It was a hot summer morning. A blue-furred adult wolf was snoozing in the shade of the rocks of Baku Baku. Admittedly, Bari hated the heat, but this day also brought with it a breeze that continuously combed through his fur. It was a balance one happily accepted without realizing it. And so, the blue wolf continued to sleep, even after the sun stole his shade.

The light striking his closed eyelids suddenly darkened. Bari immediately opened them where he lay.

A smaller, blue-furred wolf, but of no immediate relation, stood in front of the general with a large grin, fangs poking out the corners of his snout. With him were three other young wolves. These four were their own little pack, often seen together. They were born around the same time.

"Err... what is it?" Bari did not want to get up yet.

"Bari sir, can we go hunting?" Boro asked. The youngster's tail shifted slowly.

Bari lifted his head off his paws. "Hunting? We just went yesterday. Surely we aren't out of food yet." Of course they still had food. The hunt was a success. The fresh blood on one of the youngster's snouts was evidence of that.

"Not real hunting... You know..." Boro's grin widened even further. A couple of the pups sat eagerly to await the response, their tails swishing in anticipation.

Bari stretched his front legs out and stuck his claws into the dirt, let out a big yawn, and sat upright. He chuckled softly, "Hunting, eh? Okay." Bari smiled at the pups.

The two seated pups' tails wagged excitedly. They were going on a hunt!

Around this rock and that was the secluded spot the brown wolf Gabu considered his home. It was rather spacious, too spacious for just one wolf. And so, Gabu enjoyed peace and privacy - somewhat rare for life in a wolf pack.

This particular late morning found Gabu also asleep, until an insect landed on his nose and immediately flew away. Gabu squinted and scrunched his nose, rubbing it with the side of his paw as he awoke. He was surprised how much of the day had already gone by.

"Oh wow, what a good sleep!" he thought to himself, smiling for no particular reason. Well, perhaps one reason. His secluded spot had a nice view of the land below Baku Baku. Although he saw this sight almost every day of every season, it still made him happy.

He stretched his forelegs into the air, stood on all fours, and shook the dust from his fur. His eyes widened with a realization of a great idea. "Mei! It's a great day to see Mei!" he giggled to himself. It was always a great day to see Mei, and she was always happy to see him.

Gabu casually strode from his sleeping area and headed across the pack's common area to reach his other favorite spot. It was the angled shelf of rock littered with smaller stones, best suited for sending messages to Mei. Even from far away, this spot was visible to much of the land below.

Gabu was only halfway there when he heard young Boro's voice nearby asking, "Bari sir, can we go hunting?"

His ears flicked upright almost involuntarily. No, it was truly involuntary. Gabu's attention was directed where the sounds were coming from. He fought to allow his ears to appear neutral again, turned away from the voices, and sat. He pretended to be enthralled by the view below Baku Baku. And although no one could see his face, Gabu tried to stifle his delighted expression. He could not participate in this hunt.

"Alright boys, what are we gonna hunt today?" Bari crouched with a fierce-looking smile, scanning his gaze from pup to pup. All four were seated around him in nearly a semicircle, tails going strong.

Bari sat and lifted his snout proudly, awaiting the answers.

"Mouse!" the first pup exclaimed.

"Yes, mouse!" Boro agreed.

"I wanna hunt rabbit!" the third pup boldly stated.

"No, mouse!" the last pup said, as he licked the paw used to clean his bloody snout.

"Looks like the pack has decided. We are going to hunt a mouse today!" Bari looked at the pleased pups. Even the third was okay with this decision. "Are you ready?"

"Ready, sir!" the pups barked in unison. Tails that once wagged held still. The pups were nearly motionless.

Bari took a deep breath, and did not rush. He continued to sit; as did the pups. Then gently, rhythmically, Bari began tapping the ground with alternating paws. His head began to gently nod slightly from side to side to this beat. So here we have Bari, Ghiro's right paw, next Boss of the Baku Baku wolves:

Singing to pups.

