Daria's Present by DogDrawler (written from December 23rd to December 24th, 2014)

"Runt! Please come inside!" ordered Mom. "The guests will be arriving soon."

"But Mom look at this view. The dawn looks pretty this mourning." I continued to look at the beautiful pink sky, sitting on the outcropping of our den. Behind me, I heard Mom sigh.

"You're just like your father."

"Did somebody mention me?" asked Dad who approached the den with my siblings next to him. Kate ran to him in a hurry.

"You invited the guests, right?"

"Don't worry Kate, I got them all," he said proudly.

"Oh, thank goodness honey. For a second, I thought you screwed something up. You even got Daria too?"

"Uhh... I will go get her now..."

"*sigh* I spoke too soon... I can't believe you forgot our most important guest! You know she hasn't been to a Christmas feast before. I wanna make sure we give her the best experience ever! Now hurry. They'll be here any minute!"

"Okay, okay. Calm down Kate. I'll go get her."

"Can I come?" I asked looking for an excuse to be away from the boring 'ol den. Also to see Daria again. It's been awhile since we saw each other. Time flies fast for pups.

"Of course you can," Dad agreed, smiling. I could always count on him.

"Alright! Go!" Mom was getting worked up. Beware sign.

We both started running to Daria's den that we assigned her when she was welcomed to the Western Region. No long later, I noticed Stinky and Claudette were following us. I slowed down my stride to get some answers.

"Stinky? Claudette? What are you doing?"

"We're comin' with you," Claudette informed. Stinky nodded.

"You wanna see Daria too, do you?" I asked.

"It's been awhile," he said.

"I know. She's warmed up to us."

"Not to mention bringing us fresh kill with her superb hearing and smell," Stinky added.

Later...

"Hi Daria. How's life in the West," said Dad, sitting down at the mouth of her den that was located at the base of the mountain. She instinctively looked towards us, showing her teeth with her wide smile. She seemed relieved to have heard us.

"Great. Very great. I never knew pack life was the best life." She then turned to me. I missed her a lot, especially those two green cloudy eyes of hers.

"Runt? Is that you?"

"How did you know?"

"Your scent is really strong."

"Probably because he hasn't been bathing in forever," said my sister.

"I do bathe... every moon cycle or so..." I'd hate to admit it but we kings of the forests must send a strong message to those who threaten us. Though Dad wasn't so proud.

"First of all, son, gross. Second of all, we'll talk about it later with your mother."

"What brings you to my den?" asked Daria.

"Oh, right! We're having a Christmas feast! Kate wants to invite you."

"A feast? Why Humphrey, that would be lovely! Just umm... what exactly is Christmas? Floyd told me it was just a celebration in the winter shared by most animals and humans around the world."

"Well, uhh... I don't have much time to explain. My mate really wants me to come back."

"Oh... okay."

"We can talk about on the way."

On the way...

"So let me get this straight," Daria said. "What is the true meaning of Christmas?"

"So far what we've learned from humans is that it's better to give than to recieve," Stinky informed. "But there could possibly be more of a deeper meaning that we wolves don't know or don't understand yet. Overall, though the meaning could just decide on the perception of one's own self."

"Did you celebrate at all?" I asked, worried that maybe throughout her whole life, she hasn't felt even the slightest glimmer of the Christmas spirit.

"Well, when I was a little pup, a small family lived in the Shadow Forest unaware of me for a short time. Lois and Frieda kept an eye on them to make sure they didn't get close to me. Then during winter, they saw the family celebrating. They told me they saw the family's only pup give a perfectly white bone to his parents. So perfect in fact, it even looked appealing to the porcupines." I couldn't help but drool. "So you know what they did? They stole it and gave it to me for Christmas! "

"At least they were trying to be nice," said Claudette.

"True but I simply couldn't accept it. It belonged to that pup's parents. I demanded them to put it back in which they did thankfully."

"What happened to the family now?" Stinky asked. "As far as Winston knows, it's still completely wolf-free."

"They mysteriously disappeared not long after the incident. I have no idea how."

"Strange..."

