A pack. Some might define it as just a group of animals living together in the wild. I define it as a second chance. I'm old and fragile now, barely under 13 years old. It'll be time to go soon. When I was a young pup, my owners brought me to the mountains and left me there. Alpha Emily, Everett's mother, took me under her wing, so to speak.
I'm forever grateful for this pack. They saved me from predators and gave me food. In return, I just had to learn how to fight for and defend the pack. I've settled down, had a couple of young pups myself. But it's time for me to go soon. I leave behind my legacy of telling the pups stories about a house and a nice blanket. Some of the pups don't understand my past and why I wasn't always living in a den. But that just makes telling them stories about not having to hunt my own food that much more fun. My background was not something I was proud of when I was younger. After all, who wanted to say that no one wanted them? But now that I'm older, I realize it just helped shape me into who I am.
0 Comments
This was it. My trial hunt to become an official hunter. I'm so excited. Breathe, girl. Remember your training. Make Storm and Alpha Everett proud. I took a few deep breaths and tried to calm my wagging tail, earning a laugh from Alpha Everett.
"Calm down," He said with a hint of a smile, "You just have to show us you can take down a deer. Storm said you've done it many times." I nodded and shook out my limbs. "Let's go. Those deer won't know what hit them." "Lead the way." Alpha Everett took a step back and allowed me to follow my nose to the nearest deer. I found a familiar deer scent. Tracking the scent for a bit, I noticed the antlers, or lack thereof. It was Red Leaf so we were able to hunt the does. My tail pointed straight back as I accessed the situation. She was a few yards ahead of me and definitely faster. I had one chance to get this right. Storm assured me it takes most dogs 2 or more hunting trips to successfully pass as a hunter, but I don't want to be like most dogs. The two older dogs stayed behind me as I crouched down and got ready to pounce. My claws came out as I pounced, using my hind legs to get as close to the deer as possible. I landed right behind her and immediately latched onto the deer's leg, slowing her down. From there, I pounced again, my jaw clamping on her neck this time, quickly biting down. I felt the deer halt it's run and fell over. I delivered the killing bite and then licked the blood spatter on my muzzle. "Nice work," Alpha Everett said, giving my ear a quick lick. "Let's take her back to camp and we'll hold your naming ceremony in the morning." The Night Shadows Pack resides in a valley in the Rocky Mountains. They live on the side of the river between the mountains and the water. Having been there for almost a century, most of the predators know not to mess with the pack. The prey the Night Shadows Pack feed on are mule deer, whitetail deer, goats, and elk.
The land is hard to live on during Ice Wind where they can get up to 10 feet of snow a day. The pack's territory is covered with snow for the better part of the year, save for a few weeks during Long Light. Despite that, there is plenty of prey. The pack camp is based in the mountains. The pups and their mothers live in a small, abandoned, bear den that branches off from the healer's den. The healer's den is connected to the elders' den. Under those three dens are where the other dogs live. Hunters, Warriors, and Trackers all share a den while Trainers share one with the beta. The alpha's den is above the pups' den and has a small tunnel that connects to the healer's den. The snow that covers the territory isn't ideal, but the pack is able to get through it with a lot of creativity and ingenuity. |
Categories |