"Be careful!" A gray wolf called to her son. "Your father nearly perished fighting the mountain lion yesterday!"
"Of course I will!" A gray and white wolf replied, rolling his blue eyes. This would be his first battle and second hunt. His parents were the Alphas of the pack and he was destined to become the next Alpha. Not that he wanted to of course. At his age, he was still supposed to be a cub in the den, but he was bigger than any cub and had to mature quicker than his siblings. It wasn't even fun being allowed to train earlier than his siblings. He still wanted to play! He turned away from his mother and padded over to join the patrol.
Before his mother could call after him, the leader of the hunt, a black wolf, let out a howl. The leader turned and raced out of the camp, the other wolves bounding out after him, easily keeping the pace.
"Briggan, it's a good thing that Wretch howled when he did. Right?" Briggan's friend was keeping pace with him, his tongue rolling out the side. The blue-gray wolf was his best friend and made life easier to bear. Plus, he was always up for a good wrestle and play session.
"That's probably the only thing that Wretch did for me Lake." Briggan answered his blue gray friend.
Lake glanced at him mischievously, his green eyes sparkling. Lake was older than Briggan by nearly a year, though he still acted like a cub. "Want to ambush Squirrel?" Lake asked, angling his ears towards a tan wolf with a bushy tail. Squirrel was Lake's sister and Fang, the pack alpha, wants Briggan to choose her as a mate. Briggan considered her a friend but he didn't like her like that! After all he was still a bit young to consider one.
"Why not?" Briggan glanced at his friend. "Should we disappear into the brush and run ahead?"
"They'll see us for sure." Lake answered, his ears pricking. He glanced upwards. "Why not climb a tree?"
"Wolves don't climb trees!" Briggan barked, looking fearfully upwards. The trees loomed ominously above him. Briggan wagged his tail slowly as he gulped. Climbing trees did not appeal to him and like he said, wolves don't climb. In fact, he had never heard of a wolf climbing a tree, let alone suggest trying!
"How do you know? You've never tried," Lake shrugged. "Anyway, there's always the lake."
"How about you don't ambush me?" Squirrel barked, turning her head to look at them. Her blue eyes were glittering in amusement and in warning.
"Yeah, don't ambush her." Thorn agreed, stopping beside Squirrel. His amber eyes narrowed and he curled his lip. "Lay one paw on her and you'll be sorry."
"Exactly!" Squirrel agreed, butting Thorn playfully in the shoulder. Thorn let out a growl and his dark brown fur rose on his neck.
"Enough!" Wretch barked, whipping around. The black wolf ran his gaze over each of them. "You are all acting like a bunch of pups! Remember, we are supposed to be silent as we approach the den. I expected better out of all of you, especially you, Briggan." All four of them bowed their heads with their ears flattened and tails tucked between their legs. It was bad enough being scolded by the Beta, but when disappointment edged his words, Briggan felt like that he let everyone down. It wasn't exactly his fault but he went along with it. He stifled a sigh. It was another thing he had to learn: seriousness. Seriousness, in his opinion, wasn't fun even if it was the basis of all wolf packs. Even if it was the basis of the Wolf Code and how his father ruled. It threatened to take over his life sometimes.
"Don't be too hard on Briggan." Cloud nudged Wretch. Cloud was a silver wolf with a fluffy white chest. She was always gentle and kind and it was surprising that she came to fight. Her rank was delta, which was a messenger and this type of battle didn't exactly need a messenger. They were only scaring a predator away. No big deal. "After all he's still young. He has plenty of time to learn our ways."
"Fine, let's keep going." Wretch grumbled, setting off at a trot. The forest around them opened up into a clearing fringed with bushes. A big cave sat in the middle and a strong cat-like scent filled the air. Briggan gulped, he was glad that Moon was leading a second party of wolves not far behind them. Star, Thunder, Silver, and Light were with her. Fang had instructed them to help out when they heard the first sound of battle as they were the backup and it was why he put Moon in charge. Moon was a trustful epslion, and had always escorted wolves without much ill will. She was highly respected among the pack and she knew how to fight and when to join in a fight. Everyone who was facing the cougar were all mid-ranking wolves with the exception of Wretch, who as beta, had to lead the attack.