A little game

chapter seven

The two soon reached the guest den with them walking in "Here it is. The main den is down the hall. So call if you need anything." Lilly said to Humphrey who looked at her "Thank you. I will see you later tonight I will be helping with the hunt tonight so I may catch you something special." Humphrey said to Lilly who blushed a little and smiled "Ok then I can't wait to see." She said turning around with Humphrey following "What is your favorite meat you like?" He asked her to which she shrugged "I eat about anything but I like rabbit but they are hard to find around here." She said to him which he smiled "Alright then, I hate to leave but I have to head out. See you later ok?" Humphrey said walking out of the entrance "Yah see you later." Lilly said waving at him as he left. Kate soon joined her sister looking at her with a smile on her face.

Lilly looked at her sister "What?" Lilly asked Kate "Nothing I am just happy to see you smile again." Kate said to her which she smiled a little "Yah. Its been awhile but it is nice to smile again." Lilly said a bit cheerfully in her voice. Kate playfully pushed her sister "You like him, don't you?" Kate asked playfully which Lilly blushed "I actually do. He actually asked me to the moonlight howl tomorrow night." Lilly said looking at Kate who was a bit shocked "Really? That is great but have you told ma about it yet?" She asked which she shook her head "No I am a bit scared of what mom would think about it. I mean he is a pack leader now and I am just me." Lilly said looking down "Just a Lilly." She said softly which Kate nudged her "Its ok ma seems to really like him now and she wants you to be happy." Kate said with a smile to her sister who smiled a little "Thanks sis." she said looking up at her.

Garth soon joined Kate and Lilly with him sitting next to Kate "Well I think that once tonight is over he needs to leave. He has his own pack to look after." He said out loud to which Lilly looked at him "Well he at least bothers to make sure that they are happy with him and makes sure they are safe. He is a great leader more then you act as." Lilly said to him which he began to get angry at her "I care for the pack but you have no room to talk for you have nothing to look after, just yourself." Garth said back which Lilly started to tear up a little "At least he cares for me." Lilly said walking out of the den and Kate looked at Garth "How dare you talk to my sister like that!" She then ran after her sister with Garth staying there feeling a bit angry but satisfied with himself.

Lilly kept walking not looking back still with tears in her eyes she kept walking till she reached a tree line and kept walking. Kate was following her but the sun was beginning to set with darkness approaching fast. She followed Lilly's scent to the tree line and continued on after her but the forest grew dark which was not good for those not trained to keep up with their surroundings. Lilly soon stopped after she calmed down a little but now it was dark and she could not see anything or even follow the way she came. "Oh no what did I do?" She said beginning to panic. A sound of twigs snapping nearby made her jump and she ran for anything to hide in which she found a large hole under a rotten tree which she ran into. "I don't know what to do. If Humphrey or Kate was here I would be safe." She thought to herself which when the sounds of footsteps were getting louder she began to shack in panic. Soon a large figure was standing in front of the log "Lilly? Is that you?" A voice said which made her look at the large figure and she knew it was Humphrey.

"Humphrey!" she shouted and ran out and she hugged him tight "I got lost and was so scared!" she said with tears going down her face. "Its alright, I got you your safe now." Humphrey said as he started to rub her back to help calm her down. "Come on lets head home huh?" Humphrey said to her "Yah is it ok if I lean against you to make sure I-" Lilly started but Humphrey tightened his hug a little "Of coarse lets head back." Humph said letting go which he felt Lilly lean against him hard "If you need to stop speak up ok? I will be right here." Humphrey said to her softly which she nuzzled his head "I will." She said and the two began to head back. Humphrey felt something hit his tail and he knew that she wanted to make sure that she had something to ensure her that he was there so he joined hers with his and they locked tails together and they continued to the den. After a little while they soon arrived back at the den entrance and they stopped "Are you alright?" Humphrey asked Lilly who looked at him and nodded softly "Yah thank you." She said softly to him which he nodded "Good. You know that you can talk if you need to anytime ok?" Humphrey said to her which he unlocked his tail from hers which made her sad a little "I know thank you." Lilly said to him.

