Two: Story
A rabbit nibbled on a piece of a dry leaf. Its bark brown fur blended with the surroundings, its ears stood erect, and it was plump from stocking up on winter supplies. Shikamaru licked his lips while he crept toward his prey. Shikamaru leapt towards his prey. The rabbit bolted, but Shikamaru was too fast. He clamped his jaws down of the rabbit's neck and it was all over. He began to pad back to Temari when he felt a drop of water land on his fur. Shikamaru looked up at the sky.
The clouds had covered the sun and thunder boomed across the sky. Shikamaru ran through the forest and found Temari. They both quickly ate the rabbit and began to search for shelter. There was a light sprinkle of rain as they two wolves looked around. A loud clap of thunder made the two wolves flinch.
"Where are we going to keep dry?" asked Shikamaru as he blinked the rain out of his eyes. Temari pawed Shikamaru on the shoulder. He looked back at her and then he looked in front of them. A few feet away were a hollow log with a hole in the side of it. The hole was just large enough for the two wolves. Temari and Shikamaru slipped inside of the log. The rain pattered on the roof of the log as the two wolves huddled together. Shikamaru was feeling surprisingly comfortable in the log.
"What was Suna Pack like?" asked Shikamaru trying to overcome his drowsiness. Temari stayed silent staring out into the rain. Shikamaru rested his head on his paws.
"It was a few years ago when I lived in Suna Pack," growled Temari quietly.
It was sunny out as three wolf pups emerged from a sandy den.
"Be careful out there you three!" barked a female blonde wolf. The eldest pup was blonde like her mother, the pup in the middle was a black wolf with brown hair and white face, and the youngest pup was a red wolf pup with white underbelly and white paws.
"Tema the sand is really hot," complained the little red wolf pup. Temari the eldest pup growled contently.
"Isn't it wonderful, Gaara?" asked Temari as she pawed the soft sand. The black pup yawned.
"I'd rather fight with somebody," growled the black pup. Temari snorted playfully.
"You wanna fight Kankuro?" growled Temari as she scraped the ground with her paw. Kankuro growled back and lunged at Temari. Temari tackled him to the ground and play bit (play biting)him.
"Hey, ow! Stop it Temari!" growled Kankuro. Temari stepped off of her brother and giggled.
"Had enough? I was just getting started," growled Temari. Kankuro stood up and glared at Temari.
"Have you ever thought about having a mate when you grow up?" asked Kankuro. Temari suddenly began to feel hot as the blood rushed to her face.
"W-Well, um…not r-really," said Temari as she pawed the ground timidly.
"Gotcha!" yelled Kankuro as he tackled Temari and pinned her to the ground. Temari struggled under Kankuro's grip. Kankuro jumped off Temari and stood tall. Temari got up feeling stunned. "You always space out when comes to the males." Temari snarled.
"Stop taking advantage of a me!" barked Temari as she tackled Kankuro once again. Gaara watched them fight all the while his tiny tail wagging. Temari and Kankuro rolled down the beach. Temari and Kankuro stood on their hind legs still fighting. They rolled once more, but then Temari kicked Kankuro into the shallow sea water.
"Gak! That's too cold," yelped Kankuro as he splashed in the water. Temari and Gaara began to laugh at Kankuro.
"I guess I win this one," chuckled Temari. Kankuro growled and marched up to Temari.
"When we're older I'll beat you! You can be sure of that!" barked Kankuro. Temari smirked.
"Alright, when we're older we'll see whose the boss," said Temari grinning widely. Kankuro grinned back.
"You promise you won't forget?" asked Kankuro. Temari stared Kankuro in the eyes.
"Promise." Kankuro shook the water out of his fur before they all heard their mother calling. It had gotten dark as the three pups settled in the den with their mother. It had been at midnight when Temari heard loud barking and howling. She stood up and began to walk towards the entrance of the den. Kankuro and Gaara noticed their sister was missing so they walked after her. Once the pups were out of the den they came to a horrible sight.
There was blood mixed with the sand. Corpses of dead wolves littered the beach. Kankuro looked around fearfully.
"W-Who did this?" asked Kankuro as he looked among his slaughtered pack mates. Temari was frozen where she was and could not answer. Gaara huddled close to his big sister.
"Onee-chan I'm scared," cried Gaara frightened. Temari got a hold of her senses and barked to Kankuro.
"Get mother. We need to leave!" snarled Temari as she picked up Gaara by the scruff of his neck. Kankuro raced back to the den beside Temari.
"What is it? What's happening?" yelped Kankuro.
"The hunters," barked Temari as they crawled into their den. Temari told her mother of the massacre and soon they were in the forest. Temari's mother held Gaara gently in her mouth as they all raced through the forest. The wolves suddenly heard the barking of dogs which was followed by gunshots.
"Run!" barked Temari's mother. The wolves ran through the forest with the dogs on their tails. There was another gunshot and suddenly Temari's mother fell to the ground.
"Mom!" yelped Kankuro and Temari. Temari's mother placed Gaara on the ground.
"Temari take your brothers and go," rasped the she-wolf. Temari shook her head.
"No, I can't leave you mom," said Temari as tears filled her eyes. The she-wolf shook her head.
"You have to go. Be strong for your brothers," growled the she-wolf. Temari hesitated before picking up Gaara. "Go, now." Suddenly another gunshot rang off and the she-wolf yelped in pain as she coughed up blood. Temari looked down at her dying mother before barking to Kankuro.
"Let's go." The pups sprinted through the forest as more gunshots sounded off. The pups made it to a river. They walked along the edge careful not to slip. Suddenly another bark came from behind them. Temari turned around to see two dogs coming after them. Kankuro growled at them and jumped at one.
"Kankuro, no!" barked Temari. It was too late as Kankuro bit the dog's nose. The dog shook its head furiously as Kankuro bit hard into his skin. The dog lost its footing and fell. "Kankuro!" yelled Temari leaping forward with Gaara in her grasp. Suddenly the ground gave way under her and she fell along with Kankuro and the dog. They all splashed into the cold water. Temari kicked her legs hard against the current as she kept Gaara's scruff clenched in her teeth. Kankuro was no where in sight. Temari was forced to keep her head from going under.
The two drenched wolf pups finally made it to shore. Temari licked Gaara's wet coat and looked up. Where was Kankuro?
"Kankuro! Kankuro!" barked Temari as she walked over to the river. "Kankuro, where are you?! Kankuro! KANKURO!" Temari howled.
"I raised Gaara and taught him how to fight. When we were hunting Naruto, my pack leader found us and we were accepted into the Uzumaki Pack. Naruto gradually began to trust us and I became beta of the pack. That's how it was," said Temari ending her story. Shikamaru had noticed it was dark once again. Night was coming. Shikamaru turned his gaze on Temari and saw that she was crying.
"I'm sorry I brought back such horrible memories," said Shikamaru miserably. Temari looked at her mate with watery eyes and she shook her head.
"No, you brought back wonderful memories," said Temari as she laid her head on her paws. Shikamaru reluctantly leaned forward and licked Temari lovingly. Shikamaru's grogginess took over and he fell asleep.