Crossfire

Chapter 1 - The Beginning

"We can't go just yet, I still need to finish my flower crown."
"Aster, please hurry. Any later and the sun will be going down." After patiently waiting for about five minutes, Aster's mother started shoving her out the den. "Time's up, we have to keep searching."
The two Mayfliers, in the form of a wolf, began to head out. The sun started to set slowly, and the snow started to glisten. Sunset was always Aster's favorite time of the day.
"Mother, what do we keep looking for?" Aster's mother glanced back at her, unsure of whether to tell her or not.
"A very rare kind of treasure, but if we don't find it, someone else might, and that treasure could become dangerous," she paused for a brief moment. "There should be two of them. They're like bracelets with a small purple gemstone embedded on the front." Aster nodded, hoping she could help her mother out and find the treasure, then she can head home to finish her flower crown.
The two of them climbed up a steep snowy hill and Aster admired the sunset for a moment. The snow sparkled as if it were trying to mimick the stars that were about to appear in the sky. The horizon sky was glowing a bright orange, red, pink, and purple, that slowly got darker as the sun sank behind the horizon.
They continued to wander through the snow in the dark. Aster started to shiver as it got colder, she wondered if her mother even knew where they were going.
"Do you know where the treasure is?"
Aster's mother shook her head and replied with an instant "no."
"Then how do you know we have to go this way?" Aster stopped in her tracks to wait for an answer.
"It's supposed to be hidden in the most darkest and deepest underground cave. Where's that? I have no idea. I'm only looking around, and I expect you to help out, alright? It's best to look for any dark suspicious caves. I'll get you something to eat afterwards."
They discovered a dark and slightly foggy woods. The wind blew harshly through Aster's fur.
The two wolves continued through the forest, despite the uneasy vibe.
"Wait here. I'm going to look around but I don't want you to end up getting hurt. Wait until I get back." Aster's mother continued to move on through the dark woods. Aster stayed put, obeying her mother's order. She lay on her back in the snow to watch the bright stars, and caught a glimpse of a star shooting across the late night sky.
Suddenly, loud noises drew closer and closer, as if something was running through the snow, until Aster sprung up in fear. Then the noises stopped. All she could hear was the wind howling through the dark trees around her.
The trees began to sway, and then something peered over a snow covered rock for a brief moment and then disappeared. Aster quickly hid behind a tree, and kept quiet. She heard the sound of snow being brushed around.
Aster peered around the tree to see another wolf sitting on top of the rock, panting.
"Hey are you alright?" She asked, but the other wolf didn't respond. In fact, it most likely ignored her. "I asked you a question." The other wolf turned around and looked up to meet Aster's gaze. "What do you want?" They replied. "I'm kind of busy."
She got closer to the unknown wolf, and asked what they were doing out in the haunting dark woods alone. "Well same goes for you. You're alone, aren't you?"
Aster shook her head. "No, I'm not alone. My mother's here somewhere, she's looking for a cave."
"Oh," They replied. They seemed to be a little upset.
"May I ask who you are, and why you're here alone?" Aster sat down in front of them, flicking the snow from off her tail.
"My name is Zachery. I'm here alone because-" Zachery stopped. He hesitated before turning back around. "It doesn't matter." He said. "Now you have to tell me who you are."
Aster shrugged. She recalled the time when her mother would tell her to keep her identity secret from everything and everyone, no matter the circumstances, so she came up with a solution.
"My name is Starglider."