The Wolf

Chapter 17- City wolves

Starfrost trotted in the thick rain, and it soaked his fur completely. He shivered, thinking of home. Just in one day he had himself lost in a Furless world. But it was all for the third. All for him. Starfrost shivered as a strong wind picked up a loose piece of paper from the ground and hurled it at him, as if mocking him. Starfrost shook his head, and the piece of paper was blown again into the air, but soon it came back down, landing at Starfrost's paws, soggy and wet. Bone trotted ahead, leading the way to the place where he think the third Light wolf is being held. Puddleshine trudged behind him, bringing up the rear. They made slow progress as Bone jumpped at everything he heard, and snapped at anything he sees, like the butterflies and bees, and now, he had the soggy paper clamped tight in his jaws. Starfrost rolled his eyes, he was feeling annoyed at the dog's behaviour. Does all dogs always fool around like that?

The bricks on the floor clicked as Starfrost's nails clopped onto it, making a weird noise. Without grass under his soft paw pads, his paw are beginning to hurt. His belly ached from hunger, and he groaned as all three of them kept to the shadows. The shadows were long and purple, and Starfrost glanced back to see what Puddleshine was doing. The yellow-blue wolf was trudging behind him, and licking his sore paws occasionally. However, Bone does not seemed to notice the wolves' discomfort. He continued on slowly, getting distracted by almost everything in sight. Starfrost licked his dry lips- he had just realised that he had not drink water since they left home. His throat burnt, like it was on fire, and it was dry, like it was sunburnt. They stayed close to the shadows, but Starfrost could not help but lift his tail when he heard howling. Loud and desperate. He lifted his head to return the call, but Bone barked out loud, clearly as a warning to stay quiet. Starfrost swallowed his howl, turning his glance to Bone.

"Is that another dog?"Puddleshine whimpered from behind.

"Yes,"Bone answered, his friendly voice gone, turning serious,"that is another dog. A street dog, most likely. And its being captured by snatchers."

"Snatchers?"Starfrost cocked his head to one side.

"Yes,"Bone replied again, his expression solemn,"they capture all sort of animals, including street dogs and cats. They love the strays. They get paid for capturing us. What idiots."

"How about wolves?"Starfrost asked, placing one paw infront of another, walking behind Bone, his eyes on the ground. Bone stopped dead in his tracks abruptly, and Starfrost rammed into Bone, causing Bone to tip forward and lose his balance, out of the shadows. Starfrost dragged the large golden retriever up by his tail, and they righted themselves, panting. Puddleshine caught up and checked them for any injuries. Bone turned to both Starfrost and Puddleshine.

"You must not be seen by anyone, let alone snatchers. They won't capture you, they will kill you, if they are the hunters. Human hunters, yes. They will get you to zoo, if they are kinder. Zoo is a terrible place, all sorts of animals are kept in there for humans to see. And, I think your friend is there. We'll have to go a long way then,"Bone said, his expression fierce. Starfrost gasped. He did not expect this to happen. 

"They'll kill us?!"Puddleshine whispered as they resumed their journey.

"Yes. And there is no prey for you to hunt here. So don't get your hopes up,"Bone paused, then added,"and keep to the shadows. Once you are in the daylight, you'll be seen. To be seen is to die. Get that clear."

The words are stuck in Starfrost's head as they walked on. To be seen is to die. To be seen is to die. To be seen is to die.

"We are going to arrive at many different places, but don't get too curious, it might get you killed,"Bone said, a drip of saliva hanging at the corner of his mouth,"there is one cat who was shot because he was curious. He wanted to know what it is like to be standing in the daylight and fearing of nothing. And he died. The shot was meant for something else, but the cat was in its way, and it died. Thats why, curiosity kills the cat."From afar, there was a weird block of hard bricks and stones and a rectangular hole to enter. There was pleasant smells wafting out from there, and Starfrost sniffed it gratefully. It does not smell like caribou or moose the wolves like to hunt in Green Hills, but it smells delicious.

