Lily

Chapter Nineteen: Tiffany

Lily squeezed through the icy cavern as the walls around her, covered in snow and ice, surrounded her completely. The cave was very small, only big enough to fit about five adult wolves. It would be dark if it wasn't lit by the daylight coming through the entrance, though it was slightly blocked by the pine tree.
What Lily saw was in the cave was even more unexpected.
It was a wolf.
A wolf pup, Lily realized. And this wolf pup looked as if she had been here for a long time, as she looked very cold and a bit frozen, but was only still alive from her thick coat that most wolves that are used to the winter adapt. However, her foot looked very frozen and out of place with the rest of her body, as it was covered in frost and slightly twisted. She had all white fur, with blue eyes that seemed to match Lily's. And just like Lily, she was all alone.
Wolf pups usually stuck with at least one adult, but this one had nobody.
And as this pup's blue eyes noticed Lily, she spoke as if she was excited to see her, like she hadn't seen another wolf in a long time, which she probably hasn't. "HEY!"
Lily spoke up for the first time after being quiet for many hours. "Who are you?!"
"I am Tiffany," said the wolf pup.
"Why are you sitting all alone in this cold cave?" Lily asked the question that had been bothering her when she first saw her.
"I am lost...and my foot is hurt..." Tiffany replied sadly. It was clear she had been through a lot.
An idea struck Lily. "Let me help you!"
"T-thank you," said Tiffany.
Lily then lowered her head and licked Tiffany's hurt foot.
"Oh!" Tiffany began to chuckle "It tickles!"
Lily chuckled too. She felt as if she had found company. "Haha, want to come with me?"
"Sure!" Tiffany barked, starting to get up. But she seemed to remember that her foot was frozen and twisted, and she fell to the icy ground with a tiny yelp.
"Oh!" Lily lowered her head, trying to nudge Tiffany up. "Are you okay? Can you get up?"
"No, it's been too long..." Tiffany stumbled. "I forgot how much it hurt,"
"How long have you been here?" Lily asked her.
"Too long..." Tiffany replied.
"Where are your parents?"
Lily immediately regretted asking that question as Tiffany's face grew sad. "They're..."
"Oh-" Lily's ears pinned, and she felt herself having a sudden urge to protect this wolf. "Oh no, no, I'm so sorry,"
"Do you know what happened?" Tiffany said. "I lost them to the Wild Tribe's invasion. After the Wild Tribe drove most of the Summer Tribe out, me and my parents were stuck..."
"Tell me more," Lily said, sitting down, facing her. "Can I hear more about what happened?"
"Sure," Tiffany still sounded as if her upbeat energy and excitement had gone away. "My parents got lost when the Summer Tribe was being driven away from their own territory. They survived together on their own for three years after the attack, they had me seven months ago,"
"How do you know all this?" Lily asked.
"My father told me," Said Tiffany "before my parents were both killed by a Wild Tribe patrol a month after. The patrol was there to see if there were any Summer Tribe wolves left here. But since those six months they haven't touched it, and I've been alone..."
"How did you survive?" asked Lily.
"I took shelter in this cave, ate whatever I could find, a wandering mouse or rat here and there...but my foot is hurt..."
"Hey," said Lily, moving next to Tiffany and laying down, resting her head next to the pup comfortingly. "It'll be okay. Because I will protect you, I will make sure your foot gets healed, and I will make sure you are safe and okay,"
"Thank you..." Tiffany said, beginning to snuggle up next to Lily.