Survivors The Path Of The Pack: Thunder's Journey

Chapter 8

Loud chatter erupted as soon as Lucky uttered his last word. Lone voices could be heard howling above everyone else's. Thunder was as still as a stick, jaw parted and eyes bulging. Thorn and Beetle howled in victory next to her.

Sweet's low snarl became louder, "Please, settle down!" Quietness came over the pack. "There will be a few rules, though. It will be at the first sign of the Moon Dog tomorrow. The dogs fighting will get off of their duties tomorrow. They'll get the full day to train for their fight. Regularly, we would not allow this, but it's Thunder's first challenge, and she hasn't been with a pack before, so we shall let this pass."

Sweet nodded at Lucky and he took over.

"Thunder, you'll be assigned two dogs to help you train for this. To make it fair, I will allow Moon and the other litter-mate to train whichever dog fights-"

"Whichever litter-mate?" Thorn interrupted, "What do you mean?"

"We are pushing a lot of our original rules here," Sweet growled, "but we will not push this one. Only two dogs fight. It would not be fair for both of you to fight Thunder."

"So, what are you saying?" Beetle asked.

"Only one of you will be fighting for Thunder's rank. Beetle or Thorn."

Gasps filled the air. "But, what about the other?" Moon barked, leaning upward on her paws.

Lucky only flicked his tail, "The other will stay at their rank."

Beetle and Thorn cast worried looks at each other, shuffling their paws.

"Alpha, Beta, if I may."

Storm stepped between Beetle and Thorn. "I think that Beetle and Thorn should discuss that privately. What I mean is, they shouldn't tell Thunder." Her sleek muzzle pointed at the newest patrol dog. "We wouldn't want any unfair advantages."

Thunder gritted her teeth together. It'll still be an unfair advantage! Thorn and Beetle could have completely different attacking tactics, and I won't know which one to be ready for! You're doing this on purpose!

"And we surely don't want to bother Moon with this silly challenge." Moon's ears tilted at the mention of her name. "She's our lead patrol dog, after all. I'll take her place in training whichever one of them decides to fight."

Sweet smiled warmly, "Thank you, Storm. That's considerate of you."

'Considerate' my tail! She's being deceptive and I've done nothing to her! And she's a Fierce Dog! She'll know how to fight well! Thunder thought grimly.

Lucky sat up, "Well, do we have volunteers for being Thunder's trainers? She'll need two. I'll give you a moment to talk about it."

Thunder turned quickly to catch Daisy and Sunshine's eyes. Sunshine shook her head, "Thunder, I'll be no help to you. I'm not very good when it comes to combat. But I'll be your number one supporter!"

Thunder turned to Daisy and the little dog also shook her head. "I'm sorry, Thunder, but I'm just like Sunshine. I'm slightly faster but not much help." Thunder's head drooped sadly. "But don't be discouraged!" Daisy yipped, "Breeze is a good fighter! She's cunning and fast! She'll be happy to help you!" Thunder nodded and turned away from her friends.

She approached Breeze cautiously and nudged her floppy ear. "Breeze?" Would you mind being one of my trainers? I believe you could help me win this fight."

Breeze's brown tail wagged. She rose to the tips of her paws and licked Thunder's cold nose. "I appreciate that you think I'm a good fighter, and yes, I'll happily help you win this fight!"

Thunder nuzzled Breeze's head and looked for her second trainer, but Lucky howled to signal he wanted silence. "So?" he growled, "Who are your trainers, Thunder?"

Thunder swallowed nervously, "My first trainer is Breeze. And my second is..."

Would Bella be up to it? No, her pups. Plus, she doesn't seem to be happy with the Fierce Dog situation. I can't bother Moon with the task. Oh, Sky Dogs, please help me!

"Well?" Sweet muttered, keeping her brown eyes locked on Thunder's.

"I'll do it."

A male black and white Border Collie came forward. Thunder's eyes went wide when she saw him volunteer. She smiled gratefully at him, and he gave her a single nod before returning to his place in the pack.

How kind of him!

"Well, now you know the rules. Let's have prey-share," Sweet hummed.

* * *

Thunder barely bit into the squirrel she had chosen during prey share. Chase sat next to Thunder and nudged her encouragingly, "Come on. It's not so bad."

Thunder sighed and took a small bite of her prey, "Easy for you to say. You don't have to fight."

Dart cleaned Thunder's fur, licking away any dirt she had from morning patrol. "Don't worry. I'm rooting for you. I don't like Fierce Dogs either."

I never said that Dart! And the Fierce Dog isn't even the one fighting. Please, you might hate Fierce Dogs but I only dislike Storm.

"Thank you, Dart," Thunder muttered bitterly, trying to hide her annoyance.

Sunshine trod over, carrying a plump mouse she'd picked from the prey pile. She dropped it at Thunder's paws. "What-- No, Sunshine! You take that back!" Thunder growled.

"But you need your strength for tomorrow!" Sunshine retorted helplessly.

"That doesn't matter now," Thunder said firmly, shoving the mouse back at Sunshine, "you're the Omega. You should be taking this squirrel as well. I'm not hungry."

Chase whimpered sadly, "Oh, Thunder, I bet you'll win that fight against Thorn or Beetle. They're both reckless, no offense to Moon."

Dart growled in agreement, "You've got that right."

Chase slipped to her paws and stretched wide. "Come on, Dart.
We need to get to our night patrol with Ruff and Rake." The ginger Mongrel dog nuzzled Thunder, "Good night, Thunder. May the Spirit Dogs' give you strength during your training."

"Thank you, Chase, you're very kind," Thunder murmured. She whined a good night to Dart and went to her paws.

I guess I'll need my sleep for the big night tomorrow. I just hope that Breeze and that Farm Dog can help me win against Moon's pups...

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