"Ok now shall we?" Humphrey said looking at the den entrance which Lilly nodded and they entered together. Lilly was suddenly wrapped in a hug from Kate "LILLY! Your ok!" Kate said with a few tears building "Yah I'm fine. I got a little turned around and then Humphrey found me and led me back." Lilly said to Kate who pushed back from the hug to look at her sister. "Thank goodness." She said and looked at Humphrey "Thanks Humphrey." She said to him which he nodded "Its OK I made sure she would get back safe." he said which Kate hugged him a little and let him go and joined Garth who was looking at him with a bit of anger.

Lilly soon sat down and looked at the fresh killed caribou and was about to take a bite when Humphrey stopped her. "Hold on please I forgot something." Humphrey said as he got up and headed for the guest den and returned with a few dead rabbits and placed them at Lilly's paws "There. I managed to catch some but they were pretty fast but not fast enough. Please enjoy." Humphrey said to her which she looked up at him "Thanks. I will." Lilly said with a smile and she began to rip apart one rabbit. "That is sweet of him isn't Winston?" eve said looking at him which he nodded. Humphrey soon took a bit of the caribou and they all eat in silence and once he was finished he looked at eve "If you will excuse me I will retire for the night. Please let me know If I can help with anything." Humphrey said as he stood and bowed at her "Oh please it's alright just relax and sleep well." Eve said to him which he nodded "Thank you for your kindness. Good night." Humphrey said as he headed for his den. Eve looked at Garth and shot him a glare "I will have a discussion with you later. Kate sweetie please make sure to make sure Lilly is comfortable." Eve said as she stood along with Winston and they headed for their den. Kate looked at Garth with a look with a bit of anger.

"You know ma will punish you and I can't blame her for what you did to my sister. I will stand by you because you are my mate but I don't have to like it." Kate said as she got up "Now then Lilly if your ready I will make sure you are safe and comfortable." Lilly looked at her sister and nodded and got up and the two headed for Lilly's den. Garth sat there and continued to eat thinking on how he was going to deal with the problem of Humphrey.

A few hours had past and it was the middle of the night which Lilly was awoken by a nightmare of her being lost in the woods again with other feral wolfs growling at her which made her jump. She looked around her den and noticed that it was empty except her which made her feel uneasy. She had to get out of her den, it made her fell uneasy so she headed for the main den and noticed the guest den and she poked her head in to see Humphrey curled up sleeping. She walked up to him and nudged him a little which made him open his eyes to see her. "Lilly? Are you ok, is something wrong?" He asked as he looked around to make sure and he looked at her "I can't sleep is it ok if I stay here for tonight?" she asked him which he softly sighed "Alright that is fine." he said as he layed his head back down and closed his eyes.

"Thanks Humphrey." Lilly said and layed next to him putting her head on her paws and closing her eyes. He soon heard a little shriving sound and cracked open a eye to notice that Lilly was cold which he uncurled himself and pulled her closer to him with a paw and curled around her. He closed his eye again satisfied which Lilly looked at him and gave him a small smile and put her head on his side which was soft and warm and she closed her eyes and curled up closer to him feeling warm and safe she fell asleep quickly.

The morning soon came which made Kate get up for the morning hunt and she got up and stretched and looked at Garth who was still asleep. She nudged him with a paw to which he growled a little but got up and began to stretch. They never really talked in the morning so they just headed for the main den with the two heading out to join the hunt. After awhile with the sun still rising they returned with a fresh kill and noticed that her parents were now up and waiting for them to return. "Good morning sweetie. You feeling ok?" eve asked her daughter with a little smile on her face "Yes good morning mom. I'm fine, is Lilly or Humphrey up?" Kate said to her mother who just shook her head "No I think we should go check on them. I will go get Humphrey and you go check on your sister." eve said as she got up and they headed for where they were sub post to be located. Kate reached Lilly's den and looked in to find her not there, "Lilly?" Kate asked as she walked in looking around but not finding her.

