---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.
Turning around, I held my head down in thought while walking back towards mom, father and Fenris. A low, warning growl rumbled through father’s chest, making me stop while I cowered slightly, tilting my ears back while I looked up at them.
“Go play Nyra. We need to talk for a moment.” Father spoke up while he motioned to the rest of the pack. I whined lightly but listened to his warning and backed away, trotting towards Coda when he too was shoed away.
We played with each other for a while before we laid down close to the edge of the clearing. Coda twisted his ears around while he stood up, turning his head from side to side. “Did you hear that?” I followed his lead and stood up, sniffing the air while my ears quivered. “That soft scratching sound?” I verified, making sure that we were after the same thing.
Just as Coda nodded, something jumped out of the hole under the tree stump. Both Coda and me froze, same as the creature, while we took the other in. “What is that?” I whispered curiously, letting my eyes wander over the long, flat ears, the small nose that kept twitching while the animal lowered its head and thumped on the ground with its rather large hind legs.
“I don’t know…” Coda whispered back while he kept his eyes on the small brown creature. “Do you think its prey?” I glanced at him before turning my eyes back on the animal a few steps away. I sniffed the air again; it smelled warm, meaty with a hint of earth and plants.
“I think so…”
A smile started to creep on Coda’s face while the animal slowly started to nibble on a few strands of grass, occasionally freezing with another thump of its hind leg. “Would it be fast?” I frowned lightly while he continued, “I mean, come on, look at it. It’s as big as us! It can’t be that fast!”
“Are you sure?” I asked, flexing the muscles of my hind legs as we spoke. The animal froze again, eying us warily before it took a hopping step away. Coda smirked at that. “Definitely. I mean, what kind of animal hops away?”
“Okay…if you say so.” I said softly, hesitantly shifting the weight between my paws. I’ve never seen prey before so it might be it. Or it might be a predator…I shook my head; only prey would feed from plants. Predators needed meat to survive.
Coda took a step forwards towards the animal. It stiffened, making itself smaller…before it bolted away when I stepped up beside Coda. He let out a surprised bark while I laughed. “Catch it! Catch it!” I barked excitedly, chasing after it. Coda yipped and followed, before he dashed past me.
The animal dodged him, its ears lying flat against its head while it made a sharp turn to the left. I panted, running faster before it suddenly switched to the right. I nearly tripped over my paws but hurried after the animal with a grin on my face. “Coda! C-catch…it!” I panted, trying to keep up with the thing.
Damn, that thing was fast! Maybe I needed to nibble on the grass as well… I lunged for it but missed, ending up tackling Coda instead of the furry animal that ran away. Both of us panted and laughed, lying still like we landed until our heads snapped up at a loud squeak and a dry snap.
Keylin held the animal in its jaws, motionless. Zuko smiled, looking from the animal to us. “Looks like we have a prey for the pack.” He smiled, barking in laughter when mom joined in. Coda and I couldn’t be bothered; we were both exhausted.
“Wh-what w-was that…t-thing?” Coda panted, rolling on his back while taking in deep breaths. Aneira laughed softly, shaking her head while she walked up to him, wagging her tail slightly. “That is a rabbit.” She snickered, nudging his side slightly. “Seems like I don’t have to search for your hunting instincts. The skills however…” she teased, letting her voice fade away.
I felt a nudge in my own ribs and looked up in a set of golden eyes, shining with amusement while the silver rim seemed to brighten the whole eye. Fenris nudged me again with a smile on his face. “Little huntress…it’s time for me to leave.” Rolling on my paws, I stood up and walked under his belly till I stood in between his paws.
“Are we ever going to see you again?” I asked, looking up at him. He sighed, taking a deep breath before he took a few steps back so I stood in front of him. “Maybe…in time.” He replied before walking away.
Tilting my head to the side, I watched Fenris walk away while the rest of the pack started feeding on the rabbit. Coda stood up and laid beside me. A smile crept up my face before I walked a few steps forwards. “Hey Fenris!”
The white male turned his head, raising one eyebrow in a way that said, ‘what is it?’. I smiled, wagging my tail. “You never said what the test was all about. What did I win?” Fenris smiled at that and shook his head. “I’ll tell you later.” He said, showing me his canines in a grin before he disappeared in the forest.
Tadaaa!
Yeah, it's short, i know but hey :) I thought about how to introduce the pups to the world out there :D
If you have anything that you want the pups to meet with, let me know ;)
Question of the day; what was the reason that the Alpha-pair had to talk to Fenris?
Comment, Vote,.....