Wolves of the Moon #1: The Paws of Darkness

Chapter Ten

Spirit was having a peaceful dream of hunting rabbits when someone shook her awake.

"Uhh... what? You woke me up," she complained, irritated. Shielding her eyes from the morning sunlight, she looked up at Silhouette.

"C'mon sleepy head," Silhouette woofed. Her eyes sparkled with mirth and joy. "By the way, you sleep like a rock. We tried to wake you up for a few minutes already."

The silver she wolf groaned playfully. "Oh no. Now it sounds like I'm sleeping like my friend Snowdrift," she joked. "But seriously, why'd you wake me up?"

"We found the mountain from the prophecy!" Blaze butted in excitedly, and once again Spirit lifted her head so quickly she banged it into someone's snout, only this time it was Silhouette's.

"OUCH! Great Lupa, Spirit, your skull is hard as stone!" the black she-wolf yelped.

"Sorry," the silver-gray wolf murmured, before questioning the other wolves. "Where's the mountain? Can we go now? Is it close?"

"Whoa, hold your hedgehogs with the questions," Cloud exclaimed. "The mountain is right over there." He motioned with his muzzle to the horizon, which had a large shape looming in the distance.

"Well come on! Stop sitting on your lazy tails like hibernating bears and let's get a move on!" Spirit shouted, practically jumping up in down in excitement.

"Wait, why are we all using figurative language?" Cloud interrupted. When the others looked at him funny, he shrugged. "What, it is a fair question." The white he-wolf followed Spirit out of the woods with a huff, followed by Silhouette, Blaze, and River.

The silver she-wolf kept her eyes on the mountain, every once in awhile stopping to smell the trail, which had the increasing smell of burning cedar wood and singed meat and fur. Once she had even found a clump of fur that reeked of the scent. Silhouette had also found the pawprints of tiny pups leading to where they were headed, the huge summit.

"Come on, this way!" the silvery she-wolf would say when the group lagged behind. "The scent trail is so strong! The strongest it has ever been!" Spirit tried to encourage the young wolves but they didn't seem as enthusiastic as before. She figured that the depressing smell and growling stomachs decreased their excitement. Well of course, except for Cloud. He acted like they were going on his first hunt or the first time being with friends. But even he was acting a bit downcast and asked when they could stop.

The day grew hotter, and Spirit tried to lighten the mood in any ways she could. The she-wolf climbed trees just to catch a squirrel and jumped back down, tumbling and acting clumsy. But no such luck whatsoever. They all acted like a sack of dead meat, just as emotionless and limp. Even Cloud wasn't joking around as much.

"The pups!" the silver wolf yelped. She inwardly snickered as she realized this could be awesome motivation. "You guys, if we don't pick up the pace all the pups will be even more hurt, or worse dead by the time we get there!" Now they started to perk up a little bit. Yes!

"Imagine Daybreak and Ink," she continued, stirring up those lost feelings. "No more pups have to be dead. So be prepared to fight for their lives!" The thick-furred she-wolf suddenly pounced on Silhouette, battering at her soft belly with her hind paws, growled, and pretended to bite her neck open.

"Come on! How would you fight someone bigger and stronger than you that was right on top of you?" Spirit probbed, letting out her fiercest snarl. She was much bigger than the black wolf, even though the she-wolf was probably a few weeks younger than Silhouette and the others.

"By doing this!" the shadow-black wolf cried, and twisted suddenly, throwing Spirit off her back.

"Great!" the light silver she-wolf grinned. "Even though I haven't had as much training as you, I know that you mustn't let your opponent have the advantage of getting to your stomach or throat." Blue eyes proud of herself at cheering them all up, they started the journey again.

"Let's hunt. I'm so hungry I could eat all the prey in the whole forest," Spirit announced. It was evening and the sun was just setting over the thin line where the sky met the land. As Blaze went in search of food, River and Silhouette were looking for more clues. Cloud just had to find a way to amuse himself. The silvery she-wolf sighed, dark, unusual eyes closing. Not long after she dozed off, however, she awoke to find a red-brown shape looming over her.

"What, Blaze?" she groaned, but stopped as she saw her anxious, worried face.

"You'd better come and see," the she-wolf replied, tail tucked between her legs. As Spirit followed her into the woods, she scented a familiar smell mixed with the ever-growing smells of carrion and embers. Blaze brushed away a branch from a rare flowering bush, and the sight wanted to make the silver-gray she-wolf murder every single wolf in the forest.

There, in the middle of the lilac bush, was the mangled body of Massif, the setting sun casting a red glow across his pelt.

Gah. So sad. =( Well, I hope you liked it! Bye!!!