Runner Through the Fire [A Wolf Story]

[6] Up the Mountains

Sorry for the delay! Didn't have enough time yesterday to post this. A lot more is happening this chapter! Hope you enjoy :)

Field sighed and looked at Ice. "So, he was trying to tell Runner about the attack?" Ice nodded. Field looked down. "It's a good thing we're bringing him to the mountains then. That should separate them. We shouldn't let Runner know about the attack." Ice nodded again.

Field crouched down and jumped onto the rock ahead of him. There was still a long way to go. Climbing up the mountain was rough but Field hoped they'd get through it. Already, Field's paws were starting to hurt a little.

"We will meet a patrol at the border. The Goran pack are our allies and so you might see the pack again in the future," Ice announced to the two juveniles.

"Mhm. Yeah. Whatever," Cocoa responded with an edge to his voice. His mouth was drawn back into a frown and his ears were pinned down. Doe tried to brush up against him and calm him down, but Cocoa wasn't able to. Field shook his head and sighed. The Goran pack wasn't all that bad and hopefully Cocoa would be able to see that when he gets past this.

Field jumped up onto another rock again. He was breathing heavily now as the air got thinner and they got closer to the top. He looked back. Hunter and a few other adults were also on the patrol.

They were nearing the patrol now, finally. The wolves' paws and muscles ached and they breathed heavily. Walking uphill a mountain wasn't an easy job. They've made the trip before, but it wasn't fun. The escort patrol could see the patrol of the Goran pack in the distance.

In front of the patrol was a handsome rust-colored wolf with tan and black markings and pale, yellow eyes. Field recognized him from before. That was Zian. He had broad shoulders and a thick pelt that probably helped against the cold. Field shivered at the consistent cold winds and puffed out his pelt a little.

"'Ello," Zian said. He had a charming foreign accent. "These are the juveniles, then?" Field nodded.

"These are Cocoa and Doe." He told him. Zian nodded with a sweet smile.

"'Ello, we'll make you right at home, then. There's not always a lot of food in the mountains,  but the pack is small, so there shouldn't be too many problems. We'll show you how to hunt and other things since mountain life can be very different than forest life," Zian said to them with a soft and welcoming voice.

Doe's ears perked up and she quietly thanked him but Cocoa just looked away and grumbled. He was obviously not happy about this and his posture and expression showed it. Zian blinked at Cocoa's obvious grumpiness for a second, then shook his head and smiled again. Zian looked up at the sky. Right now, the sun was past high noon. It would set in a couple of hours.

"You guys might want to stay at our camp since it'll get dark soon enough and if you left in the morning and it took you this long to climb up here... well, just trust me when I say that the mountains are not very fun to climb in the dark."

Field shook his head. "I'm afraid that we'll have to tough it since the beta and alpha are up here. We shouldn't leave our camp alone for too long." Zian sighed.

"I understand, but be sure to be careful, okay?" Zian asked. Field nodded, then looked to Ice.

"Goodbye, then, and we'll be careful. Take care of them," Ice pointed his muzzle to the juveniles. Zian nodded and the patrol went back down the mountains. Field wasn't looking forward to the trip down.

Field looked down at the deer, breathing heavily. He probably shouldn't have gone on the hunt because of the very long climb yesterday. They only got back at midnight and they were moving all day. He looked up to the other wolves on the hunt. "I'm going to go and take some of this and rest somewhere. It's good to be alone at points," He told them as he ripped a leg from the deer. They nodded and he took the deer to the fields.

He laid down in the grass and began to eat the leg. It felt good to have something in his stomach since he went to sleep right after the climb. He licked his lip and tore into it again.

But he didn't finish it.

Instead, he took the mostly eaten leg in his mouth and walked over to the river. He wasn't near the stepping stones, but over here, it was shallow enough to walk through. He waded through the water, shook his fur, and continued over with the leg in his jaws. He went over to the side of the mountain.

There was a small cave opening hidden with bushes and other vegetation. Field moved some of it over and entered the cave. He dropped the deer leg and looked at the wolf lying in the corner.

The wolf looked like he was sleeping. His eyes were closed. He had black fur with light gray markings. His back leg was burnt and scarred all over. He definitely couldn't walk on it. Speaking of that, the wolf had scars all over him as if he got into some very heavy fights. His breath was ragged, but he was alive. Field dropped the deer leg in front of him.

The wolf's ear twitched and he opened his eyes. They were a piercing scarlet. He raised his head and at first looked surprised to see Field, and then his lip drew back into a growl. Field found him in the cave when they checked out the territory across the river. "What do you want?" The strange wolf spat. Field pushed the deer leg in front of him.

"Food."

"Why would you bring me food? Don't you hate me?"

"Yeah, I do. But it's necessary."

"For what?"

"Plans." The strange wolf glared up at Field's comment.

"You know, whatever you're planning, it won't work."

"Sure it won't." Field was pretty confident in his plans. Even if it didn't work out, he'd be able to improvise. He always was. He walked over to the opening of the small cave. "Oh, by the way," He turned his head back, "Don't dare and try to escape. I will find you, and I will drag you back here. Even if I have to break all your legs myself." With that, Field left the cave.

Thanks for reading! Make sure to vote and comment if you'd like :)

Word Count: 1091