"Yes, but even more strange, Floyd found the bone all by itself nowhere near their den, looking pale white with no marks on it at all like it had always been. It's a puzzling mystery. He took it to me where I kept it safe in my protected den. I didn't dare to eat it because if it was as pale white and smooth as the porcupines described, it wasn't worth eating it yet. They had provided me with enough food anyway. Though sometimes, I wish I could finally eat it after all these years. Oh, how luscious would it taste? Tangy? Salty? Sweet? Bitter?" She was beginning to creep me out as she went off topic. Fortunately, she shook her head out of it. "But I digress. Sorry. So... that's basically my first Christmas. How was yours?"

"Awesome!" I yelled.

"I wouldn't exactly say that," said Dad. "We were attacked by King and his Rogues."

"Correct," said Stinky, "but we showed 'em who's the boss in the Regions. I doubt they'll ever come back here again."

"Yeah," I agreed. "Plus, we spent a night inside a cozy truck stop."

"A truck stop?" Daria looked amazed.

"They could've gotten themselves killed," Dad added.

"But we didn't so it was awesome!"

Near the peak of the mountain...

After getting Daria to slowly cross the log bridge to the peak, we managed to get home... just not in the time Mom preferred...

"What took so long?" she questioned.

"Don't look at me," said Dad. "Her den is at the base of the mountain."

"*sigh* Just forget it. Half of the guests are here and finally you get Daria..."

"Kate... just calm down. Everything's going to be alright. As your Omega mate, I must relieve any tension going on inside you." As Dad massaged Mom, I headed to the cliff edge where I stared at the dawn. It wasn't there anymore. In the background, I could hear the guests talking in the cave. Grandpa Winston, Gramdma Eve, and a couple of my mom's friends: Hutch and Can-do were all talking about the holidays, specifically of what they were going to give their friends or to each other whether it be a pawful of flowers or a special bone. Wait... A bone? That gives me an idea!

Just as Daria was welcomed by the other guests, my siblings sat next to me on both sides. Perfect. I had to them something.

"Stinky! Claudette! I just thought of an idea! If it is better to give than receive then I know what we can do for Daria!"

"And what might that be?" said Claudette, seeming skeptical.

"The bone, of course!"

"You want to get that perfect bone for Daria for Christmas? Genius bro!"

"I know! She hasn't really been given anything before. I wanna be the first."

"But what a minute, she didn't tell us where the bone was," said Stinky.

"Well, she did say when Floyd found it, she kept it in her den. It could be still there. Maybe she accidentally left it when we took her in."

"Something doesn't add up..." Usually, when Stinky starts overthinking, it's because he's doubtful. I could see where this was going.

"Please tell me you're not still afraid of Shadow Forest."

"We're not!" they exclaimed in unison. I should've known.

"We're just... concerned for your safety," said Claudette.

"Hm, it's a good thing I never listen." I started to go. They followed, lagging behind me. We snuck around Kate and headed down the mountain. Stinky and Claudette were whispering to each other the whole way. Some of the sentences I could hear.

"I don't like it Claudette. It seems odd that Daria didn't tell us where the bone was."

"Maybe it was for a reason. Maybe she didn't tell us everything about the bone. And maybe that reason is really why she didn't eat it."

I'm pretty sure they're just overreacting. She probably just forgot to tell us where it was.

In Daria's old den atShadow Forest...

Sure enough, the bone was actually here. It was in the farthest corner of the cave covered in cobwebs and dust. It obviously hasn't been touched or moved from that spot in a long time. Interesting enough...

"Now that we've seen it, I think we should-"

"No!" I interrupted Claudette. "I'm gonna help Daria whether you two like or not. I can't believe you guys don't want to." It was so unlike them that it was unbelievable.

"It's not that Runt..."

"Whatever." I moved the bone in front of me and blew off the dust. Not one mark, scratch, or anything on the surface. I licked off any remaining debris and spat it out. The surface... so smooth... it was nearly unbearable to look away. And unbearable to not...

Stinky and Claudette had to stop me. I chewed on that thing obsessively so much, they took the bone away from me. I couldn't help it.

