The Last Tribrid

PART 1: Prologue

The sun shone over the treetops. Birds chirped their morning routine. The Enchanted Forest started to come alive with animals following their natural instincts. Rabbits chomped at surrounding plants. Mice cleaned themselves with the drops from the leaves.

The horrific storm had lasted for over a week, causing floods all over. Luckily all the animals had found some shelter from the floods.

Starfire, the she-wolf, exited the safety of the den. She stretched long and pleasantly, then trotted along the grass. Some of the surrounding creatures, such as foxes and lynxes, scurried away from her. Where some, such as rabbits and squirrels, stared in awe, not at all frightened. Her purely cleaned white fur shone in the sunlight. The light flashed as her tail flicked through the sunrays.

She was halfway to the river when a white rabbit hopped out from the bush in front of Starfire, holding a carrot in between his teeth. The rabbit looked up and held the carrot in his paws.

"ah, mornin', Stafire! Aint expectin' to see ya at tis' hour," The rabbit greeted.
Starfire smiled, "Morning, Carrots. I didn't sleep very well during the storm, so I got up a bit late."
Carrots cringed at the thought of the forever lasting storm, "tat' storm was a nightmare!"
"I know, it was. My babies cried all day and all night," Starfire sighed. She was relieved that the storm was over. The floods nearly flooded the whole den. Luckily the ground was high enough so the water couldn't reach the end of the oak tree. But if the storm continued even further, they would've been soaked.

Carrot's eyes widened excitedly, like he just remembered something exciting, "Oh, speakin' a which. How're yir pups doin'? Is tat' Sniffles of yirs' sneezes worsened? Is it Better?"
Starfire's face loosened into a sad looking face, "Actually, his condition has gotten worse, sadly. Ever since the storm started, they all have been a bit sneezy and sick. But it's not that bad. All they need is to stay warm and dry."
Carrots looked at Starfire with gloomy eyes. "Oh. tat's upsettin'. Weren't ye lookin' forwerd te showin' 'em around de forest tir de first time?"
"Yes, I was. But it's not the end of the world. I can try sometime tomorrow if they feel a little better. I'm heading for the river at the moment. I'll find something to make them feel a bit better." Starfire smiled confidently.

Carrots brightened up a bit when he heard the she-wolf's words, "Oh, so dat's where ya headed."
Suddenly a thought popped up in Carrots' head, a thought he might regret asking about, "Jus out'a curiosity, what'd yall eat durin' de storm?"
Starfire bit her lip. She didn't want to offend or scare the little rabbit by telling him that she had, well, rabbit to eat the whole week. But she had nothing else to say without lying to him, so she tried hard to explain and not frighten poor Carrots, "Sorry, Carrots, but, unfortunately, rabbits were the easiest prey to catch during the storm. I couldn't find anything else available," Starfire bit her lip again as she watched Carrots' expression.
He stared at Starfire with half frightened eyes. Great. Just what Starfire was hoping not to happen.

Carrot giggled frantically as he spoke, "tat's... great. I... I hope yall uh... ya know what... nevermind." And with that, Carrots hopped into the bushes behind him with the carrot back in between his teeth. Starfire stared uneasily at the bushes of emptiness. Great. What a marvellous way to start my day, Starfire thought sarcastically.

She lapped the ice cold river water, then followed upstream to find a herb that could help her pups feel better. She eyed a plant filled with juniper berries. As she got closer, she smelt the touch of pine to it. She was about to pick some with her jaws when suddenly a rustling sound emerged. She shot her head up. She looked around cautiously. Her black, wet nose twitched in the air. The rustling came again. Starfire swung her head in the direction of the sound.

'Rustle'.

She watched the bush cautiously, the rustling getting louder, and she let out a small growl. Then it stopped. Starfire watched. She waited a few more seconds until she thought maybe it was just another rabbit. Or a mouse. Starfire rested her facial muscles and sighed.

But as she bent down to pick a few berries, the rustling came again. This time a figure walked out arrogantly. Starfire growled ferociously once she saw who it was.

The male wolf walked towards her, His pitch black pelt glimmered in the sunlight. "Well, well. What do we have here?"
Starfire barked a growl to warn the male wolf, daring him to come any closer, "What do you want, Thunder?"

Thunder grinned evilly, "My, have you forgotten already? I'm sure you know what I want. I've been tracking you down for it."
Starfire growled louder as he spoke. "You will never, for as long as I live, even touch the soul of this enchanted forest!" she vowed.

His evil grin widened, "is that so? Well, Then There's only one thing I need to do." Thunder then suddenly pounced at Starfire. The attack was so sudden, and so quickly done, that she didn't have time to react. He landed with a thud on top of her, her back to the ground, breathless. He aimed his jaws at her neck, but she kicked her back legs just as he tried to strike. He tumbled back onto the ground, Starfire already on her feet. Thunder spun back to his feet as swiftly as possible, then charged again.

The real fight had begun. The sound of snarling and whining filled the air. Smaller animals scattered. Blood stained the grass and dirt. The wolves took turns to rip at each other's fur, tails, and ears.

When the two had stopped was when they both were catching their breaths. Blood dripped down Thunder's left leg. The right side of Starfire's neck was stained with a handful of blood.

Out of both of the wolves, Starfire was the most injured. She knew she wouldn't survive another attack any longer. All she needs to be killed is another bite at the neck, where she was most injured. And if he kills her, not just her cubs, but the entire forest would wither and die.

"You're out of breath," he gasped.
"So are you," Starfire gasped too but with a little more aggression in her voice. Thunder snarled as he pounced at her once more. But he was too late. She already had other plans. She had purposely tipped into the river; Yes, she knew not all her pups would survive if she died, but not all of them would perish, either.
Thunder's eyes widened as Starfire's body began to fall towards the fast flowing river, "No!" He yelled in frustration as he tried to catch her before she fell. But he failed.

He watched harshly at the river, hoping she would come up for breath. Hoping she would still be alive for him to finish her. But instead, there was just water. There was no sign of life besides the fish swimming about without a care in the world.

He growled in frustration, then swiped at a nearby plant to let out his frustration. Licking the juniper berry juice from his paw, he turned and stomped off into the forest.

Suddenly, he felt himself bump against two other furry figures. One of the black wolves had a white paw and the other had a white patch around its eye. Thunder looked at both of them in confusion, "What are you two doing here?"
The white eye-patched wolf answered, "sir! we were... we heard you whelping and growling in this direction. We thought..."
"Whatever. I was going to call you two anyway," Thunder interrupted, "Shadow, Charlie, follow me."
Shadow and Charlie angled their heads. "Where are we going?" Shadow asked, his white coated eye glittering in the fading sunlight. Thunder turned his back to the two wolves, a smirk formed on his face, "we, my friends, are headed to a precious home of a dearest friend."