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Chapter Three
The pack sauntered at a moderate pace through a field towards a small grove of trees. The valley had been left behind hours ago and the sun lingered above the wolves’ heads and beat down heavily on their backs. None of them had been in a good mood since the morning announcement, some of them were worried others were already wondering who the swiftor’s successor would be. Millie looked at their surroundings this field had plenty of prey in it. Millie could see a warren of rabbits not far off and small field mice scurried around collecting seeds in the tall dry grass, and the rustlings of creatures and hum of insects could be heard from all around. “look!’ exclaimed a she-wolf excitedly from near the front of the pack “there is a wood in the distance!” The pack let out hushed murmurs of excitement as they saw the small speck of green on the horizon directly ahead of them. The Swiftor jogged determinedly to the head of the pack expressing to them through his body language that he was about to address them. “we will continue on towards this small grove of trees” he said in a overriding voice “When we are about halfway there I want Jan, Dashin, and Quae to scout ahead and explore the forest, when the rest of us reach the tree line I want all senior members to greet the scouts and hear what they report then we will hold a meeting and decide whether we will settle there or not. Understood?” the Swiftor’s words were met by nods of agreement. When the sun was beginning to set the scouts were sent out, they ran ahead. The prospect of finding a home for the rest of the pack had renewed their energy. Before long Jan. dashin and Quae were all small specks in the distance. The pack plodded on more slowly and by the time they reached the tree line night had fallen and the half moon sparkled over the tree tops. The senior pack members sought out the Swiftor before laying down a distance away from the rest of the pack.
Millie settled down under an old tree its gnarled roots creating a basin large enough for her to rest comfortably in, there she sat watching as the pack began to relax, and feel safe knowing that there were trees nearby for cover. The urge to sleep was making her eyelids heavy but she fought to stay up until the scouts returned. Many of the other pack members remained alert as well, they too were anxious to hear the report the scouts would give. The moon had reached its apogee when Dashin and Quae burst out of the forest, their sides heaving. Where was Jan? The senior members jumped instantly to their paws, and ran towards Dashin and Quae. Millie looked away but angled her ears delicately towards the conversation, she was just within earshot. “what has happened to Jan?” millies father asked apprehensively “we left her to guard the place we found and lead us back by wolf call in case we could not find it again” panted Quae. (‘wolf call’ is what wolves call when they howl back and forth to each other in order to convey a message) The Swiftor let out a frustrated snort “I had been planning to leave tomorrow, but now that Jan is there we can’t leave her alone all night!” “sorry Swiftor, sir but we thought it would be better to get this over with as quickly as possible” “I am Swiftor of this pack I may be old and coming to the end of my rein but till the end the decisions are mine around here understood?” Although her head was turned Millie could picture the wolves’ reactions, Dashin was probably crouching down and displaying his obedience while Quae would stand tall and set a hard expression on his face. There was a long silence. “I will rouse the pack then” Millie looked around at her father, he had padded over to the nearest wolf, when he told her what was happening the rest of the packs ears pricked up and they stood up and went to wait near Dashin and Quae. Millie joined them. once The pack had been rounded up the swiftor signaled to the scouts from the back of the throng to lead the way through the trees, Quae nodded and proceeded and Dashin followed sniffing the air cautiously as he went. It had been several days since Millie had been in a forest the warm smells of the trees and the earth warmed her and made her feel more secure, in here there was cover from predators, in an open field there was nothing to hide in. The shade cooled her fur and her weariness vanished in and instant, she was wide awake and alert. She sped up and walked behind Dashin, wanting to be the first to see any obstacles coming their way. Suddenly Dashin halted mid-step and Millie could see Quae Speaking to him in a hushed and worried tone “This isn’t the way we came last time” Dashin looked around him frantically searching for a landmark or something he might have passed before. “No, its not, I…I thought you were taking and alternate route I thought you knew where you were leading us” whispered Dashin disorientated. “How would I possibly know an alternate route? I was with you the whole entire way!” growled Quae lividly through bared teeth. “Don’t spaz out on me, we left Jan at the thicket for a reason didn’t we?” he said glancing back at the pack who had come to a stop behind him and were watching in silence as the two wolves bickered. “Don’t act all smart with me Dash” he said haughtily before turning around and shaping his mouth into a perfect O and letting his call pierce through the cool night air like claws slicing through flesh. The call lasted 10 seconds. The wolves waited nervously for a response, none came. Quae snorted “she’s probably asleep, silly she-wolf” he muttered and repeated his call, again, silence greeted him. The Swiftor stalked briskly up to Quae and addressed him “is there a problem?” “We’ve lost our way sir and Jan is not answering our calls, there might be something dangerous out here I think we should go back the way we came and wait till daylight” replied Dashin budding in promptly. “No.” responded Quae forcefully “we can find our way if we keep going I’m sure of it I have a feeling we’re not far” the Swiftor considered him for a moment and nodded “I trust you to get us safely there, Quae” the Swiftor then retreated to his position at the back of the pack where he made sure no wolf fell behind.
“Coward” Millie heard Quae mutter to Dashin quietly as he padded past him and took the lead once again. Millie couldn’t help feeling that maybe Dashin was behaving more sensibly than cowardly. What if something terrible had happened to Jan? Millie felt a chill run down the length of her young body as she thought of Izick’s suspicions. What if some sort of bear/wolf hybrid had attacked her? If the bears had found Jan would they come after the pack too?
nuavakoa · Fri Feb 09, 2007 @ 03:54pm · 0 Comments |
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