"Whats that thing?"Puddleshine asked as if he could read Starfrost's mind,"it smells so good. Does not smells like saiga or elk, what we hunt in Tropical Forest, but its good."

Bone slowed to a walk,"This where we get our food. Its called a restaurant. But its for humans. We'll be seen. Therefore, we eat from other places."Bone looked around then darted across the road, and beckoned the wolves to follow. Starfrost and Puddleshine sprinted across. It was like the black path, but this one is narrower and not black. Its sandy coloured. And there is not monsters that can crush them whole. However, there were still monsters. They are not very fast, and they are small too, and instead of four legs, it has two, thinner legs, and they wheeze by, not life-threathening.

"Here it is a pedestrians' path. No cars, no vehicles. Thos smaller monsters do not kill. They are called bicycles,"Bone explained, then led them further downwind. They turned the corner of the restaurant, thought Starfrost was very tempted to enter, the strange smell of Furless kept him from entering. Humans, he corrected himself. The wind blew through every corners, and dried dead leaves fluttered in every direction possible. Bone led them to the back of the restaurant, and infront of them was three large, green-gray containers, in the shape of a cyclinder.

"Those are bins. Humans discard food they don't want in here. Its not as delicious as those in the restaurants, but its good enough and safe for us to eat here,"Bones said, pointing his tail at the bins. Starfrost flicked his ears forward, he had never seen such a weird thing before. It looks green like a plant, which means it should be fleshy and tender, but when Bone taught them how to tip the bins, they were hard and cold, slippery too. There was a opening on top of each one, and Starfrost was to stuck his head in and grab whatever he can before the humans came rushing upon hearing the bins crashing on to the ground. Starfrost listened attentively as Bone explained how to tip the bins.

Starfrost rose on his hind legs and gripped the edge of the bin with his paws. However, his paws slipped on the smooth surface. He unsheathed his claws and tried to dug them in to the smooth surface of the bin, but they just clicked uselessly and slid down.

"You have to grab it with your paws,"Bone said, chuckling as he lowered a bin carefully and then it tipped, and Bone dropped down on all fours and backed a little as the bin came down. It crashed, and Bone quickly reached in and grabbed something out from it. A piece of bread. Puddleshine went next as Bone hurried them, then the sound of humans approaching rang in Starfrost's ears. Puddleshine came back out with a slab of meat in his teeth. Starfrost went after him, and his nose told him there was something delicious deep in there. Moments later, he proudly retrieved a pack of sausages from the bin. Unable to speak with the bread in his mouth, Bone nodded for them to run. The wolves and the dog ran, sprinting away as human voices filled their ears.

They galloped to a thick dense bush, and dropped their meals behind it. Starfrost and Puddleshine stood still, raising their muzzles to the sky, thanking for this meal, but Bone was already tearing at the soft bread. Starfrost and Puddleshine looked at him questioningly. Bone gulped down another piece of bread, then shook his head, a smile twitching on his lips.

"Don't worry these aren't prey, you get it from the bin, you did not kill it,"Bone said, his eyes soft with humor.

"But how about the bin..."Puddleshine started, but trailed off when Bone interrupted him.

"The bin does not have a life. It is not an animal, nor a plant. It cannot live, but also cannot die. So...if you understand,"Bone tried to explain. When Starfrost and Puddleshine looked clueless, he gave up.

"Nevermind. Just eat,"Bone instructed,"we have to get out of here as soon as possible."Gulping the food down quickly, the wolves and the dog ate their early-breakfast as the first sunlight broke through the dawn.

Bone looked up from his meal,"We will be heading to a much more dangerous place tomorrow. Its called a field. Hunters hunt there. Sheeps roam the place, but be warned, do not try and hunt them, they are placed there as a bait, so the hunters, those with the long sticks that kills, the gun, will shoot you dead. Most wolves dies like this. So be warned, no matter how much you want to hunt, don't. It will take your life." Starfrost and Puddleshine nodded their agreement and acknowledgement. No matter what they do, they will not hunt there.

To be seen is to die.