The Three Kingdoms [under edit]

Caper

"Get up! We've got work to do!"

Caper groaned and stood up. The sunlight crept through the open corridors letting him know that it was bright and early in the morning.

"Wow," Caper responded to Galvin, "You're up. I was beginning to think you had narcolepsy."

"Ha ha. Very funny," he said sarcastically. "I expect to see you in the courtyard in thirty minutes."

"What? Geez...only thirty? don't you have your daily spa treatment to get to your royal highness?"

"Shut up. I can get you kicked out." Galvin stated. It was evident that he was beginning to get annoyed. Caper pressed on.

"You wouldn't. You need me too much. Who's gonna remind you to stop eating before you become to heavy to fly?" He cocked his head and waited for a reply.

"I'm serious. Shut up."

"I'm serious too."

Thirty minutes did nothing to improve Galvin's mood, nor did it do anything to help Caper shake off his drowsiness. He sat down in the grass across from Darwin, the Phoenix, and examined the small assembly of individuals gathered there. It wasn't difficult for Caper to let his mind wander.

The sun shone brightly through the canopy overhead. Everything was just as it should be, food was abundant, the air was fresh, and the land was at peace. Caper looked up at his mother.
"Mum?" he asked. She looked down at him. "where's father?"
Her eyes radiated sadness as she tried to formulate an answer to his question. "He's gone, he won't be coming back."
"Where did he go?"
"Somewhere far away."
"When will I see him again?
"I don't know."

"Caper?" a voice spoke up, jarring his thoughts.

"What..oh....yeah...?"

"Just making sure you're mentally present. We need to discuss a course of action."

"Sure." Caper nodded softly, but his mind continued to wander.

It was a few years later, Caper was in his teens. It was the day his mother died. The first sign that the land was in a state of unrest came when the Humans attacked the pack. They killed off most of his family. He fought hard. He could taste the blood in his mouth as he attacked them, but they couldn't die, they wouldn't die but his mother did. She fell, wounded by an arrow. He felt the hard sting of loss as he fell to her side. His only light in a world of dark.

"Caper," she whispered. "I love you."
"I know mum,"
"Don't grow up too fast."
And then she faded away. Now he was all alone. The young leader of a beaten down wolf pack, the last of the Great Wolves.

"Caper! snap out of it!"

"Out of what? I've been listening to every word you've said!"

"Really?" Galvin asked skeptically.

"Yeah...You were talking 'bout the time you ate like....40 pounds of raw venison at once...and the time you followed that gnome around in a slightly suspicious manner."  he lied.  He knew those things weren't really true, but he didn't want to admit not paying attention.

"I just don't get it." Galvin asked angered. "How could someone as immature as you become the unchallenged leader of a wolf pack?"

"Because my mother said so." he murmured.

"Well, she must have made a big mistake."

"You know what," Caper said after a few moments. "You make whatever decisions you need without me. Apparently someone as immature as me needn't be involved."

Caper turned and left the group. He walked out underneath the high vaulted arches and into the woods. He walked for a few hours and then sat down at the edge of a pond. He was joined by his sister's mate Caden.

"Something go wrong?"

"He insulted my mother."

"Harsh."