A Pack's Song (A Therian Story)

Chapter 2

A week had passed since the pack voted on Mila's stay, and it was finally time for the girl's initiation. The whole pack plus Mila agreed to meet at their local forest preserve. Alyssa knew most packs didn't really have an initiation type deal, but she found it immediately started bonding the group, and it wasn't like the initiation was hard or anything.

"Alex." Alyssa called for her scout. Being the scout, Alex was the one who set up the initiations. It was always different, but Alyssa's instructions were always the same. Make it fun. And it always was fun. Alex was very good at making things fun.

"You got everything ready?" Alyssa asked. Mila watched the two nervously, and Alex cheerfully nodded.

"Everything's super ready!" He responded, then looked over at Mila. "See the thing is, with our initiations, the Alpha doesn't know what's up. I'm the one that puts everything together and makes it hapen!" This only seemed to make Mila more nervous. Alyssa gave her a reassuring smile.

"So!" Alex clapped his hands together. "You can climb right? I need you to climb up here." He stood on his tip-toes and patted the branch of the tree above him. Alyssa knew what was happening here. She moved to the position she knew Alex wanted her to be in, just below the branch.

Meanwhile, Mila hesitanatly climbed the tree and sat on the branch, her legs on either side and her hands gripping the bark so she didn't fall.

"Alright," Alex clapped his hands together again. He looked up at Mila and smiled. "Now I want you to jump into Alyssa's arms. You need to trust your Alpha, and this is a great way to practice trust!" He chirped, and Mila paled.

"Hey you unoriginal fox you did this for my initiation!" Hunter teased. Alex only smiled at him.

"I have... to jump?" Mila looked scared. Alex nodded cheerfully.

"Don't worry, I've never let anyone fall and get hurt before." Mila only really seemed to pay attention to the words 'fall and get hurt.' This made her even more scared, even though it wasn't that long of a fall and the most hurt she would get is a bruise, maybe a broken bone if she didn't land right.

"You can do it!" Ace called, drawing Mila's attention. Only for a short moment though, and after she saw Ace's big smile, she locked eyes with Alyssa.

"Just push off with your hands." Alex said softly. "It's okay!"

Mila took a deep breath and shifted so both her legs were on the same side of the branch. She locked eyes with Alyssa again as if to make sure the other was ready. Alyssa nodded and Mila closed her eyes and started counting down.

"Three..." the others immediately joined in. A group of teenagers all counting down to one's jump. "Two..." Alyssa could see Mila's quick breaths, her chest rising and falling with a high pace. "One..!" Mila pushed off. It felt like slow motion, she let out a high pitched squeal as she fell, her tail trailing behind her. Alyssa took a step forward and allowed Mila's legs to wrap around her waist. One of Alyssa's hands moved to support Mila's thighs, and the other moved to the girl's back. Then, all of Mila's weight hit Alyssa, and she wobbled a little, earning a gasp from the rest of the pack, then she fell onto her butt. It hit Alex that, with Mila's weight, this might not have been the best idea.

The pack ran over to the two to make sure they were okay. Mila, who was basically in Alyssa's lap now, started laughing.

"That was... kinda fun actually!" She said, giving Alyssa a big hug. Alyssa groaned softly, a pain shooting through her lower back, but she chuckled and hugged back anyways.

"You okay?!" Kaitlyn asked, placing a hand on Alyssa's shoulder and kneeling down.

"I'll be fine. Just need an ice pack." Alyssa replied with another chuckle. Mila looked down at her with a worried expression.

"You sure you're okay?" She asked, tilting her head a bit. Alyssa nodded and signaled for the other to get up. Mila immediately did so, and looked at Alyssa with worry. Alyssa got up with the help of Alex and Sky.

"I'm fine guys, really." Alyssa said, brushing herself off. She glanced around at her friends and smiled. Alex piped up then

"Well... Alyssa did technically pass the initiation so... celebration ice cream?" He suggested with a shy smile. Most of the pack cheered.

"I should go home actually." Sky piped up. "I told my mom I wouldn't be out long."

"Wait what you don't want ice cream?" Ace asked. Sky shrugged.

"I'm fine." She mumbled. "See you guys later, enjoy the ice cream." She glanced at Mila for a second before starting to trot off. Hunter looked lost. He didn't know if he wanted to go with Sky or get ice cream. He apparently decided on ice cream, because as soon as Sky was out of sight, he rejoined the group. They moved in the opposite direction, towards their local Dairy Queen.