Dawn of the Wolves Book One: The Journey Begins

The Great Escape

                                                                                   Chapter Five 

    Halo's eyes went wide as she stared at the humans that appeared in front of them. The group had just started their journey and things were already going south, and quickly at that. Halo shook her head looking at Rosa, "What do we do? We have to get around them somehow!" Rosa shook her head, looking confused, "I... I don't know." Rosa nearly whimpered, looking at Slate, "Any ideas?" Slate nodded, "We go through them." Halo turned towards Slate, "You're kidding. Right?" Slate shook his head with a smirk, "Nope, and here's how we do it." The rest of the group turned to Slate, awaiting his instructions, "We growl at them, get them to back up. Then, we run straight at them. If they're smart they'll move." Halo looked at Slate with doubt, "What if they don't move?" Halo asked, "They will." Slate replied, turning to the humans he let out a loud growl. Halo sighed before growling as well. Soon all four wolves were snarling at the humans as they backed up. Slate lunged forwards, Rosa and Aurora soon following. Halo hung back for a brief moment before following the others. The humans, as Slate had said, moved out of the way to avoid the wolves jaws. The four kept running until they were at least a mile away from the humans. Halo slowed to a walk panting slightly, "Now where do we go?" Halo asked, looking over at Slate. Slate looked around before tilting his head to the left, "We go that way. It's going to take a while until we reach the first pack. Exactly how long I don't know. Depends on how fast we move." Halo nodded, "Well, we should start slow. Save energy for later." The group nodded. Slate took the lead as the others fell in line with Rosa and Aurora being behind Slate with Halo in the back. The afternoon sky soon turned into sunset, deep purples and blues lining the pinks and golds. Halo stopped, "Slate we should find a place to rest soon, for a few hours at least. We need to find food and water." Slate nodded, "I guess it is time for a rest." Rosa and Aurora nodded, "Ill take Aurora and find a place to rest." Halo nodded then glanced at Slate, "You can come with me to find food and water. Unless you want to go off on your own?" Slate shrugged, "It's best to keep in pairs, we don't know this area well." Halo nodded, "Sounds reasonable to me." Rosa and Aurora both nodded before turning and heading off to find camp. Halo lifted her muzzle and sniffed the air, "I think I can smell water, it's faint but it just may lead us to a river." Halo lowered her head back down to look at Slate, "We can try it. Maybe even find some rabbits or something." Halo flicked an ear towards Slate to acknowledge that she heard him. Halo lifted her snout once more to catch the sent again before setting off at a brisk trot with Slate not far behind. The pair kept going, soon the sound of running water broke the peaceful silence of the forest. Slate looked over at Halo, "Alright, I have to say that I'm impressed. I didn't think that this would lead to an actual river." Halo rolled her eyes, "The nose knows." Slate shook his head, "You really are an odd one, you know that." Halo shrugged, "Being normal is boring, being odd means I'm different. Being different means being unique, being unique means being one of a kind. To be honest with you, I'm fine with being all of that." Slate nodded, but didn't say anything back as the pair moved through the forest to find the river. Halo's ears perked, the sound of the river had gotten much louder, "We must be close." Halo muttered as Slate nodded, "Yeah, it's pretty loud now." Halo flicked her tail before breaking into a faster trot, Slate trailing behind. The pair broke out of the trees to find a small clearing of sorts with the river running through the middle. Halo walked over to the river then dropped her head to lap at the waters surface as Slate moved in next to her to do the same. Once Halo was done drinking she lifted her muzzle as water streamed down it and back into the river. Slate lifted his head as well then licked his lips turning to Halo, "So, we found water now all we need is food." Halo nodded, "Rosa and Aurora should have found camp by then. Once we have enough food we can come back here and howl for them." Slate thought the plan over, "Okay, sounds good to me. Let's split up for this, but don't go too far." Halo snorted, "Yeah, yeah, whatever you say." She said with a small smirk causing Slate to huff, "Just do it." Halo snorted again, but nodded before turning and heading back into the forest, leaving Slate to wonder what had just happened. Slate huffed, "I honestly don't understand she-wolves." Slate muttered before setting off to find food. The sky had turned from dusk into deep blues, the only light coming from the full moon as it cast it's light across the forest. Halo and Slate had returned from hunting, Halo carried three rabbits in her jaws while Slate had a rabbit and two fish already piled up once she had gotten back. Halo dropped her rabbits onto the pile then lifted her head to the sky and let out a loud howl. A few minutes later Rosa and Aurora came running towards them. Slate dipped his head, greeting the two she-wolves while Halo grabbed a rabbit from the pile and tossed it to Aurora. Aurora picked up the rabbit with a grateful look in her eyes as she laid down to eat. Once everyone had gotten something to eat Halo grabbed one of the last two rabbits. Once the group was done eating Halo noticed a fish and a rabbit still remained in the pile, "Anyone still hungry?" She asked, her gaze sweeping across the group. Everyone nodded their heads, "Okay, so who wants rabbit and who wants fish?" Aurora turned to Halo, "I wouldn't mind eating fish..." Rosa turned to Aurora, "Mind if we share it?" Aurora quickly shook her head, "I don't mind at all." Aurora smiled as Halo nudged the fish over to the two. Halo looked at Slate and slid the rabbit over to him before settling down by the river. Slate walked over to Halo and sat down beside her, dropping the rabbit at their paws. Halo looked over at Slate, confusion written on her face, "Aren't you hungry?" Slate nodded his head, "Of course I am. Aren't you?" Halo sighed, "I am a bit hungry, but you need it more." Slate shook his head, "Let's share. I don't want the whole thing anyways." Halo sighed, "If I must." Slate glanced in Halo's direction seeing a grateful expression on her face. Slate smiled before picking up the rabbit then walking back to the others as Halo followed. Halo and Slate settled down to eat the rabbit,  talking to Aurora and Rosa while they ate. Once everyone was finished Rosa stood, "Okay now that everyone is done, let's head to camp." Halo stood before walking over to Rosa, Aurora beside her with Slate bringing up the back. Rosa walked along the river for a ways then turned into the forest. Halo leaped across a log and saw Aurora and Slate jump next to her. Halo landed and continued to follow Rosa through the undergrowth. Halo kept walking until Aurora stopped with a small yelp, causing Rosa to stop as well as the rest of the group. Halo turned to Aurora, "What's wrong?" Aurora whimpered, "I, I uh... I got stuck..." Halo sighed, "It's fine Aurora, it happens." Halo gave Aurora a reassuring smile before getting her unstuck. Aurora heaved a sigh of relief, "Thanks Halo." Halo nodded, "You're welcome." Rosa checked Aurora over before turning and following some invisible trail back to camp. A few minutes had passed before Rosa spoke, "Almost there. Just through these bushes." Rosa pushed through a pair of thick bushes, seeming to disappear into them. Halo sniffed the bushes before following Rosa. Halo pushed through, hearing the others behind her. Halo stumbled out into a small clearing, a fallen tree laying in the middle of it. Rosa sat beside the tree and pointed to an opening, "It's hollow, Aurora and I put bedding down." Halo nodded then walked over to the tree and slipped inside. Halo looked around, "It's a lot bigger than I thought it would be." Rosa poked her head in, "Yup, it's plenty for us." Halo nodded before settling down as the rest of the group slipped in behind her. Feeling the other press against her Halo drifted off to sleep.

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