Children of the Moon

Chapter 6 - First hunt

---Nyra’s POV---

A soft rustling sound caught my attention, snapping me out of the half-sleeping state I was in. My ears perked up before I got on my paws, listening intently while I turned towards the sound. Coda rolled on the floor, no longer countered by my weight against his shoulder, and he growled lowly while he scrambled to his paws.

He nipped at my wagging tail, effectively catching it in his mouth as I yelped before he grinned, showing me his gums with a mouth full of tail. “Let go.” I half growled, half whined while turning my head towards him.

Coda shook his head, yanking my tail in the process before he smirked and did it again. Rolling my eyes at him, I decided to ignore him and look back at the source of the sound. Coda whined at that and huffed, releasing my tail from his mouth. “You’re no fun Nyra.” He grumbled and I pulled my lips up in a toothy grin.

“It got you off of my tail, didn’t it?” I said laughingly while wagging the subject through the air. Coda was about to respond when father stepped out of the trees, closely followed by Fergal, Aneira and Keylin. Coda and I yipped and ran towards them, slowing down when we were at a respectable distance while we let our ears droop and tucked our tails in, showing them that we didn’t mean any harm.

Father allowed us closer, so we could sniff at his fur and lick in the direction of his raised snout before he barked a laugh when Coda tried to stand on his hind legs to reach Zuko’s nose. “Enough.” He said warmly, causing both of us to back away a few steps before we sat down, panting happily.

Roku joined us, greeting dad with a whine before he flopped himself down next to Fergal. I sniffed the air while mom walked over to greet father with a lick and lovingly rubbing her fur against his; I didn’t pick up the scent of any kill.

Coda must have sensed it to because he shrugged and moved towards me. When he noticed my slightly confused look, he smiled lightly and shook his fur out. “It’s not like we eat meat anyways.”

I smiled at that; we were still to young, still cuddling up with mom each night to have our fill of warm, fatty milk. Mom was softly saying something to father, causing him to snort loudly while he raised his head and shot a look in my direction. His eyes were widened, disbelieving before he glanced at the white male that stood up to greet the alpha of these parts.

A shadow loomed over me and I turned my head, looking straight at the smiling teeth of Keylin. “Hi!” I yipped, wagging my tail excitedly. Keylin shook his head; an amused glint in his eyes while he walked over me, lifting his paws so he wouldn’t accidently hit me.

“Caught anything?” I asked, walking behind him without being too close; he was a year older than me, thus earning my respect. Keylin chuckled at that and shook his head again. “Nah, the deer are hiding in the valley and we can’t get to them until you guys are strong enough to walk to the Rendezvous site.”

I halted for a moment, tilting my head to the side. “What is a-a, that thing you said? And we are strong!” I barked at the end, scrunching my nose up while I tried to keep up with his pace. Keylin stopped with another bark of laughter. “Don’t get me wrong sis, I think you’re terrifying but you’ll have to be able to walk a whole night to the Rendezvous site.”

My jaw dropped while I froze on the spot and let out a little whine. A whole night of walking? I closed my mouth with a gulp before I noticed that Keylin was laughing with me. His gaze intensified, became more observing before he nodded to himself.

“I think that Zuko and Kyala will gather up in a week or two. If you want my advice: just stay you, play, eat, run but don’t worry. Everything happens with a reason.” And with that, he strutted away, leaving me alone to think for myself.