Runner Through the Fire [A Wolf Story]

[8] A New Friend

Almost forgot I had to update this lol an also "A New ____" is becoming a trend in chapter titles and you can't do anything about it
And here we introduce our final main character! Finally.

Runner's pulse quickened. His paws rustled in the grass in silence. His fur waved in the wind and his tail swished. His ear twitched and his eyes swept around the area. They were on the edge of the territory of the Ashes Pack. The yellow grass turned green as they neared different terrain. The trees on their territory ended a while ago. New trees started. Different trees. With lush green foliage and grass healthy and wet.

Lora's fur brushed up beside him. He looked over to her, the worry in his eyes evident. He was unsure of what they were about to do. Her dark green eyes met his and she nodded and smiled. He tried to smile, though the edge of his lips twitched. There was the smallest push on his other side. He looked over to see Jay smirking at him with his signature mischevious glint in his eyes. But he nodded and Runner knew he was there for him.

The attackers started into the new territory. They hid close to the floor but they might not have needed to with all the trees and vegetation. The forest was even denser than the territory across the river and was dark from the cover of the trees above. Runner squinted while he waited for his eyes to adjust.

The ground was only somewhat muddy in some places and so wet his paws sunk through in others. The forest seemed like it rained a lot. Or maybe just had a lot of bodies of water. Runner heard Lora's quiet complaints as the mud got in her white fur. He looked ahead. Field and Ice were at the front, of course. Hunter was behind them and Raven was ready at the edge of the territory, her excuse for being caught by patrols being herb gathering. There were a lot of other attackers on the patrol.

Field and Ice turned towards the wolves. "Hunter and I will scout out for the camp and then we will get in formation," Field said while he and Hunter walked off together, still close to the ground.

Runner turned to Jay and Lora. They looked back at him. "So... this is happening. We're doing this, now."

"Yeah... Good luck, dude," Jay whispered, "We'll miss you."

"I will too. Make sure to keep an eye on Field, Ice, and Hunter."

"Of course. You be good and don't forget your manners. Remember what we've told you." Lora told him with her kind voice.

"I know, Lora." There was a long pause between the trio. None of them really wanted to let him go but they believed it for the best. Runner saw Field and Hunter come back out of the corner of his eye. "Well, I guess this is goodbye then."

Jay and Lora exchanged their goodbyes and the trio touched noses before getting back into formation. They moved where Field told them too, Lora and Runner separated from Jay. Runner sighed and tried to calm his nerves. He felt Lora's fur beside him with reassurance. 

The group started through the trees where Field and Hunter led. They did their best to be quiet, though there was still the slish-slosh of the mud and water. Runner wrinkled his nose at the feeling of mud being stuck to his fur and paws. They dodged the bushes and thorns through the first part but it started getting thicker.

The camp was in sight. Over the bushes, the wolves sat peacefully. At what seemed like it could be the Alpha's den, wolves were talking. They didn't seem to mind the wet nature of their forest. They didn't even seem to mind the mud on their paws and legs. They looked happy. It made Runner sick to his stomach to think of what they were about to do.

Field let out a howl. The main attackers charged and Runner, Lora, and the other sideline wolves spread out bordering the walls of the camp. The Aquaid wolves jumped up and let out a battle howl. Runner took a deep breath as he tried to get a handle of what was going on but everything was happening too fast.

Runner remembered what he was going to do and watched the wolves leaving the camp. It looked like the Ashes pack were beating them so far. A pearl white and light gray she-wolf with blue eyes had her pelt stained red with blood as she kicked off an Ashes member and ran to the edge. He and another wolf ran after her.

The she-wolf had an advantage in the territory for she was used to the mud but Runner and the other wolf definitely weren't. But Runner knew what he had to do. He quickly ran to overtake the other wolf while doing his best not to slip, then jabbed a paw at them. The wolf was unbalanced and fell, their side landing on the muddy ground. Runner jumped on them and knocked them out. He looked up and saw the she-wolf staring at him.

"What in the world are you doing?" She had a foreign accent, though Runner heard it at points at the border. He looked up at her.

"We need to go, now! They'll notice I'm gone sooner or later," Runner then started running to her and past her, nodding his head for her to follow him. She looked at him weirdly for a moment, then followed his path. He skidded to a stop near the edge of the territory, then turned sharply. "There's gonna be someone there. We can go across the river."

"Hold on." She pushed him to lose his balance and he fell in the mud. "Who are you and why are you doing this?"

"I'm Runner, and I'm like you," He said as he scrambled up. "My pack was attacked too. I want to help you. Who are you?"

The she-wolf hesitated before answering. "Okay, I'm Sylia. And you're welcome for hiding your scent."

"Oh, thank you, then," Runner didn't realize that. They continued running to the river. He looked to the fields. Raven was pacing around with her herbs and looked generally unfocused. "Okay, we're gonna sneak to the stepping stones, alright?"

"Yeah, but hold on. My fur will stick out." She was right. Her pearl white fur was obvious. Sylia turned back to the Aquaid territory and... started rolling around in the mud. Her fur was completely covered. "Okay, this should cover me too. You, too."

"...Do I have to?"

"Yes."

Runner hesitantly covered his pelt in mud, then started to the stepping stones. Sylia crossed with no problem at all, though he was hesitant. Him almost drowning flashed again in his mind. The helplessness as the current forced him under and he couldn't do anything, the panic as he saw his friends standing at the bank across...

"What are you waiting for?"

Hunter's jaws grabbing his scruff and bringing him back to safety.

"Sorry." Runner jumped across the stepping stones. He was bigger now, so the jumps weren't as long. But the river still scared him. "We can make a den in the forest for now."

"'Kay. What's the plan?"

"Uhh, well, my friends in the Ashes pack are gonna spy for us and all, then at some point, we overthrow them."

"So the plan is just a goal?"

"Uhh... Well, I mean, we don't really know what will happen- It really depends on what they tell us and what the Ashes pack are gonna do..."

"Mhm. 'Kay." Sylia and Runner then walked into the forest. The forest he apparently used to live in. The forest he was so used to.

It was bittersweet.

Word Count: 1279

Done! Hope you enjoyed ;) What do you think of Sylia?

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