Soulfire

Chapter 2

             Xeno crouched on the snow-covered ground, waiting for his chance to pounce. As soon as he felt wind whisk his fur, he leaped out from behind his hiding place and onto the wolf that had been running past.
“Gotcha!” He howled in triumph.
“No fair!” The black and white she-pup whined. “I was supposed to find you!”
“Well, I still caught you,” Xeno giggled. He booped her nose. “And I got you again.”
The she-pup giggled. “It’s not like that’s gonna help you on your Trial!”
At the mention of the Trial, his smile disappeared and his heart seemed to drop.
She noticed his nervous expression and nudged him. “Oh, come on, don’t worry about it.”
“Says you,” he grumbled. “Who knows, we all may fail and die.”
“Stop being so negative, cheer up!” She head-butted him, a grin plastered on her face.
“And you stop being so positive, Savvy,” he retorted. “We could die a horrible death during our Trial.” he shivered.
Savvy’s grin disappeared. “Well, fine. Go believe your negative thoughts. Come back and talk to me once you’ve decided to be a little more enjoyable,” she snapped, her voice suddenly turning firm.
Before he could reply or apologize, she turned tail and trotted toward another group of pups. He sighed in defeat. Maybe she was right. Maybe it wasn’t that big of a deal. His tail curling in thought, he didn’t bother to look where he was going. Bumping snout first into a sleek arctic wolf, his train of thought was lost.
“Watch it, SmallPaw!” The she-wolf snapped, clearly not having a good day.
Xeno pawed at the ground out of embarrassment. “Sorry,” he mumbled.
“Pups these days,” The white wolf huffed, walking away with a scowl.
“‘Pups these days’,” he mocked under his breath, rolling his eyes.
A sudden howl split the air. The pup looked up to see a crowd of wolves gathering around the Lightning Rock, where the Alpha, Valley Of Stars, stood.
As Xeno walked towards the crowd, the Alpha’s voice came into earshot.
“Go on, Twig.” The wolf beckoned the Builder forward.
A frail brown wolf stepped forward, shaking from head to paw. He opened his jaws, but silence filled the air.
“Explain what happened,” The Alpha urged.
The frightened brown wolf swallowed and managed to let out shaky words. “Ferdinand and I were going to collect materials.” Twig let out a shaky breath. “And out of nowhere, a group of wolves attacked us. They smelled different,” he commented, relaxing a bit. “They said they wouldn’t stop until we got out of their territory. They didn’t let us go and…” he closed his eyes. “Killed Ferdinand as a threat.”
“No!” A screech erupted from a wolf in the crowd. The wolves around them split, leaving a clearing.
“Cascade-” The Alpha began.
“No!” The wolf was visible now, a sleek silver she-wolf, looking young enough to be a SmallPaw.
“This isn’t the right time-”
“He can’t be dead!” Cascade’s eyes were glazed with fresh tears.
The Alpha wolf sighed and gave a knowing glance to a different she-wolf, who ushered the screaming Cascade away. Everyone’s eyes turned back to the Alpha, unwavering.
“And, now. For all of the current SmallPaws. Your Trial begins tomorrow at dawn. I suggest you all prepare.”
For a brief moment, Xeno caught the sharp eyes of the Alpha before he turned away.
“Return to your responsibilities!” The Alpha’s yowl split the air, signalling the dismissal.
The first thing he saw was Savvy, walking towards a group of hunters.
“Hey!” he ran up, greeting her with a fresh smile.
She just gave him the death-glare. “Decided to be all ‘Mr. Positive’ again? Hate to break it to you, it’s not gonna work.” And with that, she pushed past him.
Xeno stared in shock. That was new. He shook his head, frowning. “Let it be that way, then,” he growled softly.
Joining the group of guards, he looked at Fjord, a SmallPaw with pure white fur, who seemed to have sadness glazed over his eyes.
“You alright?” Xeno murmured.
“I’m perfectly fine,” he snapped, anger flashing in his eyes.
What was with everybody today? So snappy and grumpy. Then it hit him. Ferdinand. His death. Fjord was his younger brother.
“I’m sorry about Ferdinand,” he rasped, trying again.
“It’s fine. Just perfect timing too,” Fjord growled, slashing at the snow in front of him.
The Trial. He stayed silent, allowing the arctic wolf to take his anger out on the snow. After he did, he hung his head and breathed slowly, clutching the snow in his paws.
After many moments, Fjord sighed. “Thank you,” he murmured.
Xeno nodded, feeling a flutter of triumph in his chest.
He turned to watch as the sun set over the horizon, splashing bright colors onto the sky. He stared at its beauty, frowning as he came to a conclusion.

This may be the last sunset we’ll ever see.