"Okay, this thing isn't really safe," Stinky admitted. "I was afraid of this." I wasn't fully convinced. Sure this bone can stimulate the urge to chew it excessively but I don't see that as a reason not to use it as a gift. Besides, if Daria could control it and not eat it for all those years, it's safe for her at least.

"Come on, guys. I can't give her nothing. She'd hate me."

"You could tell the truth," Claudette suggested. I laughed

"Ha, good one. But this is no time for jokes."

"Why don't you just give her a pawful of flowers?" asked Stinky.

"No! Everybody uses that as an excuse. I want to give her something special because she is special."

"But Runt, they give bones as excuses too."

"But this particular bone is different in many ways. One would be it's her old Christmas present that never got used."

"...Runt... please..."

"I don't have time. I'm done arguing," I declared. I grabbed the bone in my mouth and ran out. I ran real fast so my siblings wouldn't catch up easily and put doubts in my mind. I don't need them. Nothing's going to go between me and Daria.

Near the peak of the mountain...

Before crossing the log bridge, that urge came back to haunt me. Stinky and Claudette weren't with me right now to stop me so I didn't know what I was going to do. Though just a few bites wouldn't hurt... I laid down and gnawed on the bone. It still hadn't begun to splinter. Amazing!

Then as I was gnawing, a couple of interesting thoughts went through my head. The first was what Stinky theorized that there's a reason why Daria didn't tell the bone's whereabouts nor eat it when she had all the time in the world. The second was new. I starting believing that maybe this bone is the reason why that family in the Shadow Forest disappeared. And possibly that's the real reason why Daria didn't eat it. Maybe she was scared to... especially since she was a blind pup at the time. I thought about what made the family disappear. Was it fighting over the thing in my mouth? I imagined the horror out of it. It was enough for my to drop the bone. I immediately snapped, picking it back up and throwing over the cliff down the mountain slope.

At the same time, I smelled my siblings coming close. They must've seen it.

"What made you do that?" Claudette asked.

"You both were right. That bone is cursed. I guess I should've figured that since it came out of Shadow Forest."

"You did good little bro," thanked Stinky who sighed in relief. I began to cry.

"Now what will I bring Daria? *sniff* I guess I'll to go get some flowers from the garden. *sniff*"

"It's okay Runt. I think it's best you go to her and tell the truth; that you didn't get her anything."

"*sniff* You're right. I'll go." I wiped away my tears and walked to our den where I could hear chatter and laughter among the adults. I stepped in. Mom and Dad were happy to see me as were the guests. A big pile of meat was in the center of the den while wolves were gathered around it in a great oval.

"How's it going kid?" asked Dad's friend, Shakey from the back.

"Good," I answered quietly. "I uhh... was playing 'keep away' with my siblings." I tried to keep myself from looking sad. I went straight to Daria who sat not far from the entrance next to Garth. She sensed my close presence.

"Yes, Runt?"

"I'm sorry to say this, but I don't have any present for you for Christmas." There was a quick frown and a deep silence from her. I felt awful to say that. We were best friends.

"Oh, Runt..." she replied. I looked down to the floor in shame.

"If you hate me, I understand."

"Hate you? Runt, I love you." I looked back up at her face. "It's okay if you don't have a present for me." She leaned in for a whisper. "To be honest, I didn't want one anyway." I was astonished. "Why, you may wonder? Because my greatest wish has already been granted."

"What wish is that?" I asked

"To have a home again... and you are the one who fulfilled it. But I thank you greatly for trying... It's the thought that counts..." She then winked. She knew...

Later...

After the feast ended, I came to the edge of the outcropping and stared at the beautiful dusk. It's rings of pink and purple intertwined in the mixture of clouds and sky, hugging around an unrecognizable sun falling down behind the sierra in the distance. As my two sibling sat on both sides of me, I began to ponder... I think I have just found the true meaning of Christmas... I turned around to see Daria next to the den. We both smiled. We were all looking at the dusk.

The End

(The next story I write is Claudette's Ex-boyfriend next month. Goodbye as I'll be heading to Los Angeles for a few weeks.)