Beauran Book 2 ~ The Return. {Wolf Story}

[Kodabomb]

Book 3 will be here in probably a few weeks, at most a month! It's titled: Beauran Book 3 ~ The War. Ooooooo!

Announcement! Changed the name. Sorry if this messes it up for some people!
So, I know a few of you have read Moon-Gaze, and the link is in my sig if you haven't. I decided to make a sequel. A fan of the previous one, suggested some ideas, and here you have it! I hope you enjoy it, and I'm hoping it will be as popualar as the last. A lot of work goes into these books, so I would really appreciate it if you read!
First chapter! I hope you enjoy!

Friends

Birds and insects chirped and buzzed happily above in the canopy of the tree. Rays of warm, golden sunlight shone in puddles on the floor, and a very light morning breeze ruffled the fur of the five wolves lying in their tree-top home.
The tree-wolves. That’s what everyone called them. They lived in an old, handsome tree, with the area between the branches large enough for them to live in like a den. It was not hard to drag prey up to it, and it was situated in the middle of a beautiful, green forest.
Twilight-Mist lifted her head. She looked around the place and saw her two brothers and her mother and father sound asleep, scattered around the tree. She stood and stretched her legs out in front of her, and gulped in breaths of cool, autumn air.
She stood and let the breeze ruffle her black fur. Her legs, tail and ears were tipped in white, with neon blue and green lining it. And around her neck, swinging in the breeze, was a shining, blue opal, glittering with bits of all the colours in the rainbow. Around her back legs were bits of tan rabbit-skin and on her front right one was a string of rubies and sapphires.
Twilight looked at her brothers and wondered if she should take them along into the forest with her, but she decided they would bug her. She went over to the edge of the tree and climbed onto a root twisted around it, before leaping down onto the ground. She smoothly landed on the soft, leaf-covered ground. She was always a better jumper than her brothers.
With a shake of her fur and twitch of her curled tail, she trotted briskly across the clearing. She was the only other pup in the family to have a curled tail like her mother, which was always admired. And she was proud of it, being different than her brothers.
She reached the edge of the trees and ducked into them, brushing her side on the leaves of a bush. She decided she would go and see her ‘lover’, Rai. They hung out a lot, and often Rai claimed he was in love with her when they met other wolves. This, of course, was not as high as Twilight really wanted to go, but he was happy so she let him. It wasn’t troubling anyone at least, they were old enough anyway.
She headed through the trees until they became slightly thinner than where they lived, coming to the forest of pines on hilly, rocky terrain. She liked it here, smelling the trees and listening to the birds. It was always so peaceful, because not many wolves lived in that forest.
Soon she came to a thicker patch of pines on a small, steep slope, covered in boulders. Roots stuck out here and there, and it was the perfect place to live. And that was why Rai’s parents lived their in the first place.
She was about to go and call into a hole in the rocks, when Rai’s mother came out of it. She jumped a little at the sight of Twilight, but they knew each other well. She smiled. She was dark brown with light, sky-blue on her legs and tail, and her eyes shone a beautiful silvery colour.
“Are you looking for Rai?” she asked.
“Yes.” Replied Twilight. She smiled and ducked back into her den. She heard some talking in there, before out of the den emerged Rai. He was very, very dark grey, almost black over his body, and on his legs were bands of white lined with green. His tail was tipped in white with green, and so were his ears. His eyes were green with a bit of blue, and he was very handsome. Around his back legs were strips of stag-skin that went all the way up to the bend in his leg. His tail was also slightly curled, just not as much as Twilight’s.
“Hey!” he said.
“Hi.” Replied Twilight. “Do you want to go and catch a rabbit?” she asked him. His face lit up and his tail wagged, which was definitely a yes.
“OK! Let’s go!” he replied. Twilight happily followed him up over his rocky den and through the trees. She let the sun warm her black back, which was so pleasing to feel. The wind howled through the tree-tops, so friendly and calm. Soft pine-needle covered the rocks and piles of them were in the cracks and crevices between roots and boulders.
In a while, Rai and Twilight came to the edge of the forest. Before them was a smallish meadow, blanketed in soft, green grass, covered in wet morning dew. Here and there were a few deer, and two horses were on the far side right near the trees. They didn’t live on the west side, just the east. Twilight hardly ever saw horses.
The two crouched down on their bellies and held themselves steadily. They were very good hunters for pups, because both of them had a passion for it. They hunted together almost every day, bringing small meals back to their families. They enjoyed themselves too, and Krieger and Copaci were always jealous of their sister, for she was always a better hunter than them. This made her feel great.
They parted and went into the grass, letting it block the view of unsuspecting rabbits and birds. She slunk through the grass, on a sort of track she took everyday. She knew her way perfectly around the meadow, but it wasn’t a bonus, because her prey also knew their way around. It didn’t worry her if she didn’t catch anything – her father, Gaze, was a good hunter too, and often went off with a pack to get deer for his and their families.
Twilight listened to the breeze rustling the grass, and made sure the wind was blowing onto her face, not from behind. Otherwise her prey would smell her and there would be no breakfast.
Suddenly from up ahead, a lovely smell filled her nose. Rabbits. Maybe if she was lucky, there would be a family, and young rabbits are easy catches. She crept ahead and let the smell grow stronger, until the scent was right in front of her.
She peered through the grass ahead and saw a pond. It was the one she liked to drink from, and it lovely and clear and rocky, fed by the rain. On the other side of the pond were two rabbits, as well as their three, small babies. She decided if she scared the babies, the father might try and come at her, and he would be easy to get.
Twilight walked very quietly around the pond clearing, keeping in the grass. She let a few paces of the stuff keep between her and the pond, because the black of her would definitely stand out in the green.
In a moment she was right next to the rabbits, and she could tell they had stopped nibbling the clover. They could sense her. She’s have to pounce.
With a big leap, she bounded from the grass and landed near the rabbits, blocking their path back to the safety of the grass. The mother looked at her in shock, and the little babies squeaked and ran frantically around. Twilight ran after them, jumping around like a puppy. The father rabbit hesitated, wanting to run off with his wife, before charging after Twilight.
Yes! She though. She watched him bound over to him, before spinning around and pouncing. She pinned the squeaking rabbit to the ground, and without hesitation she silenced it with a powerful bite.
When she lifted her head, she looked at the limp, fluffy body on the ground.
“Thank you, spirit of wisdom, for the life of this prey.” She said quietly, before picking it up and carting it off through the grass.

