Chapters of a Life: There's no place like home

9

Uncle Fenian had decided that it would be good to move the cabin back against the mountain. Meaning that my cabin was just a facing to the cave, I now had unlimited room for whatever. Where the cabin was we planned to put the barn, we joked that Stud had the fanciest barn anywhere around he had access to fresh water anytime. Life was cranking along with some notable exceptions.

First Ewan, many of his friends, and some of Sleeping Bear's group are gone as are most of their things. It seems that just before the initiation he took his motley pack and left. He had probably set up Sleeping Bear, building up his ego and pushed him to fight that night. No one went after him. Most of us were relieved to see him and his trouble makers gone.

Second Meater is gone, his name is William Handley and he was the Black Smith of the group. When Atsadi said he was looking for someone Meater never crossed my mind as that person. They disappeared sometime while all of us were busy digging around in the ash piles.

Lastly, most of the females in Sleeping Bear's group were stolen, not mates or family. Some of them are underage and the males killed their entire families to steal them, they had been placed into the care of the healers. I have spent as much time as I can with these females, wanting them to know that they have a family here and we will not let anything happen to them. I have also begun to train them so that they know how to defend themselves and their family.

Summer had slid into a long warm fall. It was now November and the snows were nowhere to be seen. It was as if Mother Nature had forgotten to sleep. Since the gardens had not yet shut down many of us spent these days preparing the extra vegetables and fruits for the long winter and the hunters seemed to stay out longer to fill all the smokehouses. We would eat well this winter.

"Who's up for a run? A little meal on the hoof?" Alastar asked the group gathered on my porch. We had explored some of the cave and had found a room that stayed rather cool even on the hottest day, it had been decided that the extra vegetables and fruits would be housed in there. Another room had our canning stacked in it. That was what this day had consisted of, moving and organizing all the food.

"Yea, come on everybody", Lina yelled as she jumped up and began to strip off her clothes. Before anyone could agree a large timber wolf stood to shake out her fur.

"Nice Lina, would you like me to pick up your clothing?" I asked her, moving to do just that. She jumped up and gave me a big lick on the face before bounding off only to rush back at me. "For goober's sake, Lina. Eww." Having gathered up her clothes I tossed them up onto the porch and pulled off my shirt and pants.

The run to the lake was fun as all of us jostled around trying to knock each other off the trail or into someone else. Once there no one stopped we ran full bore into the lake and diving off the dock. Most of us went in fur and came up skin, "This is great we should do this tomorrow, make it an all-day get together. Do you think Cook would make scones? Ooo Ooo Meg can make that..." before Niel could finish a report from a musket was heard. We rushed out and ran in skin to the Pack House, keeping to the wood in case we were being attacked. "Alpha just heard a report of musket fire and we are headed to the packhouse." I linked, as my wolf rose up to check the area.

"Cook, bringing in those who helped organize the food in storage today", the door opened and we barreled through the door. Most went to the dining hall. I went to Alpha's office, "What do we know"?

"Bo, where were you and what did you see?" Beta asked.

"I was out at the lake and heard the report from a musket, saw nothing and my wolf did not alert me to anything," I tell the circle. "Has anyone heard from any of the patrols?" This is the burning question for me.