[A/N: Hey guys! I'm sorry it's been so long, but the good news is I've got another chapter coming out right after this one! It should be up soon! I'm also thinking about taking away the chapter names and just adding part 1, part 2, part 3, etc. like I did with this one. Thoughts?]

Niju and Aleu

Several Weeks later

Aleu liked to think she was making some progress in terms of her hunting as she trotted back from the meadow. The hare in her mouth was evidence of the first successful hunt she had done on her own. Sure, it was nothing more than a small scruffy bit of nearly meatless fur, but it was a success nonetheless. Aleu couldn't wait to rub this into Niju's gloating face.

It would be an understatement to say that Aleu's first week of hunting went terribly…And the second week went just about as badly. It wasn't until Aleu's third week of eating nothing but what she could catch that she began to progress. She had gotten tired of only eating the clams and meager fish that she could catch; she was so tired and hungry that her instincts began to take over. The first rabbit that Niju helped her chase had been killed without mercy or a second thought, and the same went for the shrew. However, this hare was the first that Aleu had gone out and killed alone.

On her victory march back to the den she'd taken up residence in, she spotted Niju drinking from a pond. Aleu just couldn't resist assuming the crouched pose and starting to creep towards him. She heard a twig snap under her feet, but he didn't seem to notice as he nonchalantly lifted his head and stared off into the distance. Aleu froze until he lowered it into the pond again. She snuck closer and closer. She was right on top of him now…So close.

She dropped her kill in shock when he suddenly spoke. "If I were you… I wouldn't dare."

Aleu quickly recovered herself. "How'd you know it was me?!"

"I could hear you breathing from the other side of the pond. Also, you move clumsily and too quickly. Patience is what you seem to lack." He responded without turning his head.

Aleu just rolled her eyes. "Never thought I'd hear that from you."

He then turned towards her and examined her kill. Aleu held it proudly in her mouth, waiting for approval. None came.

"You still have much work to do, Mutt."

Aleu felt color rise in her cheeks once again, but she kept her temper. She could almost feel a tear of frustration slide down her smooth fur, how he angered her! She had finally killed for herself- and he had only criticism for her.

She hadn't realized she was speaking until she heard the words leaving her mouth. "Well fine! I don't even need your approval to know I'm making great progress!" Now she definitely felt like the angst filled teenager she knew she could be.

"Shut your maw and eat. You'll need your strength." He walked off, she presumed back to his den.

Aleu grumbled and ate her rabbit in silence. She went back to the pack to check on them every few days, but the sun was already low in the sky and she wasn't feeling up to the trek. What she really wanted to do was ask Niju how to catch the bigger game. She felt ready to learn it, but that would mean stepping all over her pride in order to do so. She refused to do such a thing, dealing with Niju as a teacher was bad enough.

Aleu was walking into the cave she called a den when she saw it. There was a bear in her cave. She yelped in surprise and began to backtrack- until she felt her back hit something solid. She'd backed into the cave wall instead of the entrance.

The large brown bear seemed to move in a manner that was prepared to strike. Aleu just stared like a wide-eyed fawn. Then she saw two familiar bright lights emanating from the bear's eyes.

"Go." Aleu could hear the words in her head as clear as day. It startled her so badly that she crashed into the rocky wall face first before she could get away. When she finally stopped some distance away she looked back and thought about what had just occurred. Aniu seemed to be back.

"Go…Go where?" Aleu spoke to herself, she felt confused as all hell. She glanced back at the cave again, wondering if she was just dreaming about what had happened. She couldn't see the bear from here. It was as if it had just disappeared into the depths of the cave. She raised her head to waft the air around her, but she could pick nothing up.

She then began to understand; perhaps this was the kick in the rear to go ask Niju for advice. But…that was hard… She trudged back to where Niju's den was. She didn't totally no why she was going there, but she was going nonetheless. By the time she had made it there, it was quite dark. She sat down at the small entrance.

She just couldn't bring herself to do it. He was probably asleep anyways, and he most definitely wouldn't be happy with her waking him.

When it started to rain as she sat outside his den once again, it was of little surprise to Aleu. She knew what fate was trying to force her to do, but she just didn't want to do it. Her stubborn little juvenile mind just couldn't bring her pride down enough. She'd had just about enough of this, what kind of game was Aniu trying to play?

Aleu was soaking wet and stock still when she heard Niju's voice next to her. "Haven't you got the sense to get out of the rain, halfbreed?!"