* * *
Twilight dropped the rabbit on the grass next to a tree. She sat down beside it, waiting for Rai to come before she started her meal. It looked so tempting. To distract herself, she started licking her paws and muzzle, and rolling around in the lovely, soft grass.
In a moment, there was rustling from the grass beside her. Twilight didn’t bother looking up, she just stared at the grass upside-down. Then two, dark grey paws stood in front of her.
“Hello.” She said to the paws. Rai laughed. She saw a bird drop to the ground, and she rolled back onto her tummy.
“I’m hungry.” Said Rai. Twilight nodded, then went over to her rabbit and clamped it between her jaws. She dropped it near Rai’s bird, then they both started on their small breakfasts.
Twilight’s belly filled quickly as she tore up the meat. It was juicy and tender from feeding on the lush grass, and it made her mouth water.
It wasn’t long before she had reduced the rabbit to bones, and she stood to lick her muzzle of the blood. Rai tore off his last bit of meat from a bone and chewed it. The bird was a small meal, so it shouldn’t take that long. But Rai preferred to eat slower than she did, and always bit the meat off in little bits.
“I’ll need to get home now.” Said Twilight. “My family was asleep when I left.”
“Yeah, I promised to go visit someone with my father.” Replied Rai. Twilight smiled and they set off through the trees home.

* * *
After a while, she came to the thick, green forest. Leaves covered the floor, and there were bushes and fallen logs throughout. She went through the trees until she arrived back at the clearing with the tree.
She walked across the floor and climbed up on the twisted roots, crawled along a branch and leapt onto the floor of her home. Copaci and Krieger and lying lazily in a patch of sunlight, but Gaze and Tune weren’t there. They usually weren’t and Copaci always had to be in charge, even though Twilight was the most mature.
Krieger looked up at her as she went to lie on the opposite side to them. He was black with white on his belly, tail and legs, and it was lined in aqua-blue. He wore a tight necklace with an emerald on it.
“And the huntress is back!” he barked. “Have you been with your boyfriend?” he said. Copaci smirked and looked out into the forest beyond the tree. He was jet-black with two white strips on the sides of his face. Around his neck was a ruby. He wasn’t too immature like his brother, but Twilight certainly thought she was more grown up than him. He never hung out with other wolves often, usually taking a forest path to somewhere the others didn’t know. They didn’t bother asking. Krieger liked to play with Ginger, another pup not far away, whilst Twilight played with his sister, Skye.
Se lay down in her little spot under and thickly-leaved branch, ignoring the stupid things her brother shouted to her. She did it often, lying in her spot, blocking out things that annoy her.
“At least I had breakfast.” Said Twilight over her shoulder at the boys. “You guys are too lazy to even bother getting out of the tree.” That shut Krieger up. He growled and put his head down.
It was not long before Twilight heard a rustling of dead leaves from the clearing. She looked at the entrance and watched her father leap down off the low branch onto the floor. He was black with white on his belly, legs and tail. Around his neck was a large, white tooth. His name was Moon-Gaze.
“Hey, look who’s back.” He said to his daughter, nuzzling her. She thumped her tail on the floor. “Your mother’s gone to visit Gem and Simbas, and I think Ginger and Skye are coming back with her.” He informed the three of them.
“Yay! Ginger’s coming!” said Krieger. Copaci smiled.
“Yeah, and Skye.” Said Twilight. Krieger rolled his eyes.

