In the chill of the winter morning air, life stirred. A herd of caribou grunted softly as they dug beneath a layer of snow to get to the frail grass hidden under it. One buck lingered at the back of the herd on his own. His head was low and his eyes were weak. He was the perfect target for any nearby predators. Less than ten feet from the caribou, there were two canines crouched low behind some short bushes. One with black fur and the other with dark brown fur. Across the valley, two more canines waited. One with light brown fur and the other with light red fur.
Up on a hill at the top of the valley, two more canines sat and observed the scene below. One was a slender light brown furred female and the other was a large black furred male. The male's light blue eyes gleamed and he turned his attention to the female at his side. The female looked back at the male with her darker blue eyes.
"Do you believe they are ready for this, Steele?" The female asked softly. Steele wagged his tail slightly and grinned before he licked the female's cheek.
"Of course they are ready, Aleu. They've spent plenty of time watching and even helping us hunt. They are fine to do it alone now. After all, we taught them well," Steele assured. Aleu smiled brightly and licked Steele's cheek in return then nodded.
"You're right," Aleu agreed. Steele smiled and the two turned their attention back to the scene before them. Behind the bushes, the black and brown furred canines waited side by side. Clouds of wispy breath came from their maws as they exhaled into the cold air. The black male let out a soft chuckle before he glanced at the other male at his side, his darker blue eyes meeting the other's light blue ones.
"So Teagan, are you excited about our first hunt?" The black furred male questioned. Teagan's ears flicked in response and he steadily met the other male's gaze for a moment.
"I'd be crazy not to be, Coal," Teagan replied coolly, despite his obvious excitement. Coal smiled brightly and nodded.
"I'm glad we're on our own this time. Watching our parents and occasionally helping them was nice and all, but now we finally get to do it ourselves," Coal said, not hiding the excitement in his voice. Teagan chuckled softly.
"Well, we're not completely alone. Freya and Heather are just across the valley to help us once we chase the caribou that way," Teagan said. Coal rolled his eyes and nodded once.
"Yeah, I know. I mean alone as in without the adults to help us," Coal said. Teagan nodded then grinned lightly.
"I know, calm down," Teagan said with a chuckle before he focused his gaze forward on the male caribou just a few feet away. "Are you ready?" He asked quietly. Coal grinned widely and nodded.
"Ready when you are, little brother," Coal replied. Teagan nodded and then the two ran full speed toward the nearby caribou they had picked out. The entire herd scattered and ran in all directions, but Coal and Teagan ran quickly on either side of the targeted caribou and led him toward the other end of the valley. Once they got close enough, a grin crossed Teagan's maw.
"Freya!" Teagan called loudly. Freya appeared as a blur of light brown fur. She leapt out from behind a large bush then circled around the caribou. Once she was behind it, she closed her jaws on one of the caribou's back leg. The caribou groaned in distress and fell to the ground. Coal leapt on the caribou's back half to keep it down and Teagan leapt on its front half. With the combined weight of all three of them, the caribou wasn't able to go anywhere. Coal lifted his head and looked to the bush where Freya had previously appeared from.
"Heather!" Coal called. From the bush, Heather appeared and ran over. She growled and leapt for the caribou's throat. She hit her mark perfectly and bit down firmly on the caribou's throat. The caribou's struggle only lasted a moment and soon it was over. The four young canines took a step back from their newly killed prey and grinned happily at each other. Coal lifted his head up then howled for their victory and the other's soon joined it. At the top of the hill at the other side of the valley, Aleu and Steele smiled proudly then ran down to join their children.