Lil Wolf

C3. Found someone

After a VERY long explanation of The Legend of Fareofen and almost a million questions, Frier was looking very tired and probably needed to go back to their den. After staring at her for a bit and contorting his face into multiple different expressions that said multiple different things, he said, "Hey kid, you uh... wanna come back to my den with me?" 

"Wait, you're actually offering that? Why? I can't hunt, I look weird, and from the sounds of it I'm very similar to this Fareofen legend." 

The older wolf shrugged. "Suit yourself," he said as he walked off. "just know that you said it yourself, a pack won't accept a pup if it can't hunt." 

This made her reconsider her decision. "W-wait! Alright, I'll come with you. But I need to know how to hunt, so could you teach me?" Frier smiled at this. "Sure kid, just try to keep up." With that, he started running, but not fast enough to lose her. He even stopped and waited for her when she ran snout-first into a log that she wasn't paying attention to as a result of keeping her focus on Frier. 

After a while though, they made it to his den. She smelled that he had marked it, which was smart; the Nobles took any den that they found, even if it was small and crappy, and marking a den with your scent prevented that from happening. "Well. This is my humble abode, full of dead end cave splits." That was a really good find for a normal wolf with a pack, but it was a lot of space for just one wolf. Adding her to the mix would fill a little space. "Do you.. wanna mark here too? Since you're going to be staying here for training." 

The small wolf shook her head. "No, I don't want to take your home." 

"But you won't be taking it, we'll just share it. Plus, it's really big. Could fit a decently sized pack in here..." She saw his mind wander off, both of them wishing they had a pack of their own. "But nevermind that, training. What do you want to start with, small or medium? We need a pack to take down large." She paused and thought. It would be good to take down medium prey, but all that meat would be eaten by another animal because she would get full at probably about the halfway point of the ribs if she ate head first. She wouldn't even be able to eat the liver, how sad. So she decided on small prey first, as she could eat all of the meat from those. "Alright, we need to find some rabbits then." Unbeknownst to him, rabbit meat was her favorite, although she never saw her parents kill the rabbits they brought to her, so she didn't know what the animal she loved to eat looked like because it was so mangled from their slashes and wringing of the poor animal. 

She cringed internally when she saw how cute they were. Her favorite meat is from something so adorable... she would have to brave her cuteness instincts though, Frier would see her as weak if she refused to eat something because it was adorable.  He seemed to notice her cringing, because he said, "I only need to take out two for me, you can gnaw on another one once you kill it. Now.. watch.. and learn...." He was incredibly stealthy, his white fur blending perfectly with the falling snow while he slowly crept up on one of them. Snow had started to fall while they were heading to this clearing where the rabbits were. Before she knew it, he had bit the rabbit's neck, killing it without it making a sound. Of course, his lunge out of the snow did, so the rest of the rabbits scattered off. But she still smelled some around here somewhere. "Leave them, they're hiding in their burrow. They're only kits." So he also had a soft spot for them, knowing he spared the small and thus more adorable ones. Or he could just be leaving them to wait for them to grow up and kill them at a decent size. The latter is the more prominent option.

They started after the rest of the bun- RABBITS. Rabbits, but before they could even leave the clearing, a sharp smell tore through the air. 
It was a powerful and demanding scent, one often carried by Noblewolves. If they had stumbled upon one of the higher ranking ones, they would be doomed. Frier violently whispered, "Get down!" She listened immediately, not wanting the Noble to know what had happened to her family. This scent screaamed 'run away' though...

The Noble came into the clearing, looking thoroughly confused. She guessed it was because they had smelled her and Frier, but couldn't see them. They were black with a white stripe running the length of their body, from the tip of their tail to their nose. The stripe occasionally split into a swirl of white that darkened to a light blue as it neared their belly. Their face was a dark blue, with their nose being white. Their eyes were a dark pink, and they had a bracelet on their front left paw. Their paws looked like they had cyan socks on, and their belly was a dark blue. Unfortunately, they looked down and spotted her grayish fur trying to blend in with the stark white of the snow. The same stark white as Frier's fur, coincidentally. 

"Hey pup. What are you doing roaming alone?" The noblewolf asked. She remained silent, not moving a single muscle and trying her best not to move when she breathed. The noblewolf frowned. "You do know I can see your fur in the snow, right? If you're worried I'm going to take you to the Master den, you're sorely mistaken. I'm just out for a walk." 

She doubted it, but when she breathed she didn't smell any alter intention, so she sat up and bowed her head to the Noble. "Oh please, if I'm out of the den, I'm no longer nobility. Sit up." She was skeptical of this Noble. A sane lower pack wouldn't talk to lone wolves; let alone Nobility. "Why are you talking to me?; I'm a lone wolf." 

"So? Doesn't matter, you're still a wolf." That answer shocked Frier so much his tail shot up. "Oh, I didn't see you! Come here, lemme see you." With that, Frier's snow cover was busted. He sat up and bowed his head, probably out of habit because the noble said, "Oh stop bowing, I'm on my walk." Frier raised his head and asked, "Why are you talking to us though? Any particular reason?" 

"Bored. And trying to get away from Dad." Well the latter shocked them, but it's definitely not the first time they've heard nobles complain. They almost never complain about their parents, which is why the latter shocked them. The noblewolf then widened their eyes and snoutpawed themself, saying "Oh sh!t, I'm stupid! I never introduced myself! My name's Doxen." The curse shocked them too. Nobles never cursed, and definitely not in front of their 'subjects.' Doxen seemed to notice their shock and said, "Like I said. When I'm out of the den, I am no longer nobility." Frier and the small wolf finally took those words seriously, as Doxen actually meant them. But his name stirred something in her mind....

"So, what did your dad do to make you mad?" She finally asked. Doxen let out a groan of frustration, put his paw on his nose and said, "He wanted me to take an expedition to round up and distribute all the lone wolves across packs. What he never accepts is that every single pack has a pack-agreed upon requirement for wolves to get in, and he always sends these 'expeditions' to round up lones and send them to these packs without the packs consent. But the thing is, he expects them to accept these wolves just because 'The King said so.' I've tried to tell him about the requirements for a wolf to get in bu-" He froze when he saw the two wolves staring at him, looking ready to faint. The pup finally managed to get her vocal cords working, saying, "Y-your dad.... is the KING?" She realized who this really was and why his name jogged a piece of her memory. 

This was Prince Doxen, one of the highest ranking nobles in the kingdom of Konadia.