* * *
About an hour later, Twilight awoke from an unexpected sleep, to find her brother snoring as well, and her father gone again. It was a moment before she realised it was something below that woke her.
She walked to the edge of the tree and saw her mother emerging from the bushes and trotting over to the tree. Behind her was Skye and Ginger. They were here! She backed and watched her mother climb onto the branch and leap onto the floor, followed carefully by the pups.
“Hi!” said Twilight from the shadows of her leaves. Her mother noticed her and smiled. She was white with aqua-blue tipped legs, tail and ears. Behind her ear was a dark, shiny blue feather, and around her neck was an emerald. Like Twilight, her tail was uniquely curled, and her eyes shone a beautiful blue. Her name was River-Tune.
“Twilight!” said Skye happily, trotting up to her.
“Hey!” she replied. Skye was very, very light blue, with darker blue going under her neck, belly, and the underside of her tail. Her eyes were yellow, and around all four ankles were three, thin strips of fawn-skin. Her brother was a light sort of brown, with a black stripe running from his forehead down his back.
“What do you want to do?” Skye asked. At that moment, the three boys came to join them. Before Twilight could answer the question, Copaci spoke.
“We could go to the waterfall!” he said. Ginger considered it.
“OK!” he said. “Come on.” They followed Copaci over to the edge of the tree, and one by one, they jumped or climbed down. They crossed the clearing and went into the forest, but not the same place Twilight went that morning. They came to a narrow, leaf-covered path that wound its way through the greenery, and they stepped onto it, forming one line.
Twilight listened to the birds chirping in the trees, and the insects buzzing around the blossoms. Dew beneath her feet wet her paws, and they kicked up leaves as she walked. The air was warm and comfortable, with a pleasant, early-autumn breeze.

CHARACTERS

Twilight-Mist

Rai

Copaci

Krieger

Skye

Ginger

Merlia

Blue-Moon

Shadow

[Kodabomb]

Second chapter! I hope it's all right. If you're enjoying it, let me know!

The Waterfall

It wasn’t long before the pack of pups reached the stream. It was clear and made a lovely trickling sound as it tumbled over the smooth river-stones. It was surrounded in beautiful oak forest with the trees quite apart, and it was almost completely flat ground covered in lush green grass.
They went to walk alongside it, and it sloped a little. Up ahead Twilight heard a thundering sound of splashing water, and they came to a large slope that was very steep by the stream but just slanted down into the forest. They bounded down and went to the edge of the water, and they looked up at a beautiful, white waterfall. It splashed into the pool below, which was crystal-clear and very deep. It went off into the stream ahead. ON the face of the cliff were rocks, making wide shelves. As Twilight looked into the water, she saw the rock bottom, with shelves like steps around. It was absolutely perfect for swimming, and the five of them very much enjoyed going there to do so.
Copaci went to the water’s edge and dipped his foot in. Twilight watched as he slowly walked into the water, his fur getting soaked. Then he suddenly jerked down and he was treading water, his feet not touching the deep bottom.
Skye followed him in, keeping her head above as she walked, before she too was treading the water. She swam around a bit, and then Ginger bounded into the water, splashing them. Twilight was about to go in, when there was a galloping sound behind her. Krieger dashed past, howling. He leapt into the water, spraying water around. Skye coughed and giggled.
Twilight wasn’t going to let him be the daredevil.
As the others expected her to get into the water, she bolted over the cliff where the water fell. She climbed onto a shelf, before pulling herself onto another. A fern on the rock brushed her side as she cautiously walked along the rock. As she glanced at the water below, she saw the other four looking at with bright eyes.
She’d never jumped from the cliff before. She’d considered it, but never done it. Her father told her he had fallen from this cliff before. It wasn’t too high – less than twenty full paces upwards. But it was high when you were almost at the top.
Suddenly from below, Krieger called up to her. It was hard to hear against the falling water.
“Jump!” he cried.
“Yeah, jump!” Ginger said too. She would have to do it. She was going to be more dangerous than the boys.
Twilight closed her eyes and listened to the calls of the friends and splashing of the water. Just jump she told herself. She heaved in her breath, braced herself, then pushed her back legs. Her front feet left the rock of the cliff and her back pushed her from it. She kept her eyes closed, falling, falling.
Twilight let out a shriek as she briefly opened them, the water coming closer and closer… she shut them tight before…
Splash. She plunged into the cool water letting it swallow her weightless body. She heard the muffled cheers of the others through the water, and she looked up to see their legs above her, flailing around in the water. They looked so pathetic from below.
Twilight let herself sink, and her ears started to pop. Her necklace dangled limply around her, and suddenly her feet found the rocky bottom. With a mighty push, she rocketed to the surface, breaking it.
She coughed and forced her legs to power herself to the other side. Her paws touched the rock again and she walked up. She saw the others cheering and howling on the back, sitting on the grass. Their fur was soaked and dripping, and Krieger’s ears flopped down with drops falling from the ends.
“That was so cool!” exclaimed Copaci.
“That was so scary!” replied Twilight, shaking off the water, sending drops flying in every direction. “I think I lost my insides.” Skye giggled.
“Hey, let’s climb into the cave.” Said Ginger. Everyone agreed and followed him to the cliff, and one by one they clambered up the rocks. When the first two, Copaci and Twilight, were at a certain shelf, Copaci backed and leapt forward, disappearing behind the wall of water. Twilight shut her eyes and backed, before pushing off with her back legs. She heard the water right next to her, before feeling her feet touch the ground. She landed smoothly, gaining her footing. She stepped out of the way.
They were in a cave. It was small and cosy, and quite circular. There was an open entrance where the water fell across it, creating a white, wet, wall. The ground was smooth stone, and the ceiling wasn’t very high.
Beside her, Krieger touched down. He stumbled a little, before standing and walking out of the way. Right behind him tumbled Skye, and Ginger leapt in after her. The five of them stood in the cave.
Twilight decided she was thirsty, and she went to the water falling in front of her and lapped some as it fell. It was cool and refreshing, and so clean. It filled her belly and she stepped back.
“Well, I think I need a rest.” Said Skye. She found a cosy corner and lay down, resting her head on her paws. Copaci went over and did the same. Twilight felt a little tired as well, from all the running they did that morning. She found her own spot, by herself, and lay on her back, her favourite position. She listened to the roaring of the waterfall, letting it fill her ears, as she drifted silently off to sleep.

