Our Endless Shadows of Darkness

Chapter 12 ~ AROUND the Mountain?!

My eyes met darkness when I woke up, and it startled me. I stared around, the dim light shinning through the cracks of the wood surrounding the human's den. I glanced to the left to see Rain, who was curled up and sleeping in a tight ball. I stretched out my arm, prodding her in the rib with a paw.
"Wake up." I muttered, gritting my teeth. She let out a grunt, then blinked her eyes and looked up at me.
"You couldn't have let me sleep longer?" She sighed, stirring a little. "I went hunting after you fell asleep. I... I didn't find much, but after wandering for over an hour I found a forest that was so thick it basically sheltered the snow storm from my eyes. I only caught two rabbits, though." She grimaced. I looked more to the left and spotted the two rabbits, untouched. Probably no scavenger had dared be out in this storm.

I stretched out my neck and grabbed one of the rabbit by their ears, dragging it back. I quickly ate it, relieved when I could feel the emptiness in my stomach slowly filling itself.
"It's too bad I didn't catch more." Rain mumbled between the mouthfuls of food she took, poiting her muzzle to the three suckling pups. "They'll need a lot of food. They won't even touch meat until they're about 3 months old, which is about when spring starts. I don't suppose giving birth in winter was the smartest thing to do."
"I didn't plan any of this Rain, so quit acting like an idiot towards my pups and just focus on guiding us to the freakin' pack." I snapped, lashing out at her roughly.
"What the hell is wrong with you? This isn't you, Bright. You were so much kinder, and here you are calling me things after everything I've done for you!" Rain demanded with a scoff, getting to her paws with bared teeth.
"Don't pretend you don't know what you're saying! Ever since you came you've critisized everything, my pups, my den, it's all just 'blah blah blah, Bright, come back! You can kill your own pups no problem, right?'. What is the matter with you?!" I could feel anger burning through me.
"Calm down, Bright. Either your hormones come after the birth of your pups, or you've picked up Grim's attitude." Rain flattened her ears. I sucked in a breath of air, my ears half flattening. What is wrong with you? This is your own sister!
"I-I'm so sorry, Rain. I don't know what's happening to me." I sunk to the ground with a frown.
"Hey, don't be so hard on yourself. I understand what you're going through. It must be hard, adjusting yourself to something you don't feel comfortable with then going off into the unknown carrying the lives of three scrawny pups-" Rain cut herself off, making an embarrassed smile.
"Thanks, Rain. I feel so much better now." I sighed sadly, looking down at my pups.
"Sorry." Rain said. "We should leave now, anyways." I slowly nodded, grabbing Nightfall and Moonlight. They weren't much to carry, but I still felt exhausted after yesterday. My legs were sore and I believe a few of my pads were cracked. I followed Rain as she grabbed Starlight, and trailed after her.

It was no longer snowing, but the ground was heavy with snow. It was thick and large, and we had to dig our way out. I tried to raise the pups to make sure they kept dry, but they still got damp. I was very uncomfortable with this trip for several reasons: it put the lives of my pups in danger; it also put my life in danger and the outcome was unpredictable. I could hear Rain mumbling things to herself, and I briefly believed she was crazy, until I realized that many times I had spoken to myself as well.

We walked for hours. I could tell, since the sun had peeked put of hiding and shone dimly on us. The snow had thinned out after a while, and melted slightly under the sun. I was far through exhaustion, and my legs were shaking as I kept walking. It was late afternoon, maybe about 2 hours before dusk.
"Rain... I'm so tired. Can we stop, please?" My stomach growled loudly, and my vision was blurring.
"We can go to mom and dad's old den. It's right down this hill." Rain said, flicking her tail. I summed up a very small amount of strength, and trailed after her. As I tried not to slip down the hill, I spotted the large den. I picked up my pace, padding inside. It was just like I remembered, far out walls, moss covered ground, and a stone-like roof. I collapsed softly on the moss, glad that the den was able to grow moss in certain areas by the sunlight angle of the den. Rain dropped Sunlight on the ground, lashing her tail when the pup whined in response. I gasped, stretching my neck out and grabbing her by the scruff.
"The pups are beyond starving. I'll look for berries while I'm out, if I can't find prey." Rain said, letting out a small sigh. I watched her leave, curling my tail around my paws.