"I swear to Maria and back that if you don't shut the hell up I will push your ass into the next pile of elk shit I spot," an agitated female voice snarled, followed by the click of fangs snapping together and a high-pitched squeal.
Armin lifted his head from his paws, deep blue eyes watching as his small cream-furred female chased after her larger gray-furred brother with hackles raised and fangs bared. The golden-furred male pulled his lips back in a small smile, an amused huff escaping his chest. The female must have heard cause his keen blue eyes noticed her flushed muzzle and the slight wag of her tail. Two moons had passed since Annie and her three brothers joined the pack, causing a change of behavior in each of the siblings.
Jean, Annie's gray-furred brother who she was currently chasing, liked to instigate fights with Eren, which always ended in the large brown-furred male flipping him head over tail. Reiner, Annie's enormous stocky gold and white-furred brother, became more playful and tended to get more embarrassed more than usual, The reason for this was due to Krista, the smallest female in the pack, who doted on the large male and would hide either behind him or under his belly when something spooked her. Bertoldt, Annie's final brother who was tall and lean with brown fur and a front white paw, was still shy but becoming more social. Like Armin the tall shy male would try to mediate arguments, which never ended well unless the smaller golden-furred male stepped in to help.
The biggest change came from Annie, the small cream-furred female. The once extremely shy and stoic female, who had clung to Armin for security, became a very confident wolf. She was more social with her packmates, sometimes initiating a game of Chase. She started to tease Reiner and Krista, much like her brothers did whenever the caught her disappearing periodically with Armin for a perimeter run. She would now discipline the more unruly packmates, something that she took upon herself right after Mikasa had announced that she was carrying pups. The small female also stayed behind to keep the pregnant Wolf/German Shepherd company when the rest of the pack went on a hunt or to patrol the territory.
Armin glanced over at the napping Mikasa who was sprawled on her side on a thick patch of grass, small lumps appearing on her bulging belly periodically as her unborn pups shifted and kicked. Eren was nowhere to be seen, having just left the den site with their Uncle Erwin and the rest of the older male's pack to search for prey. Levi, Mikasa's older brother, as well as Petra went with them.
"Jean should stop picking fights with Annie. One day she's gonna tear him up if he pushes her too much," a deep shy voice woofed causing Armin to look over at Bertoldt, who had flopped down next to him with his lips pulled back in a shy grin.
"Don't worry. It won't come to that. If it did I bet you that she will feel horrible for a good week," Armin replied, tail wagging.
A snarl and a series of yelps caught their attention. Armin and Bertoldt, as well as the flirting pair of Reiner and Krista, looked over to see Jean covered in something smelly and brown on his back. Annie sat a few wolf-lengths away, ice blue eyes narrowed and fangs bared. Reiner's deep chest boomed with laughter, leaning against a giggling Krista and burying his muzzle into her thick-furred shoulder. Bertoldt covered his muzzle with a large white paw, trying hard not to laugh.
"Annie, my love, I think Jean has had enough discipline for now. Besides, I feel hurt that you decided to ignore me today," Armin woofed as he trotted over, brushing up against her lean build to place a paw on her back and his muzzle between her ears.
"Oh, Armin. Since when did you start looking at me with those eyes?" Annie replied softly, having recently noticed a strange shine in his deep blue eyes whenever he look at her. She felt him grumble against her and an affectionate lick on her muzzle, causing her to turn her head to nibble his chin in a loving way.
"If you two are going to behave like that, you best wait till the season starts," a tired voice grumbled, causing the two wolves to yelp and turn to see the heavily pregnant Mikasa gaze at them with sleep-hazed dark gray eyes.
The black and red-furred Wolf/German Shepherd opened her powerful jaws in a yawn, a whine escaping her throat when she felt a hard kick from one of her unborn pups. She placed her head back in the ground, her tail thumping the soft grass in a content wag. Half a moon had passed since telling Eren that she was carrying his pups. The huge brown-furred male became extremely affectionate with her, nuzzling her pup-filled belly and grinning widely whenever he felt the pups kick his muzzle.
