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Briggan sat in the clearing, gazing up at the rising sun. The sunrise was a pretty hue of oranges, reds, yellows, and blues and it never failed to bring a smile upon his muzzle. He loved the sunrises since they always signaled a brand-new day as well as hope.
Today Briggan was to join a hunting party to begin his training as a Lambda. Briggan let out a small sigh as he glanced at the den, he had slept in for so many nights with Lake and his fellow sentries. As time had passed, Briggan had grown to love the position of Nu especially since he was with his best friend. Yet, he was to join the Lambda den that night if all goes well…which meant he would be separated from Lake for the first time. A prospect he was not looking forward to. Yet, he was woken early this morning by his father, the pack alpha who told him that he was to join the hunting party that day before he went out with Wretch on a daily patrol of the territory. The alpha and the beta always went out before the actual patrols in order to get a layout of the territory and what was going on.
If they missed anything, the hunters will find out and the lead hunters, the Kappa, will go and report their findings. Though the Lambda and the Kappa rarely encountered anything that wasn't prey. The alpha's main reports came from Cherry who was a Zeta, a leader of the pack's warriors who was known as the Eta. Cherry always took the Eta out for training and a part of the training was patrolling and making sure that the territory was safe.
Depending on what was going on, a Delta which is a messenger or an Upsilon which are scouts but are more fondly referred to as spies might be sent out. Briggan allowed himself to let his gaze traverse the clearing as he waited for his fellow hunters to emerge from their den. Briggan had been on a few patrols himself, which was part of his duty as a Nu, but mainly he guarded the camp. So far he had yet to sit at a border, but that was rare in times of peace. In times of war, it was much more common. However, it had yet to happen with the border that was shared with Bright Moon Pack. Briggan's gaze fell on a den which currently contained only one wolf. A she-wolf by the name of Moon. She was an epsilon and her duty was to guard the pups or the alphas. Though mainly she helped out in the training of the warriors and pitched in whenever she can.
"Good morning, Briggan," a female voice snatched Briggan out of his thoughts.
He turned his head to spot a dark brown she-wolf who had black stripes crisscrossing her pelt with shining golden eyes. Her name was Briar and she was arguably one of the best hunters in the pack. However, Briar has yet to be promoted to lead hunter which would probably suit her well. Briar is also most arguably one of the most beautiful wolves in the pack, a fact that Briggan knew all too well.
Briggan had approached her a few times, asking for a walk or to share prey and each time he was politely declined. Briggan got used to it and eventually gave up and it was easier now that Alieu was beginning to occupy his thoughts. A fact, he was determined not to share with anyone, even Briar.
Briggan gave Briar a friendly nod. "Good morning," he responded. "I'm assuming Fang told you the news?"
Briar shook her head slightly. "No, he sent Cloud to tell me and the others. Vixen is happy that you are joining us while Thunder is not so pleased."
"Which hunting party will I be joining?"
"Thunder's," Briar responded. "Thunder is leading you, Leap, Yowl, and Badger to the meadow. I'll be joining Vixen, Spring, Buck, and Silky on a romp through the woods."
Briggan nodded in understanding. "Ok," he responded. He wasn't surprised that he was going to be with Thunder. After all, the dark brown and white Kappa he-wolf with green eyes was a strict wolf that didn't like new wolves joining his Lambdas. Vixen, on the other hand, was a much friendlier light brown male with brown eyes. Vixen always loved it when more Lambdas joined him. After all, he was a wolf that believed that the more paws that hunted the better. Thunder liked fewer wolves hunting since that way the prey will have a chance to recover in the area before it was visited again.
"We're forming now," Briar told him before trotting over to the entrance of the camp. Briggan watched her go before moving off to join Thunder, Leap, Yowl, and Badger as they waited for him. Leap is a light gray female with blue eyes that was rumored to be his older sister, but Gray never confirmed it. If so, Leap wasn't deemed to be a pack alpha. She was too energetic and fun-loving for that serious duty. In fact, her energy soon turned to a serious hunting mind and is one of the pack's best hunters. She had a mind for strategy and occasionally she would be consulted by Cherry who wants her in the warrior ranks. An offer that Leap constantly refused. Yowl on the other paw was quieter and more easy-going. Yowl is a bracken-colored she-wolf with brown eyes that takes her duty seriously. Despite her soft and quiet nature, Thunder had taken her on as a mate, but they have yet to have pups together. Badger was another male who had fallen for Briar's affections and for once seemed to be succeeding. Badger may not be the best hunter, but he was good enough to bring back prey consistently. Badger was true to his name with a gray coat that was striped with white similar to a badger's. Yet his blue eyes held a measure of intelligence and he often used his weaknesses to his strength to help bring success to the hunt. That and he had arguably one of the best noses in the pack, but Briggan might gain that title himself soon enough.
A talisman sure had a lot of advantages to it when it comes to packing life. If Briggan didn't know better, he would've thought that his training to take over as pack alpha had begun.
"It's nice of you to finally join us," Thunder stated dryly. His tone was matter of fact but there was a hint of disgust in his gaze. "Next time be on time."
Briggan dipped his head respectfully, knowing that Thunder was his superior today. "Yes, sir."
"You will refer to me as Kappa or Thunder, but never as sir," Thunder immediately reprimanded. "The respectful title of sir is reserved for the alpha and his mate only. Though the title of Beta may receive that respectful title himself."