* * *
It was afternoon by the time Twilight awoke from a dream involving furry ravens and purple grass. She sat up and yawned, looking at the golden sunlight on the grass she could just see through a crack.
The others were asleep, so she decided to go and play in the grass outside. She walked over to the edge of the cave and leapt out onto a shelf. She stumbled and nearly fell off, but as a hunter she had superior balance and kept her footing. With a little bit of climbing, she made her way to the bottom, bounding onto the grass.
Twilight leapt like a puppy into the trees, which were spread apart nicely and the floor carpeted in beautiful, green grass. She was all alone, which made her happy, for she was not a social type, a bit like Copaci. Except for Rai, she didn’t like chatting away to others. If she was alone with Skye it was OK, but not her brothers or Ginger.
She sniffed a patch of flowers at the foot of a tree, and three bright blue butterflies burst from it. Another one, a pretty yellow and blue, flitted around for a bit, before landing on her nose. She crossed her eyes and looked into its big, round eyes.
The butterfly suddenly jerked and flew from her nose and fluttered into the tree-tops, finding another few blue and yellow butterflies to play with. She watched them go in frantic circles around each other going higher and higher until they broke apart and flew away from the other. By now she didn’t know which one was hers, so she turned away.
Twilight found a spot under a tree to sit and watch the forest. She plonked herself down and looked about. The sun was nearly behind one of the mountains, and the light it cast made golden patched throughout the trees where it broke through the canopy.
She listened to the trickling of the stream and the rustling of the leaves, which was the only sound around her. There were wolves not far, because through a bit more forest was the Great Pond, where the wolves who lived near the Alpha’s cave liked to drink. It was magical water, it seemed, because it made you feel good when you drank. But around Twilight, in the forest, no sound came to her.
She decided to have another little nap, because she didn’t so much like sleeping in the cave. She lay her head down on her paws and felt the grass tickle her chin.
She was about to fall asleep when there was a voice behind her. “Twilight!” Twilight lifted her head so quickly the grey wolf in front of her got a small fright.
“What are you doing here?” she asked Rai. He smiled.
“I went to your place and Tune told me you were at the waterfall with the others.” He replied. “I didn’t have much to do. I told my father I didn’t want to go to his friends’ with him.” Twilight got to her feet.
“We should get into the cave. The others will be awake now, and we probably need to go home.” Rai nodded and the two of them went over to the cliff, taking it in turns to climb and leap into the cave.
They found the other four lying in the cave, not talking, just relaxing. They looked up at the two of them. “Oh look.” Said Krieger annoyingly. “It’s the lovers.” Rai growled lowly, not looking at him. Skye sniffed amusingly.
“We should go home.” Said Twilight. “It’s nearly dark.” The others stood without hesitation, and Copaci stretched with a big yawn. Rai backed and leapt from the cave, followed one by one by the others.
They climbed down the cliff and onto the grass, and together they made their way home.

[Fallen Leaves]

wants more.....and yes, i read moon-gaze. AWESOME!

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Aw thanks! More is on its way!

[.oOFrøstBittenOo.]

<3333 I love seeing my own Charrie in a book XD

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Bump!!

[✖ＨＥＳＴＩＡ]

Name: Merlia
Personality: she is a shy and quiet she-wolf, she would rather observe a playfight and learn then actually fight. She very smart but can also be adventurous.
Gender: female
Age (Puppy/pup/adult) : pup
Mate (optional) :nope
Pups (optional) :nope
Ref(s) : Merlia is a pretty grey wolf with golden eyes and purple spots under her face and spots on her flank and stripes around her forelegs and back legs. She has a Onyx stone necklace around her neck.

(I read Moon-gaze. I loved it, nice work.)

[Kodabomb]

Thank you, ~Lifebackwards~, for giving me a wolf! You're accepted! I'll include her in the story. Thanks for reading!
Next chapter! Sorry for the wait, I just haven't got around to posting it.