As the pregnancy progressed Mikasa had become short-tempered, lashing out at the others over the littlest things. She would feel horrible immediately after and would wander off to keep to herself until the following day. When this happens Annie would go with Mikasa as a silent companion, much to the surprise of the pack. There was usually a bit of tension between the two females, which had stopped once Mikasa became pregnant and Annie had realized that they were quite similar when it came to caring about someone,
"I wouldn't dare do something that irresponsible. Your pups alone will keep everyone busy. It would be disrespectful for me to go ahead and just whelp a litter without permission," Annie said to Mikasa, not noticing the upset look that flashed through Armin's face.
"If anything, my behemouth brother over there would be the one to make such a mistake," the small cream-furred female continued, turning her muzzle to look at Reiner, who was closely following Krista around and playfully nipping her.
"I think it best to put our focus on making sure your pups survive since the Snow is not far off," Armin woofed, lowering his muzzle to touch the black and red-furred female's swollen belly, lips pulled back in a grin and tail wagging as the unborn pups kicked him.
Annie watched as her companion talked with Mikasa before trotting away. Mikasa glanced at Annie before dipping her muzzle briefly, as if she was the smaller female some sort of approval. The cream-furred female tilted her head in confusion, only to have the fur on her muzzle flush a bright red with embarrassment when the black and red-furred female nodded towards Armin who had trotted over to Jean and Bertoldt not even a few seconds before. Annie pulled her lip back in a growl, making Mikasa laugh before going back to sleep. The small female sat next to Mikasa as she napped, ice blue eyes studying Armin.
Since the first day she met him, at the end of Summer, Annie felt some sort of attraction toward Armin. He had a calming effect on her, which helped whenever she was nervous or upset. After the first few weeks the cream-furred female decided that she needed to become stronger, to forget the life that she and her brothers ran from and to protect the one who showed her a better life.
As time passed, Annie noticed things about the lean golden-furred male that made her fall for him even more, which her brothers noticed and teased her about. He had a sweet disposition, always asking if she was ok and taking it upon himself to make sure that she knew that someone cared for her. He was the Pack's mediator, making sure that the arguments amongst everyone didn't escalate into full-blown fights. Armin wasn't a fighter, something Annie found out one day when he hadn't returned from patrolling alone.
It happened about 5 weeks before, the day after Mikasa announced that she was going to have pups. Armin and Annie had gotten into a disagreement, which had never happened before. Her normally loving companion had been on edge, pleading with her to stay at the den site and becoming dominant when she didn't listen. After the fight, he had disappeared into the trees to patrol the borders.
By the time the sky went black Annie had gone into full blown panic mode, howling desperately for Armin and attacking a few of the pack when they said something wrong. Mikasa, even though she had just found out she was carrying, was the one to set Annie straight. After slamming the small female to the ground Mikasa sent Annie to find him, telling her that she had to settle down before returning. The cream-furred female had found Armin not far from the West side of the territory boundary, torn up and covered in blood and surrounded by the rogue pack of bullies that tormented him often.
Annie's eyes had glazed over and she let herself go, becoming who she had fought so hard to be. All for the sake of the blood-covered male who filled the hole in her heart, the one who gave her a meaning. The one who she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. After she had ended the lives of his attackers Annie had helped him return to the others, tenderly nursing him back to health.
"Annie. Annie. Are you ok? ANNIE!"
The cream-furred female gasped in surprise and whipped her head around, ears pinned flat to her skull and ice blue eyes wide. Her chest started heaving and her heart began to race, something that hadn't occurred since before she and her brothers joined Eren's pack. Annie flinched when someone's muzzle nudged her, a panicked yelp escaping her as a large paw touched her.
