Shadow of the Wolf

The Beginning

Akira set her foot into the moist earth. She lifted her head high and sniffed the air eagerly. 

 "Smell anything?" Asked Kamiko. Kamiko was Akira's brother, he was a light grey Siberian Husky with a jet black underbelly, and his eyes were a darker shade of blue. He was big for a dog, that's for sure. Akira and her brother belonged to a wild dog pack, made of a medley of different dogs, all shapes and sizes. 

 "Yes," She said, keeping her nose high into the air. "Just gimme a second, okay? I can't always smell prey on the first try,".

 Kamiko smiled at her, "Well, you know, just trying to lay on the pressure," Kamiko laughed. Akira took her nose down from the air, and turned around and playfully leaped at him and pinned him down to the ground. They wrestled together until Kamiko stopped. "Akira, we shouldn't be messing around," He reminded her. "This is your first hunt, and you know what happens if you come back empty handed..." Kamiko paused, looking into the deep woods that led to the large mountains that lay beyond.

 "Yea, yea, I know, but that's not going to happen. My training will pay off!" Akira barked, confidently. 

 "Hah, yea, I hope it will," Kamiko assured. Akira was a light brown Siberian Husky, with darker brown strikes beneath her eyes, and light cream-colored underbelly, with dark amber eyes. Akira and Kamiko weren't from the same litter, Kamiko was 3 years older than Akira, therefore becoming her mentor. It was rare for a brother to mentor a sister, but that's just what happened, and no one minded.

 "Shhh!" hissed Akira.

 "What is it? Do you smell something?," Asked Kamiko, eagerly. 

 "Shhhhhh!" Akira hissed louder. She lowered her body to the ground, just as Kamiko had taught her to when she was stalking something. Kamiko smiled with pride in his eyes. This is it, he thought, my sister is going to be a Running Water Dog! To be a Running Water Dog meant to be a true member of the pack. The longer Kamiko watched Akira, he kept noticing new things about her growth. Funny, he thought to himself, She's a bit bigger than your average female husky. After all his thinking, Kamiko had lost sight of Akira, for she had disappeared into the bushes. 

 "AAAAAAH!"  Kamiko immediately recognized the voice of Akira. His heart began to beat fast, and his face felt hot. "Akira?!" He yelled back. He raised his nose to follow her scent, but all the scents he was used to smelling were masked by a rather unbearable scent. Kamiko immediately jerked his head back down to get the scent out of his nostrils.

 "Aww sick!" He gritted through his  bared teeth. His nose was curled upwards in the disgust. Akira slipped out of the bushes, and as she got closer, the scent got worse. "Yeesh, what did they put in your food? And if you ask me, If you have to go, go somewhere away from me!" Kamiko sneered. Akira rolled her eyes.

 "I found something,". Kamiko, who was now ignoring her, continued to make fun of the scent that covered Akira. "Man, it smells like you actually wanted to roll into fox dung this time!" When Akira was little, she loved to roll in mud puddles. She wasn't too good at smelling at the time, so she went to go roll in a patch of mud she had found, but it wasn't mud at all, it was fox dung.

 "Oh would you shut up!" She snapped. "I found something, and I hope it will make Riko happy," She reached behind her tail end and dragged out what looked like a black and white cat. Kamiko looked at it for a while, tilting his head in confusion.

 "I don't think Riko will be too fond of a," Kamiko paused for a minute. "A skunk,". Akira looked at him with sadness in her eyes.

 "Oh," She whined, "I'll never be a Running Water Dog, I'll be kicked out, just like father,". Kamiko narrowed his eyes.