A Sheep In Wolf's Clothing

No mark-claws

In the woods the sun was at its highest, the warmth slipping through trees and rocks to reach the most hidden leaf. The air breeze was cold and distributing a petrichor smell coming from a nearby and radiant river; the sound of the water finding its way through rocks making the atmosphere comfortable for all the old and young trees.

Or it could have been, if it weren't for the sound of breaking leaves and panting of a young wolf. Her fur had a dominant dark grey color, but it preserved her chest and abdomen a bright white; her ears were straightened at its full, her dark blue eyes were as free as the sky itself; and her tongue stuck out because if she closed her snout the excitement would make her explode.

Alika found herself chasing a butterfly all over the woods. Her paws moved through leaves and rocks with clumsiness. Sometimes her front legs stumbled with each other, giving the butterfly a chance to escape from her continuous bites that caught nothing more than air and unfortunate flies. Its small and fragile wings were painted with an eye-catching orange, complemented with a black pattern that naturally drew other imperfect butterflies on it; the left one was darker, and the right one was smaller.

The butterfly looked unbothered; it flew up and down as if teasing the puppy was providing it some kind of fun. Alika was putting all her effort into catching the butterfly; she always thought the bright orange would taste something completely different. She imagined it could be sweet with a soft texture like berries, or maybe thebitter meat of a deer would be closer, but its texture must be soft because of how the wings looked like.

Alika was about to close her snout with a butterfly wing on it when she listened to a howl. Her father's howl blared high enough to wake the ancient wolves. She stopped abruptly, her paws rubbing roughly the floor covered in mug, sticks and stones. She turned abruptly to where the howl was still sounding and ran as fast as she could towards it. Her front legs bumped into each other in a hard collision, making her fall to her left side. But she quickly recovered from it, excitedly running faster than she ever had to. The breeze ran in the opposite direction, jealousy caresses brushing roughly her face, trying to stop her from outrunning the wind itself.

Alika's father promised her he would include her on the next hunt, but he wanted to teach her the basics before running her into an official hunt. She has been waiting for this moment since she was a newborn puppy. Even though she hated the blood in their snouts after they hunted the prey, the cub's dream was to lead the hunts just like her parents did.

Alika thought of how strong, fast and big her parents were, her dad's bites were the strongest of all the herd, he used his smartness to outsmart predators away, commanding the hunts with a steady presence for the wolves, and a terrifying one for the victims; and her mother was the fastest, her sprint was so fast that she could reach hares or deer in a blink, she was awesome at improvising in the hunts, adapting to the situation and leading if necessary.

The absence of the howl shocked Alika when her mind drifted back to reality; the cub scout already could see her parents in a few meters; her father and mother were ready to go. Alika beamed with excitement as the three of them, and her young brother Korti, departed for the hunt.

Panting kept agitating Alika's throat; she was very excited and almost jumped from excitement. But her father relaxed her, reminding her they needed to be cautious and silent to catch a prey.

The four wolves walked quietly behind shrubs, stealthily watching a group of rats that was plundering the disgusting remains of a deer. The Alpha waited until his wife gave him the signal. He gave a look to Alika, who understood immediately what she was going to do.

Alika carefully surrounded the rats without being seen, her breathing inhaling and exhaling controlled and silent bursts of oxygen. Her pupils dilated, and all her senses sharpened. For a moment, there was no world, just her, the rats, and a task.