A/N: Hey guys, the infamous Rolvio who never posts crap anymore is back. Took me forever to post this, and before I make excuses for myself like every other unmotivated author on this site, let me first apologize to everyone reading my fanfiction. I understand how frustrating it is to have one of your favorite authors totally ditch you as well as their own in my defense, I did have some complications. To start it off, I had a shiny, brand new 2,000 word chapter already to edit and post. Sadly though, my insatiable urge for the new iPhones gets the best of me most of the time. I forgot to back all of my Icloud to my new phone. So to make it simple, I lost my precious chapter. :'( Second, with the job of working at a movie theater, they start calling you in a lot more when actual good and popular movies hit theaters. So I no longer had the time like I used to.
Despite this however, Ive managed to squeeze a little motivation out of myself and the reviews in order to finish another chapter. And I believe that this may be my most well written chapter yet. The ending may be a little rough edged but overall it 'should' be quite enjoyable. Anywho, moving onto the part I love most, allow me to answer some of your guys reviews. As usual, If you wish to skip this, just simply scroll down to this cute little face.
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From: 'ALPHAWOLF117'
"I've been waiting for an update."
Well I'm very glad you had the patience of a saint with me cause that last chapter took about a quarter of a year to post. Most people would have abandoned ship at that point.
From: 'ThatGuyNamedGuy'
"Good chapter."
Why thank you! It means a lot to hear compliments like that after every chapter. Keeps me writing.
From: 'Major Wolf'
"I'm not an expert or anything, but I think there is a small connection building between Grey and Kierra and is only gradually getting bigger. Anyway, great chapter!
See ya in the next..."
Quite a speculate observation you've made there my good sir. By the by, please excuse my sudden accent change. I all of a sudden feel like talking similar to Sherlock Holmes due to this dashing discussion about detection and such. Mmmm yes quite, I agree. There seems to be something more than meets the eye with these two.
From: 'imjustlikehumphrey'
"Great chapter rolvio, keep it up! Well it seems that Kate and her group that includes Garth is on the search for Humphery. I do hope that they find him cause it sounds like Kiera is startin to take a likin to him even though she his alpha. If that happens, that's gonna make Kate's efforts much harder that is assumin they find his temporary pack. Can't wait for the next chapter!"
Well… I certainly hope it was well worth the wait, I really hate posting it this late but I hope the extra length I've added will make up somewhat for lost time.
From: 'Guest'
"Dude, you need to continue this story! It's getting better and better by the update. I really hope Kiera softens up a bit to Grey (Humphrey) after what happened with them. I like those two. I also can't wait to see until Kate and the search party possibly finds him and meets these wolves. Maybe then will we see some of Kiera's walls she has built fall down? Anyway, I really hope to see this continued. It is a really good story."
Believe it or not, I had missed this review until I recently looked. Once I saw it, I decided to give it another shot. After a full four days of constant typing, here we are. A polished shiny brand new chapter just for you. Enjoy.
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Kiera's POV
She kept low to the ground and advanced stealthily. Her white winters coat came in handy on a misty day like this, blending into the colors of the fog that surrounded her. Every small step and breath she took was handled with care in order to not alert the prey to her presence. Especially on such a quiet day like this where any type of noise made by them would have been obvious to the small pack of moose in front of them.
She could feel the presence of the five pack mates behind her, following suit and keeping their movements silent. Slowly they crept along together until their targets were only what seemed like ten meters away. Kiera paused, motioned for her followers to stop, and began to analyze the surroundings before their attack. These moose were much larger than any average sized one, which wasn't a surprise due to how isolated they were from any other pack. With giant beasts like these, one wrong move could take her life or one of her followers. She had to be absolutely precise or she could be returning back to her pack with no food as well as one less wolf.
Scanning the valley that surrounded them, she noticed that the hills and small mountains that surrounded them were all curved down one side, giving the entire valley the shape of a bowl. The valley was vegetated with scarce shrubs and withered trees. The valley floor was rugged and bumpy, with little cracks within the hard plated dirt. She scanned for any exits she hadn't already noticed and thankfully there wasn't any escape for these moose except for the passage that Kiera's pack had entered through. She peered over her right shoulder, glancing at the two grey furred twins, Arnins and Indie who met her glance.