"Oh no!" Kate said as she headed for Humphreys den where her mother was waiting "She is gone! I will get Humphrey and head out to find her!" Kate said but was stopped by her mother "Now calm down take a look." Eve said with a low tone and pointing at Humphrey. Kate looked at him still asleep but noticed a bit of white sticking out. Kate looked at eve who sighed and walked closer to make sure that she was seeing the scene properly. Kate joined her and looked with her mother to see Lilly laying on Humphreys side with him curled around her. Eve gave a another sigh and she bent down giving her other daughter a nudge which made her open her eyes. "Hay mom what are you doing in my den?" Lilly asked looking at her mother who just looked around and looked back at her.

"Sweetie I could ask you the same thing." Eve responded which Lilly looked around and noticed a gray tail around her. "Oh about this. I couldn't sleep so I asked Humphrey if it was ok which he said it was. Nothing happened I swear." Lilly said as she got up which made Humphrey crack a eye open and noticed that eve was there and he shot up bowing his head "I am so sorry mam, I swear nothing happened she said she could not sleep so I said it was ok when she asked and I noticed she was cold so that was why I was-" Humphrey said a little blush appearing on his face. Eve looked at him and turned to head for the den exit "Come food is served and we can discuss this after in private." Eve said to which he nodded "Yes mam" and he followed her out along with Kate and Lilly.

"How long were you two standing there?" Lilly asked softly to her sister "Long enough. Mom may kill you for that you know." Kate said back softly which Lilly swallowed. They all soon arrived at the food with Humphrey sitting right across from eve who watched him carefully which he began to eat. Lilly was heading to sit next to Humphrey but was stopped by eve "Please sit next to me dear." Eve said which lilly did and she began to eat. After they ate most of the main den was empty and soon all that was left was Garth,Kate,Lilly,Humphrey,eve, and Winston which they all sat in silence.

"now then where should we begin." eve spoke breaking the silence which they all looked at her. "It is my fault mom, I just had a hard time last night sleeping which I asked Humphrey if I could stay with him. Nothing happened I swear." Lilly said to her mother which she looked back at her

"Is that what happened Humphrey?" Eve asked him which he nodded "Yes mam. That is all that happened. I swear on my pride as pack leader." Humphrey said lowering his head to show that he had disrespected her. Eve looked at her mate which he nodded to her and she looked back at Humphrey.

"All is fine then. Lets put that behind us and move on shall we?" eve said getting up with Winston. "Thank you mam." Humphrey said to her bowing his head to the two older wolfs. "Such a good wolf." eve said heading for the den entrance when she stopped and looked back at him "Oh I almost forgot will you be staying for the moonlight howl tonight perhaps you could find a special wolf." she said to Humphrey who shook his head

"If I may I would like to ask you something in private please." Humphrey said to her which she seemed to be a bit surprised at what he said "Very well then please join us for our usual walk." which Humphrey got up and followed the two older wolfs out the entrance. After a few moments of walking the three arrived at a large rock which overlooked their pack. "Now then what is it that you wish to ask?" Eve said looking at him with Winston still looking at his pack.

"Mam I would like to ask if I may bring your daughter to the moonlight howl." Humphrey said facing her looking into her eyes trying to show no fear. Eve looked at him very seriously and looked at her mate who looked at him and back at her. "It is your choice dear." Winston said to her which she just sighed at which he said to her. She looked back at him "Do you care for my daughter?"

Humphrey nodded "Yes mam. I will put my life on the line to protect her from anything but on the other paw you must do what is good for her. I will follow whatever answer you give me." Humphrey said looking at her

"Very well. You may take her to the howl but if anything, and I mean anything happens to her. I will kill you. Understand?" eve said to him which he nodded "I understand. Thank you." Humphrey said as he left them to rejoin the others in the den.

Humphrey walked back into the den to see Lilly,Kate, and Garth still in the den which Humphrey rejoined them. He sat down near Lilly to which they all looked at him all wanting to know what he had to ask. "Is everything alright?" Lilly asked him which he looked at her and nodded with a smile on "Yes everything is fine."

He leaned over to whisper into Lilly's ear "I asked your mother if I could take you to the moonlight howl. I will see you later tonight." he spoke softly which Lilly's eyes widened and her tail wagged a little. Humphrey leaned back up and looked at Kate "Orders pack leader. I will need something to do to pull my weight here."