The Alpha’s Cave

The group finally arrived at the tree, and the sun cast bright orange, pink and gold rays down into the valley. Trees made long, thin shadows across their path, and the canopy of their tree-top home made a nice sun-shade.
As they clambered up to the top, Tune came to greet them.
“Ginger and Skye, would you like me to escort you home tonight?” she asked, addressing the two.
“Well, if mother says so.” Replied Ginger.
“Rai and I can take them hunting in the morning, so you don’t have to be in charge of breakfast.” Said Twilight.
“Well, OK!” said Skye.
“I need to get home.” Rai informed them. “But I’ll meet you in the meadow in the morning.”
“Bye.” Twilight said to him, and he jumped from the tree and bolted into the forest. She watched him disappear, just as her father arrived. He climbed up the roots and leapt onto the floor, and she noticed he was smiling.
“Gaze?” said Tune, going up to him.
“I’ve got good news!” he said, sitting down. His tail thumped against the floor as they others came to listen.
“Alpha Guapo said I may get the role of head Beta!” he smiled around at them.
“Oh, Gaze! That’s wonderful!” Tune exclaimed, and she ran forward to nuzzle him. “Head Beta?” she asked as though it wasn’t true.
“Yes, but I need to prove it to him and Dahlia before that happens.” He replied, lying down. “And if I don’t get the role, I’ll still be a hunting leader.” Tune smiled and lay down next to him, and he licked her head. Krieger rolled his eyes and followed Copaci and Ginger to the other side of the tree to sleep. Twilight lay in her little shadowy spot under the leaves, and Skye found a place not far away.
Twilight stared out from her spot, looking at the fading light of the forest, the last notes of the birds’ songs echoing through them. The canopy made dark shapes across the whity-blue sky, and she noticed a tiny star appear right there in the middle. Bright as the sun and so sparkly. She looked at the star every night, watching it become surrounded by others, crowding it. She noticed all the time how that poor star’s space was suddenly occupied by others.
Sometimes she felt the same.

* * *
A pool of light shone across the floor in front of her face, the leaves before her shielding her from the bright light.
Twilight sat up and yawned widely, before licking her paws and scratching her ears. She let the warm morning air fill her lungs, blow through her fur. It rustled the leaves and kicked up dead ones on the ground and around her feet.
She would have to go and meet Rai now. But what about the others? She would have to stay. But she always went hunting in the mornings. It was just what she did, she and Rai. But Skye would be disappointed. Besides, Rai would know she’d be arriving late, what with four other wolves to guide through the forest. Her forest.
She got up and stretched her legs, then looked at Skye. She was sound asleep, her chest rising and falling slowly and evenly. The boys were all in awkward positions, tongues lolling from their mouths onto the floor. Krieger snored rather loudly, and Ginger was kicking around having a dream.
Her mother was asleep in the spot she was in last night, except her father was gone, probably at the Alpha’s cave. It was so boring watching everyone sleep, because she was so used to just escaping from the place every morning.
Twilight decided to occupy herself with something. She looked around and spotted a large bone with a little bit of meat still on it and it was broken with tender marrow inside. Her mouth watered as she picked it up and carried it to her spot. She started licking and biting the marrow from the middle, and tearing off the scraps of meat. It was certainly distracting, having to figure out how to the rest of her marrow from the depths of the bone.
Just as she was about to leave it for later and go into the forest for a while, there was a rustling of leaves from the clearing and her father climbed into the tree. He leapt to the floor and noticed his daughter staring at him.
“Why are you back already?” she asked him.
“I decided to take Tune.” He replied. “To keep you occupied, you’re going to look after Balliar’s puppies.” Pup-sitting the Alpha’s grandchildren? They were supposed to be hunting!
“Father!” Twilight cried angrily. “We’re going hunting today! You can’t give us pup-sitting duty!” at her demanding protests, Gaze raised his brow.
“I’m sorry, but Balliar and Reina would love to see you again. And of course Balliar’s own niece and nephew.” Ginger and Skye’s father was Balliar’s brother. Technically Ginger, Skye, Twilight, Krieger and Copaci were like cousins, because of this…
Gaze and Tune had Twilight and her brothers, and Tune’s brother, Arick, was married to Skye and Ginger’s aunt. Their aunt was sister to their father and the alpha’s daughter’s husband. They didn’t feel like relatives though, because of how spread out they were around the valley pack-land, Beauran.
Twilight noticed her father nudging the others, her mother was awake and grooming herself calmly, and she noticed Krieger was awake but not bothering to get up until Gaze nudged him.
In a moment they were all awake, sitting up and adjusting themselves to the sudden light. Gaze went to tell Tune what they were doing, and in a moment they were being ushered from the den.
As the wolves came to the bottom of the tree, Gaze led them into the forest. Twilight felt bad about leaving Rai. He would be on his own. She had to tell him.
“Father! I need to tell Rai,” she began.
“Twilight-Mist!” he replied, not letting her finish. And it was settled. She wasn’t going hunting today.