Niju wordlessly began to start his way inside. He couldn't deny that he was irritated and tired these last few weeks- well… more than usual anyways. He hadn't been sleeping well, but he couldn't pinpoint the cause of it. He had many reoccurring dreams but once he awoke he could recall little more than snippets and images along with a strong sense of deja-vu. He was worried he was running out of time to save his clan, Aleu needed to improve at a faster rate.

Upon resting his head in the soft dirt he had dug for himself inside, he heard her behind him. He pretended to ignore her as he absentmindedly chewed the remnants off the femur of an injured moose he finished off. He knew there were some decent hunters in the clan. He assumed they were the ones to injure the moose in the first place, but they lacked the skill to strike the final blow. Now he was enjoying the spoils of their efforts.

Aleu knew Niju was aware of her presence, but ignored her all the same. He was waiting for her to speak her mind, it wasn't his job to figure out her problems. She figured she'd better get right to it.

"Niju, what do you think about starting on bigger game? I think I'm ready." She said with as much confidence as she could muster.

"You can barely hunt rabbits! You're some sorry excuse for a hunter. You're not ready for anything." Niju started explosively but regained his composure. He avoided looking at her.

" Yes Niju! I know I've got a ways to go… Ugh. I know. But we can't just…" She began to trail off as she moved closer to him.

"It's just that we're running out of time." She finished while she invaded his space, she was going to force him to look at her. "It's not about my abilities; it's about the clan's need."

Niju looked up to retort but her big azure eyes were mesmerizing. He found himself at a loss for words. His silence would have to be his agreement. He couldn't deny that she was right. The clan needed a leader, and they would surely starve without him.

"I'm ready. I have to be." She turned to exit his den.

"Sleep here." He commanded flatly.

Aleu was a little astonished at his request. It seemed like most of the time he could barely stand her, unless they were about to die. She understood his frustration, she really did. He would love to be in her favored place among the clan. She understood why he wished she didn't have to be part of the equation at all. If he was in her shoes, it would all be over and done with- instead of this painfully slow process.

"Niju, I-"

"Save your breath. If you think I'm going all the way to those caves to drag you out because you can't even manage to wake-up on time… Think again."

"Hmmph." Aleu rolled her eyes and sat on the hard ground. So much for that. She watched Niju roll onto his back and chuckle to himself.

"What's funny?" She chanced an inquiry.

"You are, mutt. You amuse me."

Aleu disliked being laughed at by the large wolf and narrowed her brow. "Why?" She was getting angrier by the moment.

"You don't even know how to bed down properly. Must have been raised by dogs." Niju replied coolly.

"I just like it like this, so just leave me alone!" She quipped. It's not that she was really lying, but the only reason she didn't make her bed is because she was never taught how. Her papa slept on his blanket and her mother had her basket.

"As much as I like to... My pack would starve. But don't fret; I'll leave you alone sooner than you think." Niju grumbled into the ground as he turned over.

Aleu decided it wasn't worth her time to add anything to that, so she maintained her silence. No reason in beating a dead caribou to prove a point.

Before she could fall asleep, she was sure she heard a raven in the distance. Odd hour for a raven to be awake.

-Niju and Aleu-

On The Plains

It was about a moon since Aleu first started to learn to hunt from Niju and she was making good progress. Niju was stalking a caribou from one side and Aleu was watching them both from the underbrush. This one was a loner, as Niju had pointed out to her. When he first picked up the trail he told her that the caribou was an older female who most likely fell behind the herd.

Aleu waited for Niju to make the first move, the plan was for her to follow him and shadow his movements. She saw Niju begin to crouch and creep forward. The soft grass was a good cushion for her feet and she attempted to move through the underbrush with grace and silence. When the cow looked up suddenly at her surroundings, Aleu froze in her tracks. She felt a breeze blow from the other direction and the caribou cow resumed eating.

Aleu breathed a sigh of relief but her breath was quickly stolen from her as Niju leapt from his cover and the old female made a mad scramble in an attempt to flee. This was what it was all about. This was the chase.

Niju barked for Aleu to follow him as he took off. His well-muscled frame could move with surprising speed as he gave chase. Aleu lost herself in a moment while watching him, before she realized her own legs were not moving nearly fast enough. The cow was making her escape while snaking and weaving a path through the grassy plains. Aleu found it difficult to keep up because the caribou was so swift and unpredictable…Even in her old age.

Niju was unrelenting as he pursued her like a swift machine; he flowed with the old cow's movements effortlessly. The cow was swift but Niju could tell her age was eating away at her speed, he could tell she was beginning to tire. In his peripheral vision he could see that Aleu was beginning to catch up until she was running alongside him. It was time to finish it.