"Go cover the entrance," she mouthed trying to emphasize her words silently. "We'll handle it here and meet back with you afterwards."
The two nodded in unison and silently turned around and made their way back to where we came. She turned to the remaining three wolves that were crouched on her left, Shads, Airem, and Koaki, whom she began splitting up the three moose between the four of them. Upon being the newest within the group, she assigned the smallest to Koaki and Shads earning a huff of annoyance from Koaki. She whipped her head back towards the three moose in hope that the sound hadn't been loud enough for the moose to hear. She relaxed when she found them still feeding on the vegetation still oblivious to the four wolves presence. Kierra gave Koaki a death glare and told him that he'd have to do twenty laps for that, and he just rolled his eyes.
She shrugged it off and assigned Airem the middle sized one, leaving the largest one for herself. With everyone having their assignments, she reexamined the best plan of attack. Usually, the most vulnerable area on an average moose would be the front of the neck. If she could hit the throat, it would be an easy kill. However, the skin could prove to be too thick leaving the stomach as the second target. Though it wouldn't be as effective as the throat, it could prove as a sensitive area. The only problem with it was how one would get to it without being trampled.
Coming to her conclusion she informed the others to go the throat. With this being said and all precautions taken, the group began their attack and sprinted toward their targets. Kierra covered the few meters in no time at all and charged her moose, sinking her teeth into its side, earning a surprised bellow from the beast. The taste of fresh warm blood invaded my mouth, triggering her adrenaline.
She heard cries from the other two moose and glanced over to see that everyone had caught their targets before they could flee. Cries from the three mammals filled the silent air. Shads and Koaki both attacked in unison, Shads continuously going for the throat all while Koaki latched onto the leg with teeth sunk to the bone. Airem, surprisingly tackled hers to the ground taking no time to go for the sweet spot within the beasts neck and rip part of the trachea out, covering her muzzle in crimson liquid. Before Kierra could go for her targets throat however, the huge animal began to sprint away while attempting to shake her off. However, this animal underestimated Kierra's jaw strength.
She clenched her teeth trying to secure her weight, despite this however, he ran with my teeth locked in his side, dragging me along for the ride. I couldn't tell what was going on other t hen this massive creature was moving faster than any other prey that she had chased before. She tightened her grip on the large creature as she was thrown around like a rag doll and forced her limbs to hang on for dear life.
She threw her paws over the back of the animal, unlocked her jaw and carefully yet forcefully pulled herself up onto its back. The moose began retaliating by taking sharp turns and making solid stops in attempt to buck her off. Kiera dung her nails in its sides and bit into the creatures stiff and think skinned neck, twisting and turned in attempt to hit the soft spot in its throat all ending in vain. Regardless of her failure, she stayed latched onto its body while she kept lunging for its neck, testing her luck and biting several spots around its neck all ending in failure.
'Damn it' She cursed in her head. This tactic wasn't going to work, her teeth weren't long enough to reach the throat, heck she barely was able to draw blood with how stiff its neck was. 'Time for a change tactics.' She took her teeth and locked it into the back of the beast and allowed her body to fall off the back of the causing her to hang over the side as she was at the beginning of this 'rodeo.' She began to swing her weight, slamming her body into the side of her prey in attempt to knock the moose off balance. The moose stumbled slightly with each collision but not enough to loose its balance and fall to the ground.
Kierra kept this up for the next minute or two until she pulled herself on its back again exhausted and quite sore from using her chest and stomach as a battering ram. It was a good effort and quite a smart trick as well, she just couldn't gather enough momentum by herself without any leverage.
She remained on the back of this beast, who seemed to have unlimited energy, for the next few minutes trying to regain her strength and energy. Every time the moose bucked and jerked from one way to the other, she felt herself fly a little bit and would have flown off if she wasn't already braced for every impact. Each time she was knocked up, her ribs and stomach were slammed into the beasts spine over and over again earning a groan of pain every time from Kierra.
