Running With Wolves

Ten - Path of Stars

     Star hated waking up like this. Her head hurt, as did her muscles, but worst of all was the confusion. The first thing she did was smell: dry grass and wood surrounded her. She could feel coarse grass underpaw. Then, she opened her eyes: inside this wooden hollow, she could see nothing but tiny cracks of light shining through the walls. She sniffed again. Was this a wooden beast?

     "Alpha!" she cried again.

     Outside she heard grass rustling and Nofurs barking. They chittered among themselves and Star's neck fur rose in fear. Were they not eaten after all? Had... what else could have happened to them? What would happen to them?

     Somewhere off to her left, she heard Bone whimpering. "Where are we!?"

     Unwilling to accept her fate, Star snarled and crouched in the hollow. Then she leaped and crashed into the sides. They wouldn't do anything more to her or her pack!

     The Nofurs heard her commotion and neared. There was no use to her struggle: Star could feel the press of more weight on the sides of the wooden beast... hollow... whatever it was. A Nofur came right up to the front of the hollow – she could smell it – and touched the wall. Star backed away. She wanted nothing more to do with the stinking creature.

     Slowly, she heard the sounds of her pack waking. She could not tell if she and Bone were the first ones, but soon they were not alone.

     "We're still alive?" Otter asked from right beside Star.

     The she-wolf perked up, excited to hear the omega was okay. "Yes. Can you smell the Alphas?"

     Otter sniffed. "Alpha Snow? Is that you?"

     Snow! "Are you alright!?" Star asked. Her whine was high-pitched and seeped with worry.

     Her sister shuffled inside the hollow and Star felt the shaking slightly from her left side. She pressed against the wall, hoping to get closer. "I am," the she-wolf answered.

     "And the pups?" Otter fretted.

     The sound of a tongue rasping against fur was heard. "They're okay too, I think." Star was awed by the calm in the Alpha's tone. "I can smell the others. We're all here."

     "Alpha, do you think we'll survive?" Otter whined.

     "Of course. Don't you think they would have killed us already if they wanted to?"

     She's right! The Nofurs have that power. And the smooth den... the belly inside the beast... I think they were moving us...

     She said as much. "They must have taken us somewhere."

     "To another camp!?" Otter asked.

     Star leaned to the edge of the hollow. She pressed her nose close to one of the cracks of light, trying to smell as hard as she could. Beyond the wood... was that... grass? It was hard to tell between the strong smell of the Nofurs, but the grass smelled wet and sharp, like after a rain.

     "I don't think any Nofur camp would have grass," Star relayed, "but it's hard to smell over all the Nofur."

     "Then we'll just have to wait," Alpha Snow said. Star hated feeling so helpless, but her sister was Alpha and she took her words as an order. She was just glad her sister was okay.

     "As you say," she whined. Star sat back on her haunches. This hollow was bigger than the smooth belly had been, but it was still small. Her legs were already aching to run again. Would she ever be able to run again? The thought saddened her, so she lay down stopped thinking.