* * *
It was a long morning walk before the pack finally reached the gardens. Beautiful, ancient oaks spread out in a wide area covered in lush, green grass. There were patches of flowers here and there, and there was plenty of shade. The trees were tall and wide and right up to the very base was grass, leaving no bare patches of dirt.
The ground was soft and comfortable under Twilight’s feet. The air smelled of acorns, flowers and leaves. It was sweet and refreshing. Wolves of all sorts were scattered throughout, enjoying themselves and bounding about through the trees. The great pond they had already passed, and there were a few wolves there too.
As they walked through the garden, Twilight saw the mountain. It was straight up here, but not too steep. On the mountainside was a flight of stone steps, naturally carved out by rain and foot-steps. It was covered in moss, and to the side a bit of water trickled down. The rock was surrounded by trees and shrubs and the air got more fresh as they ascended.
In a moment they were at a large cave entrance, and at the sides of the door were two perfectly symmetrical trees. A couple of guards stood at the door, and nodded politely to the group, knowing at that moment who they were.
They went into the cave. It was large and magnificent, with a large, bear-skin rug in the middle of the room. At the other end opposite the door was a large, flat boulder with a rug on it, and upon the rock sat the pack’s Alpha, Guapo, and his female, Dahlia. Dahlia was Twilight’s father hunting tutor when he was young. She was very pretty – her fur was brown with white on her muzzle going down her neck and under her belly and on her bobbed tail. On her legs was white with a white ring just above. Around her neck was a sapphire and an emerald. Her eyes were bright green with a bit of blue.
Guapo was white with a bobbed tail. Around his left back ankle was a string of large, oval-shaped gems. His eyes were blue and looked down at them kindly. He was very strong and noble-looking.
“Moon-Gaze! River-Tune!” he said happily.
“Gaze.” Said Dahlia with a smile. Guapo hopped down from his rock and came to the group. Dahlia jumped down after.
“Are you ready to see the puppies?” she asked.
“Yes, they are.” Said Gaze with a stern glance at Twilight, he looked away with a grumble. Dahlia smiled and led them to the side of them room to a tunnel in the wall. Twilight had never been down there before, the first time she saw Balliar’s pups were in the gardens on their first trip into the outside world.
They walked down and it stared to get dark, when she noticed a warm glow from just ahead. It was coming from a cave to the left, and they turned into it.
“You’re father was in this very room just after the previous Alpha passed away.” Sighed Dahlia. “It was your mother’s Aunt who lived here. Alpha female Gudinna. She was never the same after Copaci left us.”
Her mother’s Aunt? Her great Aunt Gudinna was the Alpha? Twilight stared at Dahlia .She saw her sometimes, but never knew anything about her. Why didn’t her mother tell her anything? Sure, she found out a lot of things often, because she only figured out Skye was her cousin about a month ago. But her Aunt?
“Dahlia?” she whispered. The wise wolf turned to her. “Why didn’t anyone tell me?” Dahlia’s face sunk.
“Twilight, a lot of things happened two years ago.” She replied. “Terrible things.” By now the other four were listening intently, supposedly ignoring the fact Balliar and Reina were across the room waiting for them.
“I, I was named after the Alpha?” stammered Copaci quietly.
“Yes. She were such a quiet, well-behaved pup. Everyone thought you were so wonderful, and you had to be named after our Alpha.” Replied Dahlia.
“Where’s Gudinna?” whispered Skye. Twilight turned to see her, half in the shadow with the glow of the fire lighting her face.
“Gudinna’s fine. She shows herself, she hunts. But no one wanted to remind her of what happened to her husband.” But why wouldn’t her family tell her? Not even their ‘beloved’ Copaci? She had to ask, but Dahlia had already thought of that.
“She did it so you wouldn’t worry, pup.” She said, but Krieger butted in.
“What happened?” he said quietly, but urgently.
“Come, sit.” Suddenly there was a voice from the corner. Balliar walked towards them, followed by his pretty girl, Reina. She was younger than Tune, and she was a pretty thing. She had white fur, with purple and orange rings around her legs and tail, which was bobbed. Her ears were large and broad, and around her neck was a shiny, purple feather.
Balliar was brown with black up his legs and tail in splodge patterns. His muzzle was black and his ear was chipped. Around his ankles were strips of fawn-skin. He had a kind, handsome face, and Twilight knew that a lot of female wolves liked him. They told her she was lucky to be his relative.
“So, Gaze never told you?” said Balliar. Krieger and Ginger shook their heads at the same time. Skye just stared at him. “Well, when they were your age Tune was kidnapped by Shadow Wolves. You’d know about them. A whole pack went to save her, including me, Bjorna, Simbas and Gaze. Sapphira, Aldoro and Gudinna went too, and the Alpha Copaci. Dahlia went, so did Cazadora, the hunting tutor, your uncle Arick and his trainer Tuteur. Omega, another guard wolf you wouldn’t know came along.
“She was found, rescued, but unfortunately Copaci was killed by some guards, he died right next to Gudinna. She hates to look at his bed, at his treasures on the shelf. So she moved out. As you know, she’s as the other end of the tunnel. So Reina and I moved in and it was a lovely place to raise our puppies.” As the pups stared at him in bewilderment, he nuzzled Reina and little brown pup that came up beside him.
Her own mother. Taken by the Shadow Wolves. But why? Why didn’t she get any information of it? No, little baby Twilight should never know anything, she’d be too stupid to understand. But, now she knew. Balliar had told them personally.

