The Reality

One Morning

I was already regretting getting out of bed that morning.
To make matters worse, Lea had awoken me by screeching into my ear. No one wants to wake up to Lea Hunter bellowing into their face.
Nick gestured for me to follow him as we raced through the early morning mist. Life is good.
Even better, life is simple. The Safe Haven is a wonderful place. Everyone gets to choose their job at the age of thirteen. I chose the Scouts, the best job there is.
Nick suddenly rolls into a patch of brambles and tall grass. I do as well, taking my bow off my back and gripping it tightly.
There are three full-grown timber wolves in the clearing ahead, the clearing where the sheep are.
"We have to be fast and we have to be smart." Nick said under his breath. That's his mantra. Fast and smart. Simple, like everything else.
They're all gray, except for the alpha, who's a dark brown. I take a raven-father fletched arrow from my quiver and slide it onto my bowstring.
They're hunting as well, pacing in the grass ten feet from us. I can see they have their eyes on a lamb.
"Okay." Nick says. "Three, two-" I let out a loud howl and series of quick, short yaps. The sheep start thundering away at the sound, and the wolves whip around and see us.
That's why my last name is WolfSong. Everyone's last names match their skills.
Without even thinking, the wolves gallop towards us. Nick and I both draw arrows and fire. The two flanking the alpha fall. Seeing his pack mates fall, he veers away into the trees. I aim for him but he's too fast, and he escapes into the woods.

~

We are greeted by Lea as we emerge into camp.
"Hello rabbit-chasers." She says. I can see she's missing a few arrows as well. "Rabbit chaser" is one of the worst insults you can give someone in the Safe Haven, but she tosses the phrase about constantly.
"Hi Lea." I say back because I'm too tired to say something smart back.
She smiles as if she knows she's won.
"Shoot anything?" She asks, eyeing my quiver. I nod and turn to my plate of mashed potatoes and beef.
She turns to Nick because she knows he'll tell her more. "Two gray timber wolves in the Clearing."
"An alpha?" She inquires.
In Safe Haven we call every leader of a wolf group the alpha. It doesn't matter if they're not, if they're in the lead they're worth more and more bragging rights come from killing one.
Suddenly Sydney barrels into me. She's my little sister. She does not want to be a Scout and makes that very clear to everyone around her.
She counts my arrows. She knows I go out with twenty. "You killed another innocent wolf?" She yelps. "Poor little woodland creature!" She howls at the top of her lungs.
"Quiet!" I slap a hand over her mouth.
Last summer a girl was caught smuggling four wolves out of town, into this extensive cave system under a huge oak tree deep in the woods. They gave her a bag full of food and water that would last her about a week and then kicked her into the Open.
The Open is what lays outside of Safe Haven. It's an endless tundra of grass and wild wheat. There is nothing beyond it. Nothing that we could reach without starving first.
"Stop it Sydney." I mutter. Nick is glancing around, hoping no one heard.
"They don't send wolf-kissers into the Open anymore." Lea says with a wave of her hand. Sydney's eyes widen. "You said a bad word!" Then she raced off. "Lea SWEARED!!!"
The girl they put in the Open's name was Riley Trapper. They found out she would catch a wolf in a net, calm it down, and then make it her little pet and rescue it.
It's not like I, personally, hate wolves. They just kill livestock and make it impossible for anyone to make a living.
"So, an alpha?" Lea asks again, now that Sydney's gone.
"No. He got away." Nick says with a shrug. "Really?" Lea is full of life. "You said the Clearing, right? I'll be back later!" She snatched her bow from the rough wooden table and tears away.
"You going to let her get away with that?" Nick asks. "Not a chance." I stand up as he begins to help himself to my mashed potatoes.