Armin heard the yelp and turned, sky blue eyes widening in concern. Bertoldt and Jean raced over to their sister, Reiner already at her side with ears pinned and gold eyes looking nervous. Mikasa was on her paws trying to calm Annie, whose wide ice blue eyes darted around the clearing frantically before landing on him. The golden-furred male trotted over and licked her muzzle soothingly, placing his head and paw on her back and pulling her into his thick-furred chest.
"A..Armin. I thought that.. Don't leave again. Please, Darling," Annie whimpered, tears falling down her muzzle and onto his fur. Armin glanced at her brothers and flicked an ear. They dipped their muzzles and ran into the woods to join the others, who had left a few hours before. Only Mikasa remained.
"Was it another flashback? They seem to be coming more frequently. Armin and I are worried," Mikasa woofed softly, lying down next to the pair. Annie looked over at her before placing her head on Armin's paws, nodding.
"Nothing is going to happen to me, my love," Armin told her softly, placing his head protectively on her back and falling asleep.
"Well, we best get our rest before the others return. Otherwise we won't get any. Oh and Annie, you might want to think about it. Not sure if Armin noticed or not, but your starting to come in. I'm sure it would make him happy. He was a little upset earlier when you said about not wanting a litter," Mikasa said, laughing when Annie growled 'Shut up!' before they drifted to sleep, not hearing the rustling of leaves coming closer.
Meanwhile with the pack:
"I'm starving! When are we gonna find the herd?" Sasha, a reddish-brown female with a white collar and paws whined, causing Connie, a dark gray-furred male to rub up against her and snicker when a couple of the older wolves glared at her.
"If you don't stop that complaining right now we won't be able to sneak up on them. Shitty Pup," Levi, Mikasa's older black and white-furred brother growled, dark gray eyes flashing dangerously. "And stop encouraging her, Hanji! Start teaching your pup some damn manners!"
Eren let out an agitated huff, dark brown head shaking and emerald green eyes glancing around. Erwin woofed in amusement used to the antics that Hanji and her daughter, Sasha, did on a daily basis. The enormous gold-furred male looked at his nephew, who was searching hard for prey. He pulled his lips back in a small smirk, knowing that Eren wanted to bring a good meal back to his heavily pregnant mate as soon as possible.
"Don't worry Eren. Mikasa is fine. She was sleeping when we left. Armin and Annie are guarding her," a deep voice barked, causing Eren to look over his shoulder and spot a huge gold and white-furred figure loping over.
"What are you doing here? You are supposed to be at the den," Eren growled, causing the others to flinch.
"Take it up with Armin. He asked… Uh, Reiner? Where's Bertoldt? He was just here," Jean barked, looking around for his tall and lanky brother.
"No idea. But he will be fine. Now, let's get to hunting. We scented an injured moose not far from here. Best take it down and go back. Mikasa is scary when she's hungry," Reiner said, golden eyes shining mischeviously. Krista rolled her eyes and nudged him, tail wagging. Eren pulled his lips back in a grin and sent Reiner and Jean to get the moose they tracked. He and the others raced in the direction that Eld had scented a herd of elk.
On the way to the den site:
Bertoldt raced through the forest, powerful jaws clamped down on a large fawn that he came across when he secretly turned to go back to the den. His light brown eyes dulled, worried about his sister. The last time she had an attack that severe was on a black stormy night a year and a half before. Bertoldt, Reiner and Jean had broken out of a medium-sized pen, searching for Annie, who had been penned separately from her brothers. Bertoldt remembered helping Jean keep watch while Reiner broke her out, which cause the other canines that were in the same building to bark loudly and wake the loud and mean humans. The siblings had been added to poorly run breeding program, where the humans bred and sold hybrids for lots of money and not caring about the health of the animals.
Bertoldt still saw in his mind the condition his sister was kept in when they went to break her out and flee. Reiner and his brothers had found her with a large male in the same pen. They already knew why she had been put there, and they were not happy about it. He remembered Reiner snarling and lunging at the male, who quickly tossed him to the ground.