* * *
In about an hour, the pups had tried to push away what Balliar had said, and play with the puppies. Twilight was ignoring it, and soon it became easy to think about what she was doing.
Balliar and Reina had four puppies. Two girls and two boys. The girls had very much the same patterns as her mother but one had blue eyes and one had green, and the boys were quite similar to their father, just with a couple of colour from Reina.
Skye and Twilight sat in a corner with the girl puppies. Their names were Lina and Star-Runner. The two were just learning to talk and had nice long legs, like puppies that age do. Star had a bobbed tail just like her mother, whereas Lina didn’t.
Copaci, Krieger and Ginger were playing with the boys, Storm and Leo, who were taking after their behaviour and acting like idiots. They had been running up the hall outside the door and up into the main cave annoying guards. Skye and Twilight responsibly told the little girls not to do that.
It was a while longer before Gaze and Tune came to the door.
“Pups! We’re ready to go now!” Gaze called out. Twilight nuzzled Star and Lina and approached her parents, with the others following behind.
“Father, did you get the role?” asked Copaci eagerly.
“Guapo is considering it very much, but there are two other wolves worthy of the role. The decision hasn’t been settled, so we just need to return to our dens and wait.” He replied. Krieger smiled.

[Kodabomb]

Another chapter! Please enjoy!

The Hideout

That night, Gaze left with Ginger and Skye to take them home to their parents, much to Krieger’s disgust. He wanted them to stay a bit longer.
As the sun sank behind the mountains, Twilight settled in her spot behind the leaves in the shadows. She wriggled around until she was comfortable, and listened to the boys speaking to each other. Yes, she was eavesdropping, but she was a bit bored.
“Yes, and we could go to it when we’re out.” Said Copaci.
“It would take a while to make.” Replied Krieger.
“It will be completely ours, no other wolves allowed.”
“We start tomorrow.” What were they doing? Whatever they were planning on ‘building’, it would probably end up silly. Twilight decided to bother with it in the morning.

* * *
“Quick, Twilight’s always up early to go hunting.”
“OK! But you need to get out of my way!”
“No, Copaci!”
Thud.
“Screw that.” Twilight slowly opened her eyes. She stood and walked to the edge of the tree, knowing her brothers were down there.
She was right. Krieger was lying in a pile of dead leaves in the clearing, and Copaci was staring at him in disbelief from one of the twisted roots. He looked up very quickly as she leapt gracefully to the ground, whereas he was awkwardly stuck.
“And what are you doing?” she asked. Copaci looked at her helplessly and Krieger tried to get up, only he fell back down again sending leaves flying up on all sides. Twilight raised her brow.
“We were trying to get out of the den before you woke up.” Said Copaci, stumbling from his root and landing on the ground. He shook himself off and little bits of dust danced in the rays of sunlight peeping through the canopy.
“And why did you want to get away?” asked Twilight suspiciously.
“No reason.” Groaned Krieger, staggering to his feet.
“There’s a reason, and I would like to know.” said Twilight as she trotted behind Copaci when he tried to slink into the forest unnoticed.
“Fine.” He said, turning around. Krieger came up behind them and tripped over a root sticking out of the ground. He was so pathetic. “We’re going to dig a den, and it’s going to be all ours. Only certain wolves.” Twilight thought about this.
“Do you want mother and father to know about it?” she asked carefully.
“No.” said Copaci and Krieger together, in the same flat tone.
“Well, if you don’t let me help, I suppose I’ll just go and tell them.” She said triumphantly. Twilight turned to start off to the tree, when Copaci ran and blocked her path.
“Fine. You can help.” He said.
“And Rai?” she said. Copaci had an expression of loathing. He didn’t like Rai too much, and he looked as though he wanted to bite his sister who stood in front of him, smirking.
“Fine. Rai comes too.” He mumbled. Twilight smiled happily.
“Where are you making it?” she asked.
“In the pine forest. Nobody likes it there.” Krieger replied. Twilight raised her furry brow. “Really! I’m not lying.”
“Well, I will get Rai, and we’ll meet you in the pine forest.” And with that, she turned and ran off through the forest.

