Feral

18

Time seemed to crawl by, even though their days were full, there hadn't been a new moon since they'd left.

Her wound had become a dull ache in her leg after six more days, it no longer would open if she moved the wrong way, shifting still wasn't an option however, and the shirt she'd taken with her was in shreds at this point with the rambunctious pups.

The important part was that her pack was thriving. Wounds had healed left from the twolegs. And Irik was a proud father to three pups, one female and two males, Riah, Lai, and Gier.

They were such small things and it adored her. Sadly their fourth pup had been a runt, and didn't live to meet the sun.

She craved a mate, and had had a glimmer of hope in Damien, but that was no more, their worlds weren't meant to mix the past moons had shown that...the wound in her side proved it.

She found solace in teaching the pups, the older ones liked to bite and she'd let them before putting them in their place. She'd watch closely as the pups played with each other, relishing in their energy and wished to be so carefree.

She longed to be like that again, but these wounds were taking too long to heal, it brought her back to the memories before she lead this pack. Painful, scornful, memories.

That time, though, had seen her grow, and if she could she'd go back to that time and make sure to correct her errors. Things would have been different.

They were due for another hunt come sunrise the next day, a hunt that would provide for three days. The pack had already gotten whiff of a herd of deer passing through at a relatively slow pace, which would insure an easy time to find them tomorrow.

She longed to go with them, to feel the ground beneath her feet, her paws, and to feel the rush of the wind as she ran, and feel it blow through her fur. She longed to track the deer, finding their subtle scents whispering among the trees and grass, to sink her jaws into its neck and relish in the blood as she crushed its windpipe.

The wind blew through their territory, bringing a pungent bite into their midst. It was a lion. Her pack had encountered them before, and it took several wolves to kill just one. They brought competition for hunting deer, and in this new place, they needed as little competition as possible for food.

Judging by how strong the scent was, the lion was in very close proximity to their location. Her wolves scented it too, and the pups were gathered into the den, Shirak guarding them.

Even though she couldn't shift fully, she could extend her claws and make her teeth more wolf like. Irik and Baldir flanked her sides as they left their enclosed territory, scenting for the lion.

The lion must have been on the trail her pack followed the previous day for the heard of deer, for its pawprints were fresh, and its scent still lingered heavily along the path of hoof prints.

The cat had been stealthily avoiding them, and was careful about its movements along the path of hoof prints, but soon enough they had it cornered. The rocks made it easy to back the cat into a small area, with its only advantage being its more agile body.

The cat was quick to swipe and extend its claws as she and Irik nipped at its sides while Baldir tried to distract it from the front. She couldn't afford anymore serious injuries, but taking a few scratches from the lion was going to be necessary to win.

There wasn't much damage she could do with her jaws without shifting, but her more elongated claws could easily rake into the fur and flesh of the lion, to weaken it.

She left the right side of the animal and dove for it chest, dragging her nails into its soft stomach, catching it unawares, and accomplishing what she'd hoped to, but took a scratch to the face as a consequence. However, by doing this, Baldir was able to pin the lion against the jagged rocks as Irik went for the throat.

The cat struggled, letting out a cry of aggravation before it was hushed by Irik's jaws clamping down on its throat before ripping it out.

It would have been a shame to let the meat go to waste, so they dragged the carcass back to their territory for the pack to feast upon.

They were greeted with happy huffs and yips. She went off to rinse the wound on her face. Running her fingers over it, she felt that it wasn't too bad and should heal by the next moon, if not a bit after.

It was but another scar to her ever growing collection.