Kate looked at him and put a paw up to her mouth using a toe to tap on her lips "hmm...I got it. I would like you to assist in alpha training the pups. Dismissed." Kate said to him which he nodded to her "Understood." Humphrey said getting up and bowing to her and looked at Garth who smiled at him which Humphrey bowed to him as well. "That is better. Outcast." Garth said to him which made Humphrey look at him.

"If you are not careful you may not have me as a ally, but as a foe, which you don't want." Humphrey said to him and looked at Kate "Please take care. I wish as to not have to fight this pack but if such insults continue I will be left with no choice." Humphrey said turning walking off to his assigned job. Lilly watched Humphrey leave "Kate can I go with Humphrey?" she asked her sister which Kate looked at her. "If you really want to you can but I don't think you will like at what he has to do." Kate said to her sister which she just smiled at her "Nah. He will be fine. Thanks sis." Lilly said as she headed out the den after Humphrey. Kate looked at Garth "Do you want a war? Why would try to provoke him?" Kate asked him to which he looked at her

"He angers me so much that I would could go to war with him just to see him under my paws begging for his life." Garth said to her which Kate shook her head "Just be quiet you fool. You have no idea what a war would cause for the two of the packs. Just don't do anything stupid." Kate said leaving out the den with Garth following deep in his dark plans.

Lilly finally caught up to Humphrey who was sitting in front of a handful of pups who looked at him with wide eyes. She just smiled and sat back to watch what will happen. "Hello there little ones. My name is Humphrey and I will be helping teach you a few things about hunting." He said to which all the pups smiled with most wagging their tails happily. Lilly smiled at the screen it made her understand that Humphrey was a good wolf all this time which she loved about him.

"Now then before we start does anyone have any questions?" Humphrey asked to the pups which they all raised their paws. Humphrey just snickered "Alright then. You there little lady what do you want to ask?" He said pointing at a pup in the front "Mister Humphrey is it true that you are the pack leader?" she asked him which he smiled at her "That's right. I am the leader of my pack."

All the pups all just wowed at the same time. Humphrey smiled at the pups "You guys want to play a little game?" He asked to the pups which they all got up and started to bounce around excitedly "Yah we never get to play games when we have to learn how to hunt." The little girl pup said to him "Well how about this then if you can catch me I will let you ask me anything you want and I will tell you. Sound fun?" He asked all the pups which they all looked at him and they all growled at him "Deal. We will win." they said to him which he smiled at them. Something caught his eye and looked in the direction to find Lilly looking at him "You want to play under the same terms?" He asked her which she shook her head no

"You know I can't keep up." Lilly said to him which he thought for a moment and decided to sweeten the deal a little bit and walked over to her and leaned in to whisper in her ear "How about this then. I will tell you anything you want to know and I will teach you how to pin any wolf no matter their size or strength. Deal?" He asked leaning back to see her answer "Even you?" she asked to him which he nodded "even me so you in?" he asked her which she smiled "Alright I'm in."

Humphrey smiled "Alright lets play." He said as he took off at a light jog. All the pups all got up and ran after him with Lilly following when Humphrey turned and ran into some bushes which the group chasing him all ran thru to find that he had disappeared. "I said you had to catch me. Don't worry I am not far so use your training to find me." A voice said that echoed through the woods which helped hid him even further. "Where do you think he is?" The pups asked each other and Lilly began to smell the air until she caught his scent. She leaned down to the pups so she could help them "Hay do you smell that?" She said to the pups who began to sniff the air "Yah he is close by. Lets go!" one pup said and the group all started toward the smell.