"I did not do what you are thinking I did. I do not like that the humans decided to send such a young pup into my pen, no matter if it's a female. I suggest you four escape as quickly as you can and don't look back. Go North. It might take you awhile, but there is someone there that will take you in. You are looking for an older wolf who is dark gray. If you can't find him, look for two males your age. If I recall correctly one is dark brown with green eyes and the other is gold with blue eyes," the male that had been penned with Annie told them. He was tall and lean with light silver fur and a white patch on his chest,
"Thank you. Who are you so we can tell who you sent us to?" Bertoldt asked, helping Annie out of the pen.
"Can't tell you right now, kid. But I will see you again one day. When I do, I will tell you my name. Take care" the silver male woofed.
The tall lanky brown and white-furred male slowed to a trot, ears flicking around. Other than turning back to check on his sister Bertoldt thought that he had scented something heading towards the den, making him feel uneasy. Even though it hadn't been long since joining the pack, Bertoldt and his littermates felt as if they were meant to be there. Reiner, who had been constantly on guard after they escaped, relaxed more and shared the position as Protector with Eren. Jean found a friend/rival in the huge brown-furred male, always picking fights and rough-housing when he was bored. Bertoldt himself found a friend/role model in Armin, having a similar disposition. Although Armin spoke his mind and Bertoldt was not as confident or dominant to do so. Annie found a rival/role model/friend in Mikasa, who constantly tested the cream-furred female and helped her gain more confidence in herself.
At the Den Site:
Ice blue eyes opened slowly, a mid-length narrow muzzle opened in a yawn. A splash reached Annie's sharp ears and she lifted her head, spotting the once lean black and red-furred female. Mikasa had stepped into the lake that ran near the den, "a nice swimming and fishing spot" Armin once told her. Annie slowly stood, careful not to wake the loving golden-furred male who slept soundly next to her. She stretched, lean muscle rippling under thickening winter fur. When she joined the pack Annie had been severely underweight and lacking a lot of muscle, weighing only 60 lbs. Now, 3 moons later and having more access to food, the cream-furred female had built up muscle and now weighed 85 lbs.
"You seem quite restless. Are you ok?" Annie asked, trotting over to the lake and sitting with her front paws in the water.
"You would be restless too if you were forced to stay while the others leave, even if for short periods. Can't tell you how much I miss going on hunts." Mikasa growled in annoyance, stepping out of the water and shaking.
"Don't worry. After you have those pups you will be up and hunting again. And also scolding the most unruly of us. It's quite fun watching Connie and Sasha freak when you say that you're not gonna let them have a meal." Annie woofed, lips pulled back in a smirk as Mikasa huffed a laugh.
Suddenly a rustling reach their ears, causing the two females to growl with hackles raised. Hearing the warning Armin jumped to his paws, trotting over to place himself next to Annie and protectively in front of Mikasa. The black and red-furred hybrid moved to stand next to them, only for Annie to gently shove her back. A figure stumbled into the clearing, cursing and mumbling incoherently. A second later a crash and a loud snarl was heard, followed by the clicking of fangs and a yelp.
"What the hell?! That hurt you ass!" a female voice growled.
Armin, Annie, and Mikasa looked at the intruders. They immediately recognized one, a tall and lanky brown and white-furred male who was struggling to stand. He was being pinned by an oddly colored canine female, who had patches of silver, brown, tan and mahogany. She nipped at Bertoldt, who yelped and pinned his ears. Annie and Armin rolled their eyes and relaxed, tensing up again when another new figure raced into the clearing and scolded the oddly colored female.
"Stop! We aren't here to fight. We have to keep looking for Hanji and Krista," the new wolf, a smaller brown and white-collared male, barked.
"Hanji and Krista are out hunting with my mate right now. They should be back soon if you would like to rest and wait for them," Mikasa said and trotted passed them, the oddly colored female letting Bertoldt up as she did so.