"Now's your chance! Just like I said!" He barked to her while jumping over a small boulder in his way of a quicker path to the fleeing caribou cow.

Aleu had no time for guilt or second thoughts towards the fleeing animal. The animal was fighting for its life just as Aleu was fighting for hers and the life of the clan. Aleu tapped into her reserves and sprinted alongside the tiring cow, her mind was blank as she made a lunge for the throat. The cow evaded her and caused Aleu to miss her initial target, but she still managed to sink her teeth into the fleshy side of the cow. Blood immediately soaked Aleu's face and she struggled to hang on as the cow whipped around in anguish.

Niju had bitten into the cow's sinewy leg a few times, but he decided to let Aleu take charge of this one. He let go and slowed his pace to watch Aleu finish off the cow.

Aleu made several more attempts but kept missing, her timing was off but she always managed to bite the flank or belly. Aleu made an effort to hang onto the cow's side and sink deeper into the cow's flesh. She hoped that she could trip the cow up. Niju yelled something to her, but Aleu was too focused to hear it. An antler to her side sent her flying into the ground. She got back to her feet, shaken, but unscathed. The cow darted off, and Aleu panted to catch her breath. That was a close call.

Niju caught up with her immediately and had some scolding for her. "You could have gotten yourself killed, you're supposed to lunge and release!"

"I was hoping for a deeper wound, I thought if I pushed harder I could-"

"That's too risky you fool! One strike and you could be dead. Lunge and release is all you need."

"Well I missed the throat so I decided to improvise." Aleu began to trot in the direction of the cow. The cow had run over the top of a hill and Aleu had lost sight of her, but the trail of blood left a good path to follow.

"You may have done more that you realize. You don't need a deeper wound." Niju kept up with her as they followed the blood trail. Niju suddenly pulled ahead.

"There she is." Niju was looking down the hill.

The cow was slumped on her side at the bottom of the tall grass covered hill. She was obviously succumbing to her injuries.

"It's not always about one final strike, mutt. See for yourself."

Aleu climbed up the hill behind him and peered down. She saw that her work was done.

" She must be older if she fell that quickly, I remember you saying that an injured caribou can run for miles." Aleu contemplated.

"That is correct, but usually that only happens to especially clumsy first timers who weren't taught the critical parts of the body to hit. Since I'm teaching you, I expect you to know better by now."

"Ugh… Okay." Aleu just rolled her eyes and proceeded towards the downed caribou. "Would some appreciation for what I've done be too much to ask from you? Just a little?" She turned towards him.

"Shut your trap and get to eating. This is grizzly bear territory, and I don't want to lose my meal because of you. We can discuss your petty problems over scraps later."

Aleu decided to save her remarks for later... It was time to feast.

After gorging themselves to their heart's content they took a brief rest before tearing off meat for scraps. Niju knew there was plenty of meat to last for days but he could tell that scavengers were present in this area and so were bears. He figured they'd better run off with what they could.

The sun was only beginning to dip under the mountainous horizon as they arrived back at the den among the rocks. They had their mouths full of whatever they could carry back. Aleu was exhausted and thought that the hard dirt under her feet had never looked so welcoming. She collapsed into it.

Niju sat in the entrance of the cave and watched her for a few moments. He had been noticing just how much she'd grown in the past few weeks. She was doing pretty well all things considered, but he wasn't about to tell her that. She still had some challenges before her and he didn't want her to get arrogant of her abilities. He wondered what she would be like if circumstances were different. His mind briefly slipped into thinking about what she would be doing during the winter season… Aleu was about that age-wasn't she?

He'd heard the old wolf rumor about how female dogs were wanton and promiscuous. It was said they would couple with the first male they came across. When it was all said and done, Aleu would probably end up in some human village this winter… Or wherever she said she would go after this. He knew Aleu was pretty small for a wolf but probably quite large for a dog, he amused himself with the thought the male dogs desperately trying to reach her. Heh. That'd be a good laugh.

He rolled onto his side. It was probably too much caribou meat making him think such foolish thoughts. He wondered how a wolf could ever stoop so low to mate with a dog… What a distasteful affair that must have been.

He heard Aleu sighing in her sleep and shifting behind him, but Niju couldn't settle himself just yet. Aleu really did look ridiculous on the hard patch of dirt, what kind of parents didn't tech their pup to bed-down properly?

His thoughts then turned to the clan, as they often did. He hoped they could hold out for just a while longer.