"Yes, Kappa," Briggan responded.
"Better," Thunder gave him a nod. "Now you will be learning to hunt on the fly today. Yowl can't help out as much today since she is expecting my pups. Since she can't leap on the prey, she will be doing the scaring and you will be taking over her place in the hunt for the time being."
Briggan only nodded silently, a bit overwhelmed by Thunder's quick and timely instructions. Yet, Briggan couldn't help but allow a bit of curiosity to overcome him. "Will we encounter any wolves from Bright Moon pack?"
Thunder shrugged slightly. "That's up to Bright Moon. While the meadow does border their territory and a part of it is their territory, we rarely encounter them. If we do, the exchange is usually peaceful since both hunting parties only want to hunt and not fight." He fixed Briggan with a stern gaze. "The worse thing that can happen to a hunter is an injury that hinders their ability to hunt. We want no such injuries. If an injury does occur, the hunt ends right then and there, and we head back to camp. Is that understood, future alpha?"
Briggan dipped his head slightly in acknowledgment. "Perfectly, but please, call me Briggan. I am not worthy of that title at all."
Thunder snorted slightly, half in exasperation and a half in amusement. "Enough barking around we need to head out and catch a nice big moose." Then without another word, the Kappa led the Lambdas swiftly out of the camp, his tail raised in a commanding 'follow me' pose.
Sun Ray Pack
High Ranks
Alphas(leader(s) usually 1-2):
Fang: a gray and white mottled he-wolf with blue eyes
Gray: a gray she-wolf with amber eyes (mother of Briggan, Eagle, Falcon and River)
Beta (second in command and usually 1-2):
Wretch: black he-wolf with blue eyes
Gamma (elders, 1-2):
Delta (messengers, 1-4):
Cloud: a silver she-wolf with a fluffy white chest and green eyes
Mystic: a cream colored he-wolf with blue eyes
Snowflake: a snowy white she-wolf with golden eyes
Epsilon (Guardians, 1-2):
Moon: a light gray she-wolf with green eyes
Zeta (War General, 1-3):
Cherry: a red-brown he-wolf with brown eyes
Eta (Warriors, 2-8):
Snake: a gray he-wolf with long teeth and golden eyes
Claw: a dark brown she-wolf with brown eyes and long claws
Scar: a heavily scarred light brown she-wolf with amber eyes
Adder: a dark gray she-wolf with light-green eyes
Lion: a golden wolf with brown eyes
Theta (Lead Medic, 1):
Leaf: reddish brown he-wolf with amber eyes
Iota (Medics, 1-2):
Jay: silver he-wolf with light blue eyes
Kappa (Lead hunters, 1-2):
Vixen: light brown he-wolf with brown eyes
Thunder: a dark brown and white he-wolf with green eyes
Lambda (Hunters, unlimited):
Leap: a light gray she-wolf with blue eyes
Spring: a fast brown he-wolf with golden eyes
Yowl: a bracken-colored she-wolf with brown eyes
Silky: a long-furred gray he-wolf with white splotches and brown eyes
Buck: a black she-wolf with a white chest and amber eyes
Badger: a gray he-wolf with stripes crisscrossing his face and blue eyes
Briar: a dark brown she-wolf with black stripes crisscrossing her pelt and golden eyes
Mid-rankings
Mu (Peacekeeper, 1):
Daisy: a tan she-wolf with a bushy tail and blue eyes
Nu (sentries, 1-6):
Briggan: gray and white male wolf with cobalt-blue eyes
Lake: blue-gray male wolf with green eyes
Silver: a silver she-wolf with green eyes
Angel: a light brown and white she-wolf with yellow eyes
Fire: a ginger he-wolf with white patches and amber eyes
Xi (Resource Watchers, 1-2):
Thorn: a black and white she-wolf with amber eyes
Omicron (Top Therapist, 1):
Light: a cream colored he-wolf with brown eyes
Pi (Therapist, 1-4):
Chevron: A black and white she-wolf with green eyes
Jena: a female husky with one blue eye and one golden eye
Wind: a black he-wolf with golden eyes
Rho (Secretaries, 1-2):
Star: a white she-wolf with silver paws, muzzle, and ears with green eyes
Sigma (Tutors, 1-2):
Boulder: a gray she-wolf with brown eyes
Otter: a brown he-wolf with a white chest and brown eyes
Tau (Lead scout, 1):
Beaver: a light to dark brown she-wolf with green eyes
Upsilon (Scouts/spies, 1-4):
Dove: a very light gray she-wolf with blue eyes
Ivy: a white he-wolf with dark gray patches and amber eyes
Holly: a black she-wolf with green eyes
Lower Rankings
Phi (pup sitter, 1):
Moss: a black she-wolf with ice-blue eyes
Chi (Jester, 1):
Tree: a black and white he-wolf with green eyes
Psi (Subordinate, unlimited):
Eagle: a dark gray male with a white muzzle and chest as well as amber eyes (destined to be an iota)
Falcon: a dark gray male with blue eyes (destined to be a spy)
River: a silver female with white paws and muzzle as well as amber eyes (destined to be a war general)
Omega (Lower rank, 1):
Ogden: a light gray he-wolf with blue eyes (also known as Omega)
Pup
Pup (unlimited):
