Survivors The Path Of The Pack: Thunder's Journey

Chapter 21

Thunder breathed in deeply as a breeze passed by. The heavy scent of all the dogs in the pack came floating into her nose.

"Glad to be home," she whispered lovingly.

"That was a nice chat!" Whisper said as his tongue lolled from his mouth.

Thunder smiled and turned to the slightly shorter dog, "Yes, thanks again for keeping my company."

"Of course," Rake growled softly, "but we won't bother you anymore. Enjoy your break." With that, Rake and Whisper walked away from Thunder side by side.

What should I do? Thunder thought curiously, slowly lying down. She twitched as movement slipped into the corner of her eye. Thunder turned her head to see Scramble limping into the open. When their eyes met, he yipped and hobbled over to her.

"Hey, Thunder!" Scramble squeaked, falling purposely against her.

"Hello, Scramble," Thunder growled kindly. She made sure to get a good look at his leg. It was wrapped somewhat delicately in sticky leaves. Only a little of his paw could be seen. His leg was set at an angle that looked uncomfortable to Thunder, but Scramble didn't object to it.

"So how's that leg?" Thunder asked quietly, beginning to feel her guilt come back.

Scramble's muzzle quickly turned into a frown, "Fine, I guess. Can we play a game?"

"Maybe. Could you show me your leg first?"

Scramble sighed and stuck his leg up a little. He dragged it around a bit until he whimpered in pain. Thunder blinked sadly but didn't utter a word.

"Scramble!"

Both dogs glanced around for whoever carried the tiny voice. Thunder's eyes widened in surprise. The pup named Tiny she'd seen before trotted towards them.

"Hey, Tiny!" Scramble yipped, running to his cousin-kin.

"Hey, sorry about your leg," the small golden pup whined as she nudged Scramble.

Scramble shrugged as another pup started to approach.

"Who are you?" he asked Thunder, his big brown eyes burning into her.

Thunder looked the pup up and down. He looked similar to Tiny. He also had golden fur but it was shaggier than the smaller pups, and his was much darker.

"My name is Thunder, I came here a few days ago. I'm new to the pack," Thunder answered sweetly, bumping the little pup's nose, "And what's your name?"

"Tumble!"

Thunder nodded as she felt Scramble climbing her back. She looked between Tiny and Scramble, "Are you two kin also?"

"Yeah! But not like my relationship with Scramble. Me and Tiny are littermates!" Tumble yipped, pawing at his sister, but Tiny dodged before his paw could lightly slap her muzzle.

"Wow, really? It's just you two?" Thunder asked, flicking away Scramble's tiny teeth from her forepaw.

"Noooo! It's us too!"

Thunder looked up to see that two more similar-looking pups came to join her. The one who'd spoken was a golden-brown color and her eyes were dark like Tumble's. The other was quite tan with light eyes like Tiny's.

"I'm Fluff! the golden-brown pup stated, sniffing at Thunder.

"And I'm Nibble," Nibble said softly, stretching her tan body.

Thunder smiled, glancing over each of the pups carefully. So these are Lucky and Sweet's pups. They're cute!

A high-pitched yip made Thunder turn once more.