Disclaimer: Heiri and Kipcha would like to state to all lawyers that they do not own Kiba, Hige, Tsume, Toboe, Blue or any other Wolf's Rain characters that may or may not appear in this fanfiction. Wolf's Rain, it's characters, and anything else that could possibly have anything else to do with the series is all owned by Bandai. Kipcha is scared about how formal this sounds, but she presses on nonetheless and would like to say that they own themselves. So if you want to use them, you must ask them first.

Kipcha's Note: I get the first chapter! So, we both hope you guys enjoy this fic and we will always respond to your reviews to let you know that we do care what you've got to say. So review once in a while, ok?

Surviving the Winter
By: Kipcha & Heiri

Chapter 1
The Scout & The Predator

A crisp wind whipped across the valley into the rocky faced wall. Even if they had been lying outside, the wind could not have penetrated their thick coats. But they were not outside and were oblivious to the autumn breeze; instead, they were inside a cave that had been carved into the rock wall.

If you walked deep enough in the cave and had strong enough eyes to see through the dark, you would see four wolves, lying in a peaceful slumber. Among them was not one female, which was devastating to their pack because a pack's duty was to raise the young, the future, to carry on the pack. Without females, there would be no cubs and there would be no future. Meaning, once they were gone, there would be no pack.

The oldest wolf was only half a year older than the others were, but he was not the leader of the pack. What determines a pack leader is not by age, but by his experience and his cunning. The oldest, while he had more experience, was reckless and had a tendency to think with his gut rather than with his head, which had shown through his husky build. His sugar brown coat showed that he was in his prime age of just halfway though his third year. In his almond eyes were usually a mischievous spark and his face, a tan brown wrapping around his muzzle, his eyes, and around the front of his neck like a collar, carried a charm to it. He was truly a handsome wolf and was longing to seek a mate.

The next wolf was originally a lone wolf and had been accepted into the pack when they found him and the youngest. The lone wolf was a blue gray all over his body except for his chest and around his eyes and muzzle. On his chest was a scar. He never explained to the others how he got the scar, not even to the youngest. But he still knew of the dark secrets it held, the answers of why he was a lone wolf when the reckless one and the leader had found him. His amber-golden eyes had a hint of green within them that glinted with the exact same sharpness as his defenses. Maybe that was why he was such a skilled hunter and excellent fighter, but whatever the reason, he was headstrong and liked to be on his own. That's what made him different from the leader and why he may have argued with him so much.

The kid, who was curled up close to the gray, was a reddish-brown on his back and the top of his head, except for his nose. The rest of him, including his underside and his legs as well as his eyes and the rest of his muzzle, was a tan brown. He was of a small build since he had yet to develop any muscles. His fur wasn't even to its full length yet since he was only a year, still coming out of his cub stage. So naïve to the world, his amber golden eyes had a caring spark to him. He was soft and didn't think with logic or cunning, instead he thought with his emotions, which made him the weakest of the pack. He still had a lot to learn since he had been raised by humans for so long before he crawled off on his own.

The last wolf, the leader of the four, was different. He stuck out like a sore thumb during this season. His white fur, during the winter however, allowed him to blend in and without a keen eye of the wolf, you would not even see him coming across the white background. His sharp amber gold eyes showed his leadership as they burned with a passion and desire to gain for his pack, which is what made him the leader. Filled with pride and instinct, he was the one to stick to the old traditions the most compared to the others in his pack. The others looked to him for these traits as the leader. Normally he would be on top of the rock wall, peering down at the world below the cliff and watching over his pack, but for now, he was resting peacefully like the others in their warm den, out of the nippy winds that were slowly bringing winter.

Across the stream and across the field that was sprinkled with an occasional wood, however, life was already beginning to move about and take place. "Heiri!" a voice called from outside the den. The she-wolf pack leader lifted her head from inside their makeshift den that had been abandoned by a group of foxes and stared out the entrance. "Heiri!" the voice called again. The blue-gray with a white wolf rose to her feet and stretched, giving a long yawn.

"What?" she finally called back as she trotted out of the cave, her emerald eyes instantly going to the source of the voice. A she-wolf, older than her by a year, was the prime example of a gray wolf's looks with black streaked across her back with the reddish-tan mixed in. Extending up onto her head, the black met in a widow's peak on her forehead while it lined her ears and down the back the reddish-tan, giving it the appearance of fox ears. Her tail was dribbled with black, only up to about her mid-tail before, like her belly, the majority of her face, her chest, and her legs. But from her point of hock and elbows up was the black and reddish-tan mixture on her back. Her amber-golden eyes looked pleading.

"Who's hunting? I want something to eat!" She looked through Heiri, not at her. Despite this wolf being older than her pack leader, she knew that looking directly in her friend's eyes would be a challenge, something she didn't want to make as she also kept her tail down.

"Blue, are you hungry?" Heiri asked, looking over her shoulder up at a black wolf lying on a rock outside the den. Opening her ice blue eyes, Blue lifted her head.

"I already caught a squirrel," she replied. It was unnatural for a wolf to carry the blue eyes and it showed her true blood of being half wolf, but also, half dog. She had been a lone wolf and had run into Heiri and the other wolf's pack that they had all three escaped. She had just been a cub, lost without anyone to guide her as she had been abandoned by her owners. Heiri's pack had welcomed her as Heiri was born to the alpha male and female. But it was not her blood that made the leader of this pack, but instead was her skills. Blue was inexperienced at survival by herself and stuck to the other wolf's side quite often, both good friends. The other wolf was easily distracted and while she was a logical thinker, she was unable to lead and unable to make decisions because she was such a logical thinker. It was more of a group effort with this small pack, but it helped it function properly.

