This is the edited-to-first-person version.
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(Sorry about the formatting. The format never stays when moved from Word.)
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Prologue
Coal Blizzard broke through the brush. The frozen ground bit at her paws as she fled from her past. She didn’t have anywhere to go, but she had to be gone. She had to get away from the dreadful place. The snow made her look like dark blotches in the white landscape. The cold air burned through her lungs as she gasped for air, but still she ran, she ran for all she was worth.
She was stopped dead in her tracks when she saw a black figure, another wolf, in front of her. Before she could think to hide, she had gotten too close. “What are you doing here?!” Snarled the pitch black wolf. “Well I was running.” She barked, skidding to a stop. The other wolf narrowed his eyes, and snarled, “Not on my territory!”
Within moments, Coal found herself flat in the snow, with the larger male on top of her. As exhausted as she was, the adrenaline continued. A renewed energy surged through her body. In the balance of rage and fear, she pushed with her hind legs as hard as she could. Though her enemy barely moved, the action allowed her to jump to her feet and regain her balance. The two circled each other for several paces, each sizing up the other.
With each step, Coal saw her problems in the other wolf. Insults she’d had to suffer. Half Pet. Weak One. Worthless. Not Mine. She launched herself again. With satisfaction, she felt the other wolf give a little distance. The satisfaction abandoned her as she felt sharp teeth close in on her neck.
The fighting continued for a little while longer, more small wounds inflicted, more received. The two wolves split apart from their battle at the same time. They circled once again, but this time more submissively, and curiously. Finally, the brute spoke.
“You fight well.” He commented, “Why are you running?”
“It’s a long story.” She replied, “30 full moons of story.”
The male grunted. “You’re trespassing.”
“In which pack’s territory?” Coal retorted. “Every wolf knows this is the clearway between the territories. What gives you the rights to claim it?”
“I’m Blood Fang, that’s what.”
“And I’m…” Coal stood for a moment. “I’m Scarlet.”
“Well then, Scarlet. Where exactly are you going?”
“To find somewhere of my own.”
The brute sat down, his black pelt spotted with clumps of snow and fresh flakes. “Don’t suppose it would be any use- looking together, as friends.”
“Why? I thought this was the notorious Blood Fang’s territory.” She teased.
“Eh, he sighed. Time to move on.” He wheeled around and began trotting off in the direction Scarlet had first been running in. She followed, though she had no idea where it would take her; she knew it would take her away from that terrible place she had once considered home.
Chapter One
I looked around my den. The rock walls of the small cave allowed a slit of sunlight to stream over my black and white fur. Today is a special day. I thought to myself. I don’t know why, but today is different. What I didn’t realize, was today would be the first day in moons I’d felt accepted and respected. My eyes gazed around me once more, wondering when the other wolves would wake up. I saw Blood Fang, his chest rising and falling every time she took a breath. Looking past him was Seriw. Though he was smaller in stature than the alpha male, I felt he was big at heart. Probably about as big as his snoring is loud. I thought to myself. Across from Seriw was Robin. The intriguingly colored she-wolf was smaller than me, and seemed to be in a world of peace as she slumbered. I knew every member of my rather small pack was strong, though they all had their weaknesses. I let herself soak up the late cooling-time sun as my mind wandered to what was in store for my pack.
Blood Fang opened his eyes slowly then with a yawn he began to sit up. He turned towards me. He thought of me as the only wolf...well half wolf but that didn't matter to him. I was just like him, unlike his family; they were so much different. His father would snap at him or even abuse him when he had spoken of battle. "Scar, we need to organize a hunt or we could show the pack our territory. Since they have only explored part of our territory and the den." The brute flicked his tail then observed the pack. They would make a strong fighting force even with their little numbers. "Or...we could train these newbies or see what they’ve got. Their skills in battle that is." Blood began to make his way toward me and sat beside me as he waited for a response from his co-alpha. Blood Fang thought it was weird how everyone thought that he and I must be mates because they were both Alphas but that was not the case at all.
I turned to face Fang. "Let's show them the territory." I turned back to face my wolves and stretched my tight muscles. I walked to the middle of the den and barked "Alright, get up. We're going to get some fresh air." Swiftly, I moved the entrance, my curled black and white tail was bouncing with anticipation at seeing the sun and feeling the spring grass on my paws. I couldn't wait to get out. Suddenly aware of my tail's bobbing about I made an effort to make it sit still. That's something only dogs do! I scolded myself. However, when I turned toward Blood Fang, it was worthless to attempt to hide the glittering excitement in my eyes.