"Very good using your sense of smell to find your target. Well done." The voice said which echoed again. The group kept following the scent all running until they found a bit of fur next to a mud puddle. "The sense of smell can be tricked and can lead you into a ambush. So what will you do now?" The voice said which the group all looked at each other. "Think if we can't track him by his scent the next thing is...tracks!" The one pup said looking a indent on the ground "Very good. You are getting close." The voice said to them which they all looked around "We will find you!" A pup yelled which all the others shouted "Yah!" and they all followed the tracks until they reached a stream next to a cave. Humphrey walked out to greet them "Well done all of you. Your very well trained in the basics. However what happens when if your prey walks into a cave that has multiple exits and entrances. Don't worry there is nothing in here and if you could please pair up with a partner so in case anything happens you will have someone with you and I will come and get you. I will hide in this cave somewhere so if you can find me you all will get one question." Humphrey said to the group which they all jumped around "However if the first pair finds me and can box me in will get to ask as many questions as they want till another team finds us." Humphrey said to the group and winked at Lilly and turned back around and headed back into the cave disappearing.

The wolfs soon broke up into pairs with Lilly and two other girl pups all headed for the cave. They all began to listen for any foreign sounds but could not find any strange ones. The group kept looking but they all soon found each other but no Humphrey. "I don't understand what are we to do to find him." A pup asked the group which some began to think while others were starting to get scared. "This is something that you must trust." A voice echoed down a tunnel "Please don't give up not when you are so close." the voice said which made Lilly think and using her sense of hearing she figured it out and she leaned down "Hay how about we use our ears. If we ask him something he may answer we can find him." Lilly said to the pups which they all nodded

"Humphrey we can't ask questions so we are going talk to you" Lilly asked hoping for him to respond "Of course. I never said you couldn't." The voice spoke which all the pups began to follow the voice down a tunnel which started to become darker. "This is a interesting game we are playing Humphrey." Lilly said down the tunnel "Yah I do enjoy a good game now and then." The voice said to which was very close. Lilly stopped will all the pups doing the same and they saw a bright light coming from a room and the sound of running water. The group headed for the room and entered it to find the sun shinning down into the opening in the roof of it with a waterfall running down and forming a pool at the bottom. The group walked in and looked around "Well done. All of you found me." Humphrey said walking up behind the group which they all turned to face him. "Now then a deal is a deal but first did everyone have fun today?" Humphrey asked the group as he walked up to a large rock next to the pool.

He walked past them and sat down on a large rock with him looking at them. "Yah we had fun so can we ask our questions now?" one pup asked at Humphrey who just smiled "Yah but then you would waste this time to have a little fun?" He asked them which they all looked at each other which Humphrey which he got up and walked by Lilly tapping her on the shoulder "tag!" he yelled and he ran down a slop that lead to the waterfall. All the pups started to run away from her which she bolts after Humphrey who is at the waterfall with a huge smile on his face with Lilly jumped at him tackling him backwards with her landing on top of him. "Tag your it." She said softly which he smiled and Lilly got off him turning and running away from him.

After a hour or so of everyone playing tag and swimming in the large pool of water everyone gathered around the large rock next to the waterfall with Humphrey laying down on the rock with some pups laying next to him sleeping. "Well then little ones lets head back." Humphrey said which most of the pups nodded. Humphrey stood up which woke the pups which he leaned down "Come on I will carry you." he said softly to the pups which still half asleep nodded and climbed onto his back and got comfortable again and went back to sleep. He looked at Lilly and the rest of the pups "Lets go then."

They all headed for the entrance but Lilly noticed that some of the rest of the pups were getting tired and were walking lazily. She looked at Humphrey who saw it to and managed to pick up two more pups on his back. He looked at Lilly and smiled "Lilly could you come here for a second." he said to her which she walked over to him. "Yes?" she asked him "Could you carry this sweet little girl here. She really likes you." Humphrey said to Lilly who nodded. Humphrey bent down and picked up the pup genitally with his mouth and placed her on Lilly's back. With everyone heading home now the two wolfs walked softly in silence.

After some time they reached the pack again with Humphrey and Lilly heading back to the main spot where the meeting was held. They genitally placed the pups down on the ground with most of them waking up. Humphrey noticed and headed for the main area where he was before they played the game. The pups looked at him now with him smiling "Alright little ones you can ask your questions now but we have to hurry. The sun is going down and I have a very important thing I have to do tonight." Humphrey said to the pups who all looked at him and nodded.