The odd colored female watched as the large black and red-furred hybrid trotted past, ears pricked and tail wagging slightly. She heard a whine and flicked a half-pricked ear towards her travel companion, who had started pacing. She went to move and somehow tripped, crashing to the ground at Bertoldt's large brown and white front paws. The tall lanky male whined with concern and lowered his head, licking the female between her ears to make sure she was ok.
"What the hell is your problem?! I told you that they should have gone after the cow! Damn Suicidal Maniac!" Jean snarled in agitation, causing the embarrassed female to look up to see a gray male enter the clearing followed by a large brown male.
"What do you know? You're not the one whose mate is carrying pups!" Eren snarled, glancing over at Mikasa and licking her muzzle when she passed him to find a spot to curl up.
"Yeah, we need all the meat we can get. Especially since the herds will be traveling soon. Besides, Mikasa looks like she's gonna whelp any day. Isn't that right Krista, my love?" Reiner woofed, tail wagging. The odd furred female's head shot up at the name, gold eyes spotting a very familiar petite gold-furred female who flushed at Reiner's comment and licked his muzzle.
"Ymir, is that you?" a soft female voice barked, causing Krista to look over and freeze. Ymir turned her gold eyes and spotted another very familiar figure, a ginger-furred female with soft gold eyes, trot over. Ymir was about to respond when a red and white-furred figure burst out of the trees.
"MOBLIT! YOU'RE HERE! HEY! MOBLIT!" Hanji howled with her lips pulled back in a large grin, slamming into Moblit and sending them both crashing to the ground.
"Hanji! I have been looking everywhere for you. Did you know how worried I was?" Moblit barked, rolling her off and nipping her muzzle.
Ymir is a 2 year old female, standing 29 inches at the shoulder and weighing 95 lbs with a lean build. She is a pie-bald pattern with patches of tan, silver, brown and mahogany. She has gold eyes and half-pricked ears. She can be selfish and confrontational, yet loyal and protective. She also likes to pick fights with Reiner over Krista (for fun) and will tease Bertoldt, who she secretly falls for.
She is the half sister of Petra and Krista, all having the same sire. Petra's mother had been the Alpha female who had died tragically during a hunt when Petra was 1 1/2 winter. Krista's mother had been the pack Omega (and also the sister of Petra's mother) whom their father would fool around with whenever his mate was on patrol, resulting in Krista being born the day her aunt died (her mother rejected her right away and was killed by the pack. Petra, feeling no ill will towards Krista, raised her as if she was her own pup). Ymir's mother had been a Coy-Dog, a mix of Australian Shepherd/Siberian Husky/Coyote, whom Petra's sire also fooled around with. Ymir was born a few days after Krista and was abandoned by her found and found by Petra, who also took her in.
Moblit is a 3 year old male, standing 30 inches at the shoulder and weighing 110 lbs. he has brown fur with white on his chest and shoulders. His eyes are a light brown. He is quite intelligent and responsible. Extremely protective of Hanji to the point of panicking whenever she puts herself in danger. He is very loyal and can be serious when the need arises. He and Hanji are pup-hood friends. He has always cared and worried about her, even after she was forced to have a litter by a very cruel Alpha.
"Glad you found us, Moblit. At last I can finally have some peace without Shitty Four Eyes bugging me" Levi said, trotting past the pair and flopping next to his mate, who lowered her muzzle to lick his fur clean.
"How did the hunt go? Get anything good?" Armin asked, trotting over to his brother.
"A bull moose that Reiner tracked, and 2 cow elk. Oh. Looks like Bertoldt found a fawn when he disappeared. Hopefully it's enough to keep Mikasa happy. By the way, who are those two?" Eren replied, glancing over at Ymir and Bertoldt.
"That should be enough. The male seems to be an old friend of Hanji. And the female, turns out she is Petra and Krista's half sister. I also think Bertoldt has already taken a shine to her," Armin woofed, laughing when the shy lanky male balked and shook his frantically at Armin.