Feeling the fifth onslaught on her chest, she got an idea. Again, she turned her head and bit into the creatures back and rather than falling to its side again, she waited. The animal bellowed due to Kierras' teeth, and bucked its hind legs as hard as it could, which just was what Kierra was waiting for. I latched her limbs and claws for the beasts back, she let the momentum carry her up, leaving her teeth the only thing still attached. She folded her hind legs and let gravity do the rest.
With a loud grunt, she crashed into the beasts side harder than before and knocked it completely off balance and tackled it to the ground with its stomach exposed. Wasting no time, she got up and lunged for its stomach and bit repeatedly, drawing blood by the gallon. The prey tried to kick Kierra off but she simply dodged every strike and continued her onslaught. The beasts retaliation began to die down as its blood kept dwindling by the second, making Kierras job that much easier as she bit, tore, twisted, and pulled every soft spot in the stomach she could. With one last soft cry, the beast fell limp with blood still pouring out of its fresh wounds.
Feeling victorious, and outright exhausted, she took a bite out of the animal and consumed it as a quick snack. She felt satisfied and moaned with the feeling of the large piece of meat go down her throat. Though it didn't fill her stomach, it was a savory treat especially after such a difficult hunt. She licked her lips and cleaned the blood off her muzzle when she heard her three pack mates approach her.
"That was some sight, i never knew you were one to ride their prey before killing them." The dark grey furred wolf, Airem, said glancing at Kierras hard earned kill.
Shads, the only pure white wolf in the group, snickered, "Doesn't surprise me! Mine as well squeeze what amount of fun you can have before you end their life. It's more humane that way."
"Yeah and you would know anything about humane Shads, you probably the last person that would be considerate towards their prey." Kierra countered scowling the newest as well as the smallest wolf within the group.
"Hey! I'm considerate! I make my kills swift, quick, and as painless as I can!" He snapped back with an offended tone.
"Do you even know the definition of considerate? I will give you a portion of my meal if you can actually define it right now." Airem challenged.
"Of course i know what it means. It's taking others emotions and opinions in rather than being close minded. For example, Airem would be considerate to keep her word and grant Shads a portion of her kill since he was able to define the word so well." He finished with a wink and a smirk, only getting a growl from Airem.
"Oh you'll get a share, don't you worry." Airem growled barring her teeth at Shads. "A share of my teeth in your back!" She charged the snow white wolf. Shads whimpered, dodging her attempt of a tackle put some distance between the two of them.
'Alright that's enough! I swear you two act like pups sometimes." Kierra annoyingly quipped at the two wolves. "Can we focus on getting these two kills back to the pack first before you two injure each other please?"
Airem stood up up and brushed the snow off her shoulder and responded with a quick "Yes ma'am." Crouching down and grabbing Kierra's kill and began tugging it. It took a few tugs, but the large piece of meat began to move but very slowly however due to its massive size. Airem let go of the body and turned towards Shads with a devilish smile. "Hey Shads, how about you be 'considerate' and help me out with this."
Shads just laughed, "Nah, I'm good. From the looks of it, you could use the workout Ms. Flubberbelly."
Airem glared at him with a look that could kill anyone, then sighed defeated and went back to tugging the animal all by herself. Another sigh was heard from Koaki as the black furred wolf made his way over the side her, sinking his teeth into the beast and began pull it with her. With Koaki's immense leg strength, the process was sped up significantly and soon they were at moving at regular walking speed. Kierra followed behind the duo and heard Shads hustled to her side.
The group of them wrapped up their kills, taking a few bites from the prey here and there, before they gathered their energy and began making their way back to the pack grounds, satisfied with such a successful hunt.
-Grey-
Grey groaned as he felt the bump in the night that people always talked about in a metaphorical sense. He groggily opened his right eye to examine what was going on and was met with the sight of the world moving before him. His shock caused him to shake any amount of sleep from his weary body as he sat straight up trying to gather his senses. The floor beneath him was hard and dense with a frigid touch that caused his fur to stand on end. Upon further investigation, he found himself being carried within a large steel container rather than his previous assumption that he was flying through the air by himself, which had disappointed him. He saw the world pass by him with such speed triggering his curiosity as to what he was in. There was constant creeks and mechanical whirs that filled the steel box that he stood in as the crate sped through the night at speeds unknown to him.
"Bonjour, my furry friend!"