* * *
It wasn’t long before she was at Rai’s rocky den in the hill. She barked into it and in a moment her friend bounded out, happy to see her.
“We’re going somewhere.” She said to him. Just as he was about to ask, she leapt over and rock and started running. She galloped through the trees, dodging the rocks and logs. Rai bounded along behind her, but she was a lot more agile.
She leapt clean over an old log, covered in moss. Rai stumbled and fell over it, but got to his feet and chased after her. Twilight giggled. Soon the forest began to get very thick, and the ground went from rocky to dead flat. It was dark and eerie in this part of the forest, and the ground was mostly covered in fallen logs, with large boulders scattered throughout.
The pair slowed down and walked through the trees. So many logs were in her path, but there were many ditches underneath them that she could wriggle under. Rai wasn’t that small however, and her went around or jumped over.
In a moment the trees stopped abruptly, going straight onto a road-like path. It was wide and straight, and as Twilight looked down it she saw it went for a while. Across from them they heard some noise, and they immediately realised who it was.
They bounded from the forest and onto the path, crossing it and going into the forest again. Up ahead, they soon spotted two black shapes near a log. Copaci and Krieger tumbled about trying to find a good place for their den.
“Here come the professionals!” called Rai as he ran to the log. Copaci looked up from a ditch beneath the log and Krieger clumsily fell off the top, making a thud on the ground behind him. Rai burst out laughing. Copaci looked at Rai dangerously.
“Oh, Copaci.” Said Twilight, giggling slightly. “It was funny, you know. Rai can laugh.” Copaci muttered something.
“So, how are we going to make this thing?” asked Twilight. She leapt up onto the log and glanced at Krieger, lying on the ground and not bothering to get up.
“Well, we’ll just sort of dig a nice den under this log. It can be the roof, and as you can see it’s quite wide.” Replied Copaci, putting his front feet on the log and examining it.
“It’ll take a few days.” Said Krieger, looking up at his sister.
“Well, with all us four working on it, it shouldn’t be too hard. Maybe it’ll be done today.” Said Rai. He jumped up onto the log next to Twilight. He was a good jumped like her.
“This’ll be great for the winter.” Said Copaci. “It will snow and we’ll be able to shelter under here, nice and cosy.” Twilight smiled.
“Let’s begin!” she said. The group happily started. Krieger and Rai got in the ditch and started digging away, sending bits of dirt flying. Twilight and Copaci moved out of the way.
“What should we do?” he asked her.
“Well, we should get leaves or bedding, but that will take a while and it will be for when it’s finished.” She replied. Twilight thought a bit. “We’ll just wait here. They’ll need our advice anyway.” Copaci smirked.
Twilight jumped onto the log and lay down on it. She could the scratch, scratch of the claws underneath her, working their way into the soft dirt.
Soon she decided they did not need her help at that moment, and she drifted off into sleep.

* * *
“Twilight! Twilight-Mist! Wake up!” Twilight felt a hard nudge in her ribs, and she looked up to see Rai. She was still her log, and Rai was standing about with the others. They waited for her to sit up.
“We’ve done!” said Rai proudly.
“How, what time is it?” Twilight asked, bewildered.
“It’s afternoon. We’ve been working the entire time.” Said Krieger.
“Oh, sorry I didn’t help. Did I sleep that long?” she said, jumping off the log.
“Yep. But it’s OK, it wasn’t too hard.” Said Rai. She smiled.
“We need some bedding now.” Informed Copaci, heading off into the trees. Krieger nodded and went another way, and Twilight and Rai separated.
She went off through the forest, seeing there wasn’t really much to use as bedding. It was just rocks and pine needles. But they could work. Yes, she decided they would do. With her claws she started digging at the layer of needles on the ground, forming a nice neat pile. She scraped them along the ground, trying to avoid picking up sticks and rocks along the way, until she came back to the log.
She looked under it and saw the boys had done a wonderful job. It had a soft, flat floor, and the walls went smoothly up, with a few roots sticking out here and there. There was enough room for all of them to snuggle up inside, with a little bit of room to spare. That would be handy if they were stuck there in a storm. The ceiling was the log over-head, which was nice and wide. But at the back she noticed there was quite a gap, with the afternoon sun shining in through it. That would have to be fixed later.
She pushed her needles inside and spread them in a corner. She made sure they were nice and comfy, in a little bed. It wasn’t very big, but the boys would bring back more and cover most of the room. She decided to go and fix the hole.
Twilight left the den and went looking for something to block it. There were plenty of logs, but they were all very big and very heavy. She would need a nice small one.
And that’s when she saw what she was looking for. A small, flattish log, broken through the middle. She nudged it and found it was light.
Twilight went round behind it and started pushing it. It rolled all right, but not as good as it would be round. It tumbled over the rocks and fell over a slope, but it reached the den OK. She pushed it to the hole and nudged it until it was nice and comfortable. The log didn’t move and Twilight was satisfied.
Just as she was at the entrance to the den, she heard grunting behind her and saw Krieger, pushing a pile of oak leaves down the path. He struggled to get them over to her, and when he reached her he sat down with a frustrated look on his furry face.
“Grumpy-pup.” Said Twilight, bringing the leaves into the den and arranging them on the floor near the pine-needles.
“Do you know how hard it is to push a pile of feather-light leaves down a path with your nose?” he said, coming in and sitting down.
“Yes.” Replied Twilight, sitting on the leaves.
“No, you brought pine-needles.” He said. Same thing, Twilight thought. Then there was a noise from outside.
“Are you guys there?” called Rai. He looked into the darkness and saw them. Before him was a pile of oak-leaves, and he pushed them in. They scattered the neat floor and Twilight grumpily spread them out into a bed.
“Hey, where’s Copaci?” asked Krieger as Rai came and sat down.
“No idea.” He replied. “I thought he’d be back by now.”
“Copaci’s never late.” Said Twilight, lying down on her pine needles. They were surprisingly comfy.
“He’ll come.” Said Krieger assuring them, but Twilight wasn’t too sure at all.
Just as they were about to have a rest after their work, a black face appeared ever so quickly at the door. Copaci’s face was scared and his blue eyes were wide with fear.
“Everyone, get in! Don’t say a word!” he hissed, darting in.
“Copaci?” asked Rai.
“Sssh!” said Copaci, looking anxiously out the door. “Shadow wolves!”
Twilight’s insides disappeared and she shrunk into her corner. Shadow wolves? She wanted to get out, run away. They would come. They would kill them. Instead she just let Rai snuggle beside her and they hoped for the best.