Full Moon Blood Rising
Chapter One
"Nuntis, I'm gonna make a TOTAL fool of myself! I can't just waltz in there like I'm Lupus himself and stride up to her and be like 'Oh hey yeah, by the way, I've got this major crush on you, you wanna go out with me?'! For Lupus's sake, I've got no idea what I'm gonna do. Help me out here bro!"
"Keeto, I'm sorry to say this, but I can't help you out this time. The Howling is-dude, what's wrong with your foot, are you having an ankle seizure? Do you need medical attention or something?"
"No, it's tapping because I'm nervous and excited. Now what were you saying about this 'The Howling'?"
"Wait, how do you NOT know what it is? It's the fifth most important festival! First it's The Hunting in January, then it's The Pack in March, third is The Pups in May, fourth is The Feeding in July, and August, right now, is The Howling. Dude, this is pup stuff,everybody knows about it! Didn't your mom ever tell you about the festivals? Keeto, they happen every other month! Six! Six holidays, and you don't know about them?"
"Well i can't help what i know and what I don't. I'm not too familiar with wolf festivals. I was raised with lynxes. I don't know why they didn't kill me, but they raised me strong and stealthy. And no, my pack was attacked by the foam-mouths. My mom raced over and hid me when it happened, but i'm not sure where she set me down because it was a new moon, so there was no moon to reflect light off of anything. I'm still curious to know why a lynx took me in. I know lynx holidays, not wolf holidays. Sorry if I disappointed you."
"Oh, sorry to hear, I'm glad you survived. Wow, the lynxes didn't kill you? That's fantastic. At least it wasn't racoons. Haha, it'd be a bit hard for you to climb trees! Okay to get you started, The Howling is basically a festival that only us wolves do. Every pack member will gather and howl as loud, clear, and as beautifully as possible to win prizes and ranks, but if you're lucky, you'll get your partner. And if you already have one before it starts, you'll both do it at the same time. It's a celebration of the constellation of Lupus, whose name you've used in vain twice today. Anyways, it's tonight and next Wednesday, you should totally ask her to go with you."
Keeto's bright green eyes darted back and forth,his mind racing. Nuntis saw the fear in his eyes. The Howling was not only a celebration for Lupus, but it was also basically a Valentine's Day for wolves. They moved from under their favorite birch tree to the slowly running river downhill. Across the river was a thicket of blueberry bushes much like a fence. Pink and white dogwood trees bloomed in the spring all around them and it was Keeto's favorite hideout. He simply waded across the river when nobody was looking, snuck between a certain spot in the bushes, and a circle of dogwood trees(unseen from the other side) formed a "room" with a canopy of flowers. This is where Keeto wanted to spend his life with his maybe-soon-to-be-mate. Nuntis didn't even know about it. It was just that special. Nobody knew about this place, in fact. Meanwhile, Shimmer bounded over to Nuntis playfully, but Nuntis knew that Keeto didn't want anybody else around. Shimmer just, well,shimmered,and sometimes annoyed Keeto. Shimmer's coat was a shiny silver, and in the sunlight, it made her amber eyes pop like fireworks and sparkle like gold. Shimmer looked nice, but Keeta was HOT. Keeta was all Keeto thought about and he'd kill anyone who tried to hurt her or take her as mate before him. As of the moment, it was Lloyd, the stupid low life scraggly timber wolf with no sense of stealth or hunting abilities, and it infuriated Keeto with all the rage of a thousand demon grizzly bears that the stupid omega tried so hard to get Keeta . But the wolf pack had bigger problems. An infection has reached the wolves' haven.
The infection had spread around the world, and they were the last wolves without the disease. The humans polluted a major river, wich the wolves used as a major water supply. Now Ragnar's pack(Keeto, Nuntis, Keeta, Shimmer, Spark, Lloyd, Prieten, and Atara) was the only pack not infected with the foaming mouth disease. It was spread by being bitten or scratched, making it nearly impossible to escape from. The humans had called it "rabies" and the wolf pack was now living in a supposedly 'safe zone' on an island. They called it Savior Island, but during a humans' transfer of rabid wolves, a wolf got out and attacked the wires and pipes. When the flight attendants tried to see what the noise was, the wolf had attacked them, and the plane went spiraling down. Down from the sky, like a bird being hit with a slingshot. Down to the crystal clear, salty sea. And down to the white-sanded beaches of the wolves' precious Savior Island. The infection was now in any animal that drank the salt water. Ragnar's pack had found freshwater springs and a mountain with conveniently placed caves. For three months they had lived like this peacefully. The pack needed to reproduce though, so their breed could live on without the foaming mouth disease.