Eren pulled his lips back in a smirk, tail wagging slightly. He watched as his Uncle Erwin appeared, dragging the bull moose that Reiner found. Eld and Oluo followed with the 2 cow elk. Connie trotted next to Sasha, who had spotted the fawn that Bertoldt had dropped when he was pinned by Ymir earlier. The energetic and food thief daughter of Hanji glanced around to make sure no one saw and grabbed the fawn, dashing to her spot to eat it before she was spotted. Unfortunately a loud snarl and a flash of light fur slammed into Sasha and sent her flying, making her yelp and turn to face her assailant only to freeze when she looked into the narrowed ice blue eyes of Armin's female. Annie picked up the large fawn and carried it over to Mikasa, sitting beside her as the heavily pregnant female tore into the meat hungrily. She growled warningly at anyone who approached, with the exception of Armin.
After greeting the newcomers the pack raced in a game of Tag. Reiner gently wrestled with Krista, who woofed happily. The small female nuzzled the large stocky male, licking his muzzle and rubbing up his powerful build flirtingly. Reiner grumbled in embarrassment, yet his golden eyes softened in adoration. He placed his head and a large paw over Krista's shoulder, pulling her against his thick-furred chest and nuzzling her affectionately.
Seeing the huge golden-furred male being so touchy feely with her sister Ymir pulled her lips back in a growl and stalked over, only to have Bertoldt's tall lanky form tower over her and block her path. Stern gold eyes looked up to meet calming brown ones, causing the Coy-Wolf-Dog's muzzle to flush a deep red. Bertoldt pulled his lips back in a shy smile and lowered his muzzle to gently nudge Ymir, who grumbled and nipped his chin before playfully shoving him down and racing away.
After awhile the pack decided to settle down for the night. Oluo lay with his legs propped on Eld's back. Erwin was sprawled on his side with Sasha draped over him, her head on Connie's back. Levi was curled protectively around Petra, his head on her back. Hanji and Moblit were curled up not far from them. Krista lay on her side with her back pressed against Reiner's stomach, his block head and a front leg draped over her protectively.
Bertoldt was sprawled on his side, snoring softly. Feeling a little unsure, Ymir cautiously lay near Bertoldt. It wasn't long before the cold night temperature overwhelmed Ymir, causing the shivering female to press herself against the larger, thicker-furred Bertoldt. She wriggled her way against his belly, making him groan and roll on top of Ymir with his muzzle placed between her half-pricked ears.
Armin flopped down on his moss-covered boulder, placing his head on his paws. He watched as Eren trotted over to lay besides Mikasa, only to be surprised when his brother was snarled at by Annie. Eren lifted his lip in a warning and growled at her, causing the small cream-furred female to lunge and slam the larger brown-furred wolf to the ground. Eren stood and backed up before making his way over to Armin's spot, flopping down next to it before whining a protest and falling asleep.
Annie trotted over to Armin and licked his muzzle before going back to where Mikasa lay. Armin studied the two females, wondering why his Love had acted like that. The intelligent golden-furred male had noticed that Annie, in the last few days, had become extremely protective of her friend/role model/rival. He figured it was because Mikasa was so close to having her pups that Annie took it upon herself to make sure that nothing happened when they came, seeing as a few of the pack were a little too energetic to be around small-pups safely. Normally that would be Eren's job, but something made Armin think that some sort of incident had occurred in Annie's past that made her put herself into that position.
His keen blue eyes immediately noticed when Mikasa flinched and quietly stood, making her way slowly toward the den which was at the base of a huge tree and hidden by the low branches. Annie walked beside the Wolf/German Shepherd, supporting her until Mikasa poked her in the shoulder to crawl inside the den and disappear from view. The cream-furred female lay in front of the den, blocking anyone from approaching with an ear turned back to listen. Ice blue met Sky blue and Armin stood quietly, making his way over and flopping next to Annie. He watched as her muzzle softened with a lip pulled back in a small smile, making him lick between her ears and placing his head on her back and drifting off to sleep. Annie placed her head on her paws and kept watch as the pack slept, guarding Mikasa as she worked to bring a new joy into the pack.