Puppy Paws

The New Den

I wake up, expecting to feel the hard surface of the cage underneath my paws. When I feel packed dirt instead, and feel the presence of Mama beside me, I jump to my feet.
Oh, that's right. We've escaped!
I turn and lick Mama's nose. She opens her eyes and smiles at me. The whole pack is still sleeping, huddled together in the bush.
"Wake them, Paws," murmurs Mama. "We need to get a move on."
I trot over to Carazo and nudge him awake.
Soon, we are all up and ready to go.
But there is still a question: where do we go now?
"Carazo...." I say to him quietly.
"Yes?"
"Are we actually going to go back to that den?"
"I thought about it a lot when you all were sleeping," he says. "For some of you, that has always been the den. Like Larry. For you, that's home. But I think it's in our best interest to find a new one. A better one."
I nod. I agree, though it will be hard to face the fact that I'll never see that cozy den again.  Carazo turns to face the rest of the pack.
"We're going to find a new den," he announces.
There are some yips and cheers, and a couple sighs.
"Well, if you think that's what's right..." murmurs Larry.

We set off.

The crunching of frosty snow under my paws is oddly satisfying. Suddenly, I notice something. My paws are... Not so big anymore. My fur has grown out of puppy fuzz and is shiny around my chest. I look at Mama in surprise.
"You're growing up, Paws," she says and smiles at me. 

We walk and walk, stopping occasionally to eat snow. I'm hungry.

Finally, Carazo stops. We don't notice at first and all bump into him, tumbling over one another and laughing. Then we look up. There's a big hill in front of us, with trees on it just like all around us. It's covered in a thin layer of snow, with bushes and rocks on some parts. Carazo is looking up at it with a smile.
"This is it," he says.
"This is it?" We chorus uncertainly.
Carazo trots up to the hill and begins to snuffle around it, pushing rocks aside and digging into bushes. Finally, he barks. We all rush over.
There, in between a bush and a tree, is some rock face. There's a hole just big enough for us fit through in it. Carazo goes in, and we follow.
We trot through a tunnel-like hole, and inside is a large circular space with tightly packed dirt and rock walls. It's lit up by the light filtering through the hole.
"Told you," says Carazo smugly. Alice squeals and licks his nose. Larry grunts approvingly. I smile. It's perfect!

We spend the rest of the day making the new den seem like home. We all pitch in, bringing dead leaves and sticks, and cleaning up around the area. Soon, it looks like home.

"I guess no more climbing on my back to get out," chuckles Rogo.

"This...this is incredible," murmurs Bitzo.

Mama snuggles my face, and I lick hers. My new life will truly begin tomorrow.