"Go, get something to eat, Kipcha," Heiri said as Blue got back into a comfortable position. "But be careful."

"Don't worry," Kipcha replied with a smirk in her eyes.

"I saw a hare earlier in that cluster of trees," Blue added. "You might be able to find a warren if you get lucky."

"I'll bring something back for you, Heiri," Kipcha said as she was already beginning to think of the chase of a rabbit. It had its speed, but Kipcha had endurance, all she had to do was to block it from its hole in the ground and let it run itself until it couldn't run anymore and Kipcha could get her jaws on it.

"Don't forget to sniff out for other wolves," Heiri added quickly before Kipcha took off.

"You worry too much," Kipcha said as she turned. "I'll be back before you know it." And with that, she bolted off into the cluster Blue had pointed out.

But Kipcha's stomach wasn't the only one that was growling and pleading for food. "I'm so hungry," the huskily built wolf groaned.

"Like you need anything to eat," the gray one growled. "You eat enough to feed all of us, Hige." Hige only shot him a glare.

"We're moving to the winter den in five suns," the white wolf announced as he walked down the slope from the top of the rock wall.

"What? Why Kiba?" the young one looked up from the field mouse he had been barely able to capture.

"The deer are beginning to get on the move again," Kiba replied.

"I still don't get why I should listen to you," the gray snarled.

"Because, Tsume," the youngster began, "Kiba knows what is best."

"Nobody asked you to come along anyways," Hige added with a smirk in his almond eyes. Standing up he stretched, and continued, "How about I go check it out, maybe we can move there sooner. I can see if the foxes have moved or if they are still staying in that little den of theirs." Kiba said nothing, but Hige didn't need him to say anything as he had already silently agreed to him.

"Can I come?" the youngster asked, looking up with hopeful eyes.

"And have you blow my cover? Forget it, runt," Hige said as he already began to trot off.

"My name isn't runt, Hige! It's Toboe!" he growled.

"Whatever," Hige called over his shoulder as he waded through the stream, occasionally exclaiming about the coldness of the stream in the early autumn air. Climbing out the other side, he shook his fur off and ran out of their sight. He was a fast runner despite his build, which made him such an excellent scout. But that wasn't the only good part about him, his strong nose. His ability to pick up scent was amazing as he entered a few clusters of forests that he knew from front to back. It wouldn't be much longer until he reached the last cluster and made it through to the fox den. His tongue lazily lolled out of his mouth as he ran, letting the wind whip through his fur and past his ears.

In the last forest, unbeknownst to him, a she-wolf was stalking her prey. "Perfect," she whispered so quietly that the hare didn't even know she had spoken. Carefully padding her way around, she saw the escape route and quickly got in position. Kipcha watched and waited, the hare knew she was there. But the question than ran through every prey's mind was the question of whether to run or to stay still. She just had to wait for it to make the decision to bolt. The trapped hare locked eyes with her. That's when it made the decision she wanted it to. It freaked and bolted, that was her cue. Letting her primal instincts take over, she chased after it like the predator she was. To wolves, they were the top predator with few enemies and only competitions for food. She chased the hare around and continued to herd it further and further away from his burrow as she began to gain ground on him despite having to weave around the trees. Before too long, Kipcha was running practically on top of the creature and brought her jaws down upon it.

Clamping the powerful jaws that were given to her species, Kipcha delivered a fatal strike as she felt the warm, metallic liquid trickle into her mouth. In a matter of seconds, the hare lay limp in her jaws. Lying down with her kill, Kipcha decided to devour as much as she could stuff now and if there was any leftovers to bring it back to her leader. Just before she was about to take her next bite, Kipcha froze. She sensed something in the forest other than herself and the other prey.

Lurking in the trees, another predator like herself was standing behind the veil of trees. He was unable to believe his luck and his surprise of seeing a female. Kipcha lifted her head from her kill and turned with her hackles raised and her lips curled into a snarl, letting an intimidating growl emit from her throat.

"Whoa, whoa," a male's voice came from the trees as she wanted a husky, sugar brown wolf come forward. "I'm not here to fight."

"Then what are you doing here?" she snapped, unafraid to show her fangs to him. He sighed as he remembered his leader behaving the same way when he first met him.

"I'm just scouting," he replied, he went to take another step forward, but she removed the weight from her haunches forward and snapped. He instantly took his paw back. "Where do you come from? Do you live near here?"

"Why should that be any concern of yours?"

"Look, we can be friends," he replied. "I'm Hige. Who are you?" She growled and hesitated.

"Kipcha," she snarled in response.

"A lone wolf?"

"No."

"Then where's your pack?"

"Like I'd tell you," she growled, lowering her muzzle in a menacing manner. She showed her defiance by hiding her throat instead of submitting to this stranger and exposing her throat.

"Ok, you don't have to tell me," he said as he sniffed the air. He could smell a fox scent on her. Either she was really a lone wolf staying in the fox den or she really did have a pack. And if she did, it could be dangerous. "Where's your mate?"

"I don't have one."

"Unfortunate." Kipcha only sent him another sharp glare as she continued to keep her defenses up. "What about your alpha male?"

"Don't have one."

"Female?"

"I doubt she'd like to talk to you," Kipcha growled.

"If you don't have an alpha male then you just have females then…" he concluded. "Interesting," he added. "Well, I best be heading back. I'll see you around, Kipcha." He turned and trotted off without worrying about the agitated she-wolf behind him. Kipcha ceased her growling after he was out of sight and his scent was gone. Picking up her meal, she decided it would be best to get back to the den. Heiri would need to know of this mysterious male. If he was a lone wolf himself then this could be their pack's chance to have cubs and prosper. Kipcha turned and ran back for her own den. She only hoped Heiri would think of something to do with what little information Kipcha had been able to gather about the wolf.