Grey glanced up towards the steel boxes door to find two birds flying alongside the car matching its incredible speeds. Grey found his own body act on its own without his consent as he padded towards the opening, meeting the Geese and yellow duck with a scowl.
"Are you guys crazy,?" He heard himself ask the two fowls sarcastically.
"Well that's up for debate." Replied the furiously flapping duck with a french accent. Or was it Canadian... Maybe a little of both. Bah! He couldn't tell.
"And where is..." the goose cut himself off with a gasp as he gazed back over Grey's shoulder, in which he followed to have his eyes lay upon a yellow furred wolf at the back of the boxcar, sleeping more soundly than he had. Grey gazed upon the sleeping wolf, transfixed with something he couldn't quite put his paw on. Maybe it was the way her mane flowed graciously every time the train hit a bump, or was it the look of peace and serenity she had placed on her muzzle that made his heart flutter. Despite his want to gaze at the beautiful wolf longer, his body turned his head back toward the two avians.
"She's sleeping, so be quiet." He scolded.
The goose nodded his head, "Ah yes, quiet. Shhhh." He signaled the duck by him to be silent, only to break into loud squawks as they dodged every beam and pillar as the train passed through an unexpected bridge. Grey shook his head and sighed.
"What are you guys doing here?" He asked annoyed by their loud presence.
"Making sure you don't miss the run of the course," the duck answered.
"Jasper Park, It is a few miles up. Do not miss it." The goose informed him.
"Jasper, a few miles. Got it."
"Good." The goose smiled.
Grey saw the yellow duck study the wolf that slept behind him, allowing Grey to get another glance at her, bringing a mourning sense of nostalgia to his heart. "I have to say, your girlfriend looks quite pretty when she sleeps."
Grey shook his head, "She's not my girlfriend." He corrected.
Out of nowhere, the two birds slammed into the side of a billboard with a large bam, causing Grey to wince.
"You should work on that!" He heard the goose call to him as the train sped on, leaving them behind. This causing Grey to debate his words, before shaking the thought out of his head. He sighed and walked towards the wolfs sleeping form, giving him a closer look. The throbbing in his heart intensified as he starred longer. However, his body yet again acted on its own, and brought his head down and nudged her gently. "Kate," he called softly, "Wake up, Kate. Wake up." The name seemed familiar but he couldn't quite place his paw on where he had heard it before. His heart began to ache worse with hearing her name in which puzzled him.
What was causing this?
The wolf below him stirred a bit before opening her eyelids to show a beautiful view of her amber color eyes. She glanced at him and smiled before she stood up and stretch her sore forelegs, causing Grey's heart to skip a beat.
"Grey." A soft and familiar voice left her mouth, confusing Grey.
'Wait... That voice isn't right.' He thought.
"Grey, come on wake up. I brought you some dinner." She continued, catching him off balance.
The world around him began to blur and dissipate. The colors of the dark bluish morning sky began to fade back to black as he felt his body begin to feel heavier. His eyelids forced themselves shut under the newly implemented weight and his body fell to the floor as his world collapsed around him.
He forced his eyes open and shot upright as he glanced around, finding himself back in the cave where he inhabited the few weeks before hand. He found Flake, standing in front of him, shocked by his sudden movements."
"Woah there buddy, calm down. It's just me." She said trying to calm him.
Grey rubbed the sleep from his eyes and shook his head. "Sorry." He apologized, "I just had one hell of a dream right there. You woke me up at a bad time."
"Oh, well sorry, I didn't know." She said guiltily. "From the looks of it you were having a nightmare rather than a good dream."
Grey turned his head to the side, "Really, how come?" He asked curiously.
"Well for starters, you're body is drenched in sweat, plus you were shaking."
Grey hadn't realized it until she had brought it up that she was indeed correct. His body was covered in a cold sweat, and he could feel his legs possess a little shake to them.
"Huh that's funny." He said chuckling to himself.
Flake smiled evilly, "By the way I see it, i'd say you had one heck of a dream alright. You weren't doing anything naughty in there were you Grey?" She questioned him with raised brow.
Grey blushed heavily which shown through his drenched fur. "N-no! No I was wasn't!" He said defensively.