Seriw woke up, stretched himself, and jumped energetically out of the den. He bowed Blood Fang and myself and said "I'm ready!" Then Seriw noticed my curled black and white tail. He looked confused, as if it was the first time he'd ever noticed.
Robin opened her left eye and grunted. She slowly got up and stretched. Her face was plain, as it always was. The she-wolf tilted her head before dipping it to the two alphas, showing as much respect as she could. Robin wasn’t the talkative type. Her pale yellow eyes were dull with complete sadness. She was still mourning the loss of her family, as well getting over the fact that she was raised as a captive for quite some time. The near-blind wolf woofed, "I-I'm ready..."
I stepped out of the den and blinked at the late morning sun. Its position above the trees cast a dappled shadow on the stone den. I shook herself to ward off the cool temperature. Nothing a good jog through the territory won't cure. I thought to myself as i padded out and felt the stone under my paws give way to dirt and grass. I turned to Blood Fang, “Where should we take them first?” I asked, my eyes bright and my muscles dying to run as fast as they could to any destination.
Blood Fang smiled seeing me excited and all. He walked up quietly to me, then eyed the pack. He also noticed a sad glint in Robin's eyes. He wasn't the one for cheering up so he ignored it and then his ears perked as I began to talk. "How about the Mountains?" He suggested when I had finished.
Seriw had been sniffing the den and looked around the territory. The sun was warming and the grass was beginning to sprout, he turned his head to Robin as he noticed her wake up, "Hi there, what's up! He asked. Robin glared at Seriw, "N-Nothing really." She turned her head to the leaders.
“Mountains it is then.” I stated.
Chapter Two
Seriw was trotting behind me and Fang, as we were climbing. The mountains were huge, especially if you were seeing them for the first time and the view was beautiful.
No matter how many times I saw the peaks, they would never cease to take my breath away. I turned to face the rest of the pack. “So these are our mountains. Sometimes we can hunt up here, but most of the time we just retreat here if a war gets so out of hand we need to retreat to a border. This is the safest edge so we typically come here. Also, it has a creek, so it has fresh water. When you’re in a war-zone, water and food are your best friends.”I looked at Blood Fang and added, “But nothing beats a strong pack and a good team.” I knew I had mostly added it for Blood. But it’s also true. I decided. A lone wolf would never survive without a pack in a war-zone even if it had food and water. She cocked her head to one side and asked Fang directly, “Anything you want to add?”
Robin came into step near us. She looked up at the mountains, no doubt thinking about the herbs she would be able to collect. Her tail flicked as she gathered scents. The young healer couldn't really see the mountain, but she imagined a large, pointed land mass of rock, surrounded by a forest, with a creek running through some place. The wolf didn't need information about the creek. She could smell water and fish just fine. Ever since her accident, her sense of smell had gotten much better. Robin lifted her head, “Yarrow…” She murmured under her breath.
"Hmm, Interesting!" Yelped Seriw. Then he tried to look at the den from there, he couldn't see it very well but it was still there. He suddenly heard something moving behind a bush. "I think I'm smelling a hare?" said the beige wolf.
Blood Fang turned his head toward me, "No, you said it right. Without a strong pack we would be nothing but a bunch of loners wondering around somewhere. So...we might as well get used to each other." The brute said. His ear twitched when he heard Robin say yarrow. He barely picked it up but he did, he turned his large frame toward Robin. His head still held high and it turned toward to the side. Then asked, "Robin, how come you’re moping around? If you want to go collect some herbs then go, but be careful these mountains may be beautiful but they still are deadly." He turned toward Seriw a small smile on his maw, "Yes, I smell it as well. Not just one...but a whole down of them."
Robin perked her ears as she heard Blood Fang. She dipped her head and woofed, "T- Thank you. I'll be careful." She turned back towards the scent of yarrow and hurried off.
I dipped my head in respect to Blood Fang as he commented on my own commentary of the mountains. A slight frown crossed my face when I noticed Robin's consistent stutter. Silently, I decided to ask her about it once we got back to the den. Aloud I said “It's rarely a bad time to hunt. Seriw, you want to see if you can find them? We'll follow a few paces behind and you can signal when you find them. Then we'll move into position.”
"Alright." Seriw started sniffing the hares group tracks then he found them hiding behind a bush. He walked silently toward them as he targeted one of the hares. Then he jumped very fast at them, but the hare was faster and it quickly jumped in its burrow. Seriw growled but then he saw another hare pass quickly at the front of his nose, in that instant, Seriw took off after it. He was getting closer and closer to him as they were running, they were running toward the rest us, where we lay in wait for the small bit of prey.