Keeto planned to do just that, but he needed time to think. He wanted Shimmer to go away for a while. Nuntis knew so by the aggravation in Keeto's voice when he said "Oh, it's just Shimmer…" so Nuntis sent Shimmer off to play somewhere else. When the full moon started to rise, the wolves celebrated with rare food and rare games, activities that were always held before The Howling took place. Keeta liked to sit out on some of the games, and Keeto noticed this, so he strided over to her with courage. She was looking up at the stars a few yards away. She was facing the opposite direction of the games, so when Keeto sat down next to her, she jumped.
"Oh, sorry, Keeto, I didn't notice you. Wow, I didn't even hear or see you come up behind me, how did you do that?"
Keeto nearly fainted. The love of his life knew his name. His ears layed down flat, and even though she was looking straight at him, he couldn't bring himself to make eye contact for over three seconds with her golden-amber eyes. He kept looking around. Keeta noted this right away. She figured he must have been nervous, the way his foot was tapping too. She knew he wanted to say something. Or possibly ASK something, and assuming she knew what it was, she used his discomfort to her advantage.
"Umm, yeah hehe, about The Howling…..it's really nice out tonight huh?...Ummm I was just wondering if you…wow look at the stars….would be willing…..i think I just saw a rabbit over there…" He never finished.
"Yes? You were asking me something?" She smiled slyly. Now Keeto knew he was being played.
~She's messing with me! She knows it! She's playing dumb, but she's totally into it! Ugh, what do I say? Do I finish asking? Yes, go for it, before that silly omega Lloyd.~ Keeto thought this to himself as his heart thumped against his chest so hard he thought it'd break the richter scale. It could've produced an earthquake if pressed against the earth.
"Umm, yes, will you be willing to go with me to Howling?"
"Yes, of course I'll go with you! Haha,why didn't you ask sooner?"
Keeto's tail wagged a mile a minute, his ears pricked up, his eyes gleamed with joy. She knew! She knew and she said yes! Oh, he could've just pounced on Lloyd and tell him to leave the pack forever, wich wasn't his place, but would be so satisfying. Keeta was still curious to know how Keeto had managed to scare her. She had the best hearing of the pack, and was hardly ever surprised. She could almost hear a jackrabbit's heart thump against its chest from a yard away, and even when every animal on the island was making noise, she could practically hear everything. A squirrel's conversation, the blue jays' songs of love trying to find a partner, and that beautiful ocean tide crashing against the mountain on the other side. She turned toward him and decided to ask.
"Oh yeah, sorry, I didn't mean to jolt you, I just can't help it. I don't know what it is, to be honest."
Keeta wasn't too sure either. Keeto had the toughest pads on the bottom of his paws, he should be easy to sound scope. She stared into his eyes for a short moment. His bright green eyes that seem to glow in the dark against the night sky. She smirked. His hackles were raised, his foot was tapping, and his tail wouldn't stop for anything. She loved his odd way of showing his feelings. She loved how his eyes were like precious green loved him.
Chapter Two
Keeto was invisible in the dark, unless he was facing you, because then you'd see his eyes. And his teeth, depending if he was trying to murder you or not. He was one of the best hunters in the pack. His fluffy black coat made him a ninja, but in the daylight, he stuck out like a sweater in a sock factory. He wasn't the strongest, but he was the most loyal, and he'd protect every single one of his friends. He'd fight to the death. They didn't know it even though he always said it, but it was very true. He just never got a chance to prove it. He wanted to kill every rabid creature out there and hang their skeletons from the trees as a warning and as trophies. He wanted to maul Lloyd. Stupid didn't correctly describe Llyod, because he had passed that borderline when he told Keeto his plan to get Keeta. There were two things wrong with that. First of all, he told Keeto, and secondly, you didn't GET a mate, you EARNED one, especially Keeta. They had close names, but in wolf language, Keeto meant bold and Keeta meant caring. Which made Lloyd's name all the more funny to Keeto. In wolf tongue, it meant scavenger, and nobody bothered to tell Lloyd that, because he'd want to change it, and they would never hear the end of it if they told him he couldn't, which he couldn't, so the pack just kept it to themselves.