"Are you sure?" She mused, "You stuttered, people stutter when they're not telling the truth you know."
Grey grit his teeth, "Or maybe they're just embarrassed with such a dumb and suggestive assumption." He countered.
"Uh huh, sure. Whatever you say." Flake said undeterred from her accusation.
"Ugh, what do you want anyway Flake?" Grey asked, wishing she wasn't so teasing.
"Well, as I said before..." she bent down and picked up the carcass of a dead rabbit beside her, setting it down in front of him, "I brought you some food."
"Wait..." Grey stopped her. "Isn't Kierra supposed to stop by with food. Where is she?" He asked concerned.
"Oh, she and five other wolves went out on a longer than usual hunt. I think Kierra said something about scouts seeing a pack of huge moose far to the east."
"To the east? I thought that was just a desolated desert." He said confused, recalling conversations with Kierra about how isolated the east was.
"Your guess is as good as mine," she agreed, "Maybe it has to do with the humans that inhabit the area."
"Yeah maybe. Oh well, it's not like talking about it will do anything about it though."
"True. Oh! I almost forgot, how's your leg feeling?" She asked examining his leg.
Grey glanced down at his limb, taking in all the features he could. It was still a little disfigured and sensitive as well but other than that, it was fine. "Other than hurting it with such a shock you gave me, I'd say it's gotten a lot better."
Flake grinned, "Good, how about we take that brace off. It's been a good two weeks since your 'heroic' event."
Grey nodded, "Sounds good, I've been wanting this thing off ever since you put it on. It causes a really bad itch that I can't reach."
"Now that would've been hilarious to watch." She said chuckling a little.
"Glad my pain brings you humor." Grey said, rolling his eyes.
"Good, because it makes this part so much more fun!" she said as she ripped one of the maple leaves off, ripping some of Grey's fur with it.
"Ow!" Grey cried, "a little bit more of a warn- Gah!" He was cut off when Flake pulled another one off his leg.
"Suck it up buttercup." She said, pulling yet another one from his reddening skin. "We still have five to go."
"What are the-Ah, these even for?God damn it! Mother Mmmmm!" He tried his best to censor himself.
"Good job catching yourself, and the maple within the leaves help stop the bleeding and quickens the scabs healing process. Just makes things a whole lot cleaner and easier to tear off." She explained pulling the last two off at once earning a growl from Grey.
With all the leaves off, she began to undo the vines that held his brace together and carefully pulled them off, exposing his leg back to the world. His fur where the brace constricted was matted down and stood out compared to the rest of his fur which flowed freely.
"There we go, all done! Now why don't you stand up and try walking on it." She told him, eager to see if her treatment had helped him.
Shakily, Grey stood up, putting some weight on his now free hind leg. He felt a sharp pain, when his his paw touched the floor, suffering the pins and needles sensation climbing his appendage. He clenched his teeth, and squinted his eyes, "Oooh that feels lovely," he said with obvious sarcasm in his voice, while attempting to stretch his leg out without hurting it further. His attempt ended in failure as his muscle tensed and seized up a bit. "Maybe we should put the cast back on." He suggested.
"The cast isn't going to take the pain away, you'll just have to push through it for now." She stated. "I could rub some herbs on it to numb the pain a bit, but they're quite rare and only are used for gashing and lethal treatments.
"Really?" Humphrey frowned, "Can't you make an exception for me?" He asked with pleading eyes.
Hmmm," Flake debated the question. "I mean since you are a baby I could give you some."
Grey sighed annoyed, "Stop calling me a baby. I swear it gets old really quickly." He scolded her.
Flake only giggled in response, enjoying the tease session she was giving him. Grey rolled his eyes and redirected his attention to his leg. He put one foreleg out in front of the other, followed suit by his hind legs, shacking a little bit with each step.
Flake got over her fits and focused on Grey's attempt to walk, preparing herself for him stumbling at anytime. "You alright? How's it holding?"
"Not the greatest, I assure you. But at least I can move. I'll manage." He responded with a genuine smile, "Thanks for patching me up Flake, you're really talented at what you do." This earned an immediate blush from Flake as she attempted to shake it off like it was nothing.