I sat crouched in behind a rock, the scent of hare growing stronger. I could hear the thrumming of paws on the hard packed dirt. I looked at the rest of my pack, each behind an identical rock. I tried to make eye contact with Fang, hoping he would realize how close the time to pounce was coming. I was unsure of if my signal had worked but I knew there wasn't any more time. With a snarl I leaped out from behind my rock, landing square on a hare's shoulders. The creature gave a squeal, but it was cut off as I quickly dealt a killing blow. "Well done, Seriw. That's a technique we could use closer to the den, with elk. I scented the air again, half hoping there would be another hare dumb enough to follow the same path as his comrade.
Robin appeared again behind a rock with a mouthful of herbs. In her condition, I knew she couldn't hunt. The she-wolf tripped all the time. She's practically blind. Robin could only bring down prey if they sat right in front of her, but she knew that prey weren't dumb enough. I was grateful for that, as it made her an even better medicine wolf.
Blood Fang watched me as I took down a hare, lucky for him another hare was close by and he was near its hole. Blood sprang up just as the hare was about to dive into its hole then he barely caught it by the tail, he dragged it out from nearly escaping then his paw held it down as he bit it's neck crushing it's spine. He began to pick some fur off of the hare then ate half of it. He wanted to give the other half to a pack-mate and seeing Robin go behind a rock he padded over to her. Then dropped the hare near her, "How come you’re hiding from the pack?" He asked looking at her.
Robin turned to glare at Blood Fang, but she responded, "I'm not a hunter. I trip over my own paws." Her eyes showed no emotion, except a glint of anger at his question. I wondered if my old friend really had expected her to hunt in her condition.
Seriw respectfully approached Blood Fang with the hare he caught in his mouth, he dropped it and started eating. As he bit into it, he looked pleasantly surprised. I noticed him whisper to Robin "They are delicious, you should take the other half."
Blood Fang tipped his head to the side, "Why do you trip over your paws?" He asked as he calmed down a bit. He saw a glint of anger hidden in Robin's emotionless gaze, "I have seen a blind wolf hunt before, what makes you so special?" As the timber brute asked, his voice hardened. It was true what he said. He had met a wolf named Dragon Flame when he was a loner and his mate was a wolf called Rainn, who was blind. She could avoid all the trees in her way and even hunt. Rainn had said she was a hunter from her old pack.
Robin stiffened, but she forced herself to stay calm. "I was t-training to become a healer in my old pack. I never learned how to find my way around or hunt. All I see is a blob of b-blur." The young fae was starting to get a little irritated, but she didn't show it. When Seriw told her about the hare, she decided to take a bite of the other half. He was right, they were delicious.
Blood flicked his ear and then signed as he rolled his eyes. "That doesn't mean you sit around moping all day... If you wanted, I could help you learn to hunt." The brute sat up and yawned. He then turned to Seriw, "Great job." He praised before padding off and sat near the water's edge.
Robin shook her head, "I prefer sticking with herbs. But I-I guess I can learn so I can h-help hunt bigger things.”
“We’ll just have to see where that goes later.” Fang stated
Chapter Three
After a decent trek back, I walked into the den and threw myself down. Not sure where my sudden bad mood had come from until I realized- the stress. It was the stress of having a small pack that wouldn't be strong enough to stand in a fight. I realized that I had to come to terms with something I'd been thinking about for a while now.
We need more pack members, and we needed them before snow sets in, or the whole pack wouldn't be strong enough to survive the harsh cold-air. First, they needed food. I decided to call a pack meeting. Sitting up as the rest of my pack filed in to the shade of the den, I howled right where I sat, in the middle of the cavern.
Once I had gathered everyone's attention, I said, “I want you all to know for future reference, any and all wolves you find when hunting or patrolling you will bring to me. Do not fight them off, do not drive them away. Now, I have been saying this for a couple days, but we need to hunt. I'll give us a little bit to catch our breath, then I will need all of you to help me. Thank You."
I let my head dip as I finished the announcement and laid down again. Watching the rest of the pack, I imagined my claws tearing through flesh and the feeling of a full belly, deciding to ignore for a moment how big my other problems had the potential to become.
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Wed Jun 11, 2014 7:03 pm by Titan
Subject: The Blood Lust Chronicles. 