"Little mouse, little mouse, is that really you?" Bari began, singing in rhythm with his taps. He stopped tapping, raised his snout into the air, sniffed three times, and looked down at the pups.

"Yes we know it's you!" they replied as one.

Bari began nodding and tapping his paws again, but only while he sang his line. "Because who you are..."

This time, the pups raised their snouts in the air and sniffed it three times before replying, "...is carried on the wind!"

There was a small pause between verses as Bari and the pups sat across from each other. The bond they felt was quite strong. Bari began the second verse.

"Little mouse, little mouse, where did you go to?" was followed by three sharp sniffs with his nose held low.

"We will follow you!" The pups awaited their turn to repeat Bari's action.

"Because where you go..." Tap, tap.

Sniff sniff sniff, "...is carried on the ground!"

"Little mouse, little mouse, where is it you hide?" Bari tilted his head to the left then to the right, so each ear briefly pointed at the ground.

"We will seek you out!" The pups were getting louder.

"Because where you hide..." Tap, tap.

Four pups' heads tilted far to one side and then the other, ears flopping much more than Bari's did a moment earlier. "...is carried by your sound!"

A fair distance away, Gabu continued to view the valley below, but could not help but also tilt his head to the left and right as he listened. Bari glanced briefly in his direction and continued his song.

"Little mouse, little mouse, what will you do now?" Bari paused, then scratched his paws quickly at the dirt.

"We will flush you out!" Each syllable resembled a musical note.

"Hunting's nearly done..." Tap, tap.

Four pups excitedly dug small indentations into the dirt below their front paws. "...our prey has been found!"

The last verse was different. Bari stood up and no longer tapped his paws nor nodded his head. Although standing, he tried his best to look small. He crouched a bit, held his head lower, and even tucked his tail under his belly. He began to tiptoe to the beat in a tight little circle, and spoke quietly but rhythmically:

"I'm a little mouse, little mouse, I will run away..."

The pups all crouched low in front, high in back. Each gave a little leap in place, returning to their crouched positions. They shouted in unison:

"We will knock you down!"

Bari paused completely still, as did the pups. The hunt was not over yet. Only his eyes moved, meeting each pup's gaze in turn. He knew they could not bear to wait long, nor did he want their excitement to wane. A few seconds later Bari bounded away from the spot he sang from, attempting to outmaneuver the pups who instantly gave chase.

Of course, Bari did not go far, nor quickly. The pups soon tackled him and began biting wildly as fierce hunters, yet gently as growing wolves who know not to harm each other. Higher pitched barks and squeals, and a gruffer bass voice mixed together. The laughter was loud. Bari, despite his status as a warrior and respected elder of the pack, lived for moments like these - until a particularly sharp fang pierced the tender flesh near the base of his tail.

"Okay, okay! You caught me!" The pups knew this was the sign to dismount their prey. They were still laughing and breathing hard. Bari craned his neck this way and that. Although he loved these times, he was also thankful tussles like this did not come often. "Why don't you guys go get Zach?"

The pups looked at each other with clever grins, as if the idea was their own. "Yeah!" Two began to run off, while the third waited for Boro. "Bye, Bari sir!" and the mini-pack was away, giggling to themselves.

Gabu still looked out over the land below, and finally realized it had become quiet. A shadow appeared beside his, one with especially pointy ears. Bari did not sit, but only looked down at the little hole Gabu had dug during the forth verse.

"Did you catch your mouse?" Bari scoffed as Gabu turned to see his mocking expression. "Heh heh heh..."

"Uhhh... it... it got away." Gabu squinted with guilt while scratching the fur behind his head.

"Maybe next time... next time." Bari snorted and calmly walked away.

Gabu looked down solemnly at the little hole before gently filling it back in. When he looked back up, he remembered what we was supposed to do that morning. Mei's message! He continued on to his signaling area.

"Hey!" an irritated wolf exclaimed in the distance. The pups had located Zach.