"N-No problem!" she said scratching the back of her head, "It's my job after all. Not like I could have refused anyway." Her mind began to come up for anything to redirect the topic. "So you going to the Moonlight Howl this weekend?" She asked frantically.
Grey shook his head. "I'm sorry, the what howl?" He asked word ringing a bell but not loud enough for him to remember anything.
"Oh yeah, nobody has probably told you about it." She mentally smacked herself. "It's just something we do before mating season. It's where you group up with someone and basically sing with your partner until the nights end."
This triggered Grey's interest. "Oh that sounds fun, speaking of which, how about you?" Grey asked. "Do you have someone to go with then?"
Flake smiled, "Yeah, as a matter of fact I do. You know Koaki?"
"You mean that huge black wolf that never talks? Gashes in his side, that Koaki?" He asked.
"Yep! That Koaki. Well it took forever, but I managed to convince him to take me."
Grey was amused, "Ha, didn't know you were a sucker for the silent type. Or maybe it's the tall, black, and handsome approach you're taking."
Flake blushed again. She wasn't sure what it was about him, but just hanging around him gave her that feeling of safety. "I mean I'm not going to deny any of that, he is pretty dreamy. But that's besides the point." She said shaking her head. "You have any ideas on who you're willing to ask? How about little ol' Creed, I'm sure she would love to hear how well your voice fares."
Grey considered the idea for a moment, debating his option. "I don't know. It'd be fun for sure but, Even I don't know how good my voice is."
"Oh I'm sure you have a wonderful voice. Don't be so hard on yourself."
She assured him, "besides, it's not about the howl really. Everyone's there to bond with each other before mating season."
"Makes sense, I guess I'll give it a try. Do you know if Kierra's going with anyone?" Grey asked curiously.
Flake rubbed the back of her head, "You know what, I don't think she's ever participated in a moonlight howl to be perfectly honest." Flake said striking Grey with shock. With looks like hers, it was a surprise that she hadn't gone with anyone.
"Do you know why then?" He asked.
She nodded, "She's a huge chicken with getting up close and personal with guys. I don't know if she dislikes the sentimentality or is overwhelmed by it, but she tries to ditch every event like this one. She's ditched me for the last two years when I've had to go with some slob that was crushing over me."
Grey chuckled, "So you don't think she'll say yes if I asked her?"
Flake just starred at Grey, exerting an awkward silence, before she blew up into a fit of laughter taking a moment to recover her composure. "Oh, God Grey you know how to make a wolf laugh."
"Oh come on Flake, give me an honest answer, please." He asked, yearning to know if he actually had a chance.
"I'm not entirely sure to be honest. I mean you're one of the closest people to her. I mean it's a possibility but I wouldn't get my hopes up if I were you. She even turned me down when I begged her with an offer to groom her mane every day, and mind you, her mane is always, ALWAYS, a sweaty and greasy mess."
Grey sighed but he was defeated yet. "What about you help me out here?" He suggested.
Flake looked at him with a confused face. "Didn't I just tell you? She doesn't listen to any type of reason. I don't know about you , but I find a greasy mane very annoying. Yet she just declined my offer like it was nothing."
Grey grinned coming with an idea. "Ok I agree, but hear me out on this." He asked, earning a sigh from the snow white wolf.
"Fine, go ahead. I'm listening." Flake sighed defeated as she lifted her ears in preparation to listen to Grey's plan that probably would end in failure.
"Ok, so you know how Kierra hates being teased or called out, right?"
She nodded her head agreement, "Last person called her out for being slower than him, learned his lesson after she destroyed him in a race around the territory."
"Exactly, How about we call her out by calling her, as you previously stated, a chicken around guys. If she reacts the way she always does, tell her all she has to do is prove you wrong by going with someone to the howl. After that, I'll do the rest." He explained starting to develop a suave tone to his voice as he voiced his plan.
He studied Flake as she processed the idea within her head. Surprisingly, it wasn't that bad of an idea! Kierra almost never backed down from any type of challenge and would be willing to do a variety of things to prove everyone wrong. Her attention was taken from her thoughts to Grey as her extended his right paw.
"So you in?" He asked with his signature grin.
Flake returned his grin with one of her own as she took his paw, giving it a shake.
"Alright Grey, I'm in."