Children of the Moon

Chapter 4 - The basics of being a wolf

---Nyra’s POV---

As soon as the Watchers had left our territory, father let out a howl to signal the beginning of the hunt while mother ushered us back in the den. Both Coda and me were hyperactive and mom had to nip at our ears before we could calm down to listen to her. She told us to go to sleep, since tomorrow was going to be a busy day and reluctantly, we did.

I yawned and reluctantly opened my eyes, blinking when I was looking at mom’s fur. We must have fallen asleep after our last feeding. I yawned again and stood up, waging at mom when she opened one of her eyes at me.

She stretched her neck and greeted me with a lick on top of my head while she mumbled “Morning Nyra.” I wagged happily while I nuzzled against her head before I heard a sound outside. I pinned my ears up while I lightly turned around.

“Are they back from the hunt?”

Mom smiled sleepily at me before she nodded and yawned, showing me all of her sharp teeth in the process. “Yeah, they came back a few hours before sunrise but without a catch.” She lowered her head and curled around Coda and Roku, whom were both still sleeping.

I looked longingly at the entrance of the den before I looked back at mom. “Can I go outside?” I whined softly. Her eye creaked open for a moment before she nodded and muttered, “Stay with the others and never leave the clearing.”

With a happy yip that was quickly scolded with a soft growl from mom, I dashed out the den and into the bright light. I blinked a few times before I stretched and dribbled towards one of the other wolves.

A soft thudding ran in my ears but I reacted slowly; Keylin pushed me to the ground with a playful growl, wagging his tail while his ears were pushed forwards. “You’re going to be more on your guard pup.” He teased, showing me his wolfy grin while he backed a few steps up and hunched down, as if I was prey that he wanted to jump.

I replied with a growl of my own, a little disappointed that it was nowhere near the deep, rumbling sound that Keylin could produce. Mine sounded more like a squeaking growl but I ignored it and went in a play arch, signaling that any aggression was a game, not a fight.

Keylin made the same motion before playfully darting away. I yipped and ran after him, as fast as my tiny paws could handle. Halfway through, I was already panting and huffed; I was never going to catch Keylin this way! I huffed again and dropped to the ground, sadly sniffing at the dirt around me.

Keeran made his appearance and walked towards me, giving me a friendly nudge before he settled down next to me. I licked his muzzle as a greeting before I slowly scooted closer, not wanting to disrespect him.

“When can I catch up with you guys?”

Keeran looked at me for a moment before he smiled softly and shook his head. “Ah, the never ending circle.” He smirked. I glanced at him, flattening my ears while I licked my lips. What was he talking about?

He chuckled before he pointed at Keylin, who was being reprimanded by Zuko because he hadn’t looked at the warning signals that father had shown. Keeran smirked slightly while he said, “The youths always want to grow up quickly, they want to be independent, free to decide what they do. Us elders on the other hand think back at those days that we were protected by the pack, living a carefree life with the other pups.”