The snow was heavy the next day, it came down in troves covering the forest in a blanket if white. The two siblings were out of their hollow, hunting for whatever prey they could find. "I can't see anything," Kate said shaking the snow off of her fur. "Well now you know how I feel, but it is hard to hear. The snow is muffling everything." Oli replied and his sister nodded. "Let's go home for the day. We aren't going to find any prey in this snowfall." Kate said and watched as their brother nodded.
As they moved through the snow, the winds began to blow harder, making it hard for Kate to see anything but white. She looked back at her brother and looked towards the trees there she saw a fallen log that was hollow on the inside. "Grab my tail and follow me!" Kate shouted to her brother, who followed the order and gently bit down on her tail. Together they made their way into the hollowed log and were relieved to find that it was warm. "We'll stay here for the night and make our way home tomorrow." Kate said and watched as her brother nodded, letting out a yawn as he curled up and fell into a light sleep. Kate watched their brother before looking outside relieved that they had found shelter from the storm, "This winter is hard but we'll survive." She whispered to herself before curling up next to her brother and falling into a light slumber.
The next morning had come as the two siblings slept through the blizzard. Kate had awakened first, blinking away the sleepiness from her eyes as the morning sun cast the surrounding woods in a warm glow. She drowsily sat up and let out a yawn as she opened her eyes to find that the surrounding woods were cast in a sparkling white.
She stared in awe and poked their brother until he began to stir. "What do you want?" He asked with a yawn blinking away sleepiness from his blind eyes. "I know you can't see but the forest is a sparkling white. I also figured that we could go hunt before returning to the hollow, we might actually find something today." She said and her brother nodded, eager to hunt something that would fill both him and his sister. "That sounds great." He replied and together the two left the hollowed log, grateful that it provided them shelter from the snowstorm.
They walked through the glistening forest, their paw steps light as they walked through the snow. "Let's split up, we'll have more luck finding prey that way." Kate said and Oli nodded listening as their sister walked in a direction, getting farther and farther away from him but he didn't worry knowing that his sister was more than capable of taking care of herself.
He stood for a moment before walking in a different direction. He walked for a few moments before a noise caught his attention it wasn't a mouse or a sparrow but it was bigger and smelled sweet and savory, deer. A prey much too large for him or his sibling to take on but something was off. The deer was being hunted.
He decided then to duck beneath the roots of a nearby tree, he had found it a year ago when he was still learning how to sneak up on his sibling, but now it would serve as his hiding place from the sound that was hunting the deer.
It was large and there was a multitude of it as they tackled the deer to the ground. It's once-beating heart fell silent as one of those beasts snapped the deer's neck with a loud sickening snap. He winced at that sound but remained still and silent as he heard voices that were not his own or his sister's. "This will feed the pack for the rest of this month." a voice that sounded confident said and the rest of the beasts gave a howl of agreement.
Oli was still hiding when something else approached the group of beasts, silencing them with its approach. "You all have made a fine catch today. Aliz, Nomina, Todd, and Quinn take the deer back to the pack. Weaver, I need to talk to you." The voice said his voice stern yet calm and thankful. "Yes, Alpha." The beasts all said in unison.
Oli was tensing up, his fight or flight instincts were beginning to kick in as he began to feel cornered, trapped. "When I was walking through the forest, I caught the scent of two other shifters." The Alpha said and Oli heard the other one, Weaver the Aloha called him, taking in a deep breath before asking, "Wolves or something else?" "Something else, they smelt of fox." The Alpha replied. "They?" Weaver asked, "Yes, 'they', there were two scents. One a male and one a female." The Alpha replied. "Do you think they're going to be a problem?" Weaver asked and the Alpha let out a sigh, "No, but we should at least track them down and talk to them. They've probably called these woods home long before we arrived, I'm sure they wouldn't like a pack of wolves invading it."
Oli was overwhelmed with fear, his sister once told him when they were younger to not go near wolves, shifter or not. "Oli, there are many predators in this forest. Predators for bigger and stronger than us, they could also be shifters so we must be wary but we must especially be wary of wolves. They are bigger, stronger, and meaner than us. They are territorial beasts that kill anything and anyone that invades their space. So be careful if you ever encounter one run. Run with all your life." He remembered her words and without any thought, he darted out of the roots of the tree.
* * *
Alex watched in calm as Weaver opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted when the motion of a red blur shot out from underneath the slightly uprooted roots of a tree. Weaver was about to give chase but was stopped by Alex, who gently bit down on his tail. "Do not give chase." Alex said firmly and Weaver pulled his ears to his head but nodded while looking into the direction the red blur had run in.
"Was that a fox or something else?" Weaver asked once he regained himself and the urge to chase had died down. Alex nodded before saying, "I believe so. It could be one of the resident foxes that call this forest home." Weaver nodded and said no more. "We should return home and tell the pack of our finding. Let's keep the finding of two foxes a secret, I don't want anyone to give them trouble." Alex continued and Weaver nodded, standing up and walking beside Alex as they headed to the place they called home for now.
* * *
Oli's heart was pounding as he ran through the snow, his breaths came out in puffs, and prey that could have filled his belly ran in all directions. He hadn't stopped for a minute not until the scent of his sister caught his attention, he made a swift turn and headed in the direction that his sister's scent was coming from.
Kate had pounced on a squirrel killing it with a swift snap to its neck when all of a sudden she was tackled from behind. She was startled, her fur bristling as she stood up only to realize that it was her brother. She was about to say something rude but instead looked him over the scent of fear came off of him in troves. "What happened?" She asked Oli, worry lining her voice as she waited for her brother to catch his breath. "Wolves." Oli replied, still trying to catch his breath. "Wolves?" She asked curiously. "There are wolves, here in the forest. When we parted ways to hunt, I had taken the forest trail and then I heard running and decided to hide beneath the roots of the old oak tree. They were hunting a deer but then