brothers, who had almost crushed her when they rolled over. She glanced around and spotted Armin, who was sprawled on his side on the moss-covered rock. She flicked an ear and quietly made her way over, keeping a wary eye on the enormous brown-furred male. She carefully lay down next to Armin and fell asleep, pressing into his side.
Armin was jostled and he glanced around, blue eyes hazy from sleep. He heard a whine and looked next to him to see the light golden-furred female curled up next to him, trying to bury herself into his side as if she was trying to hide from something. His blue eyes softened as he realized that she was probably frightened from being in a strange place.
"It's ok, Annie. You are safe here," Armin growled soothingly into her ear. As if hearing what he said Annie relaxed, burying her muzzle against his chest. Armin licked her muzzle and gently placed his head on her shoulder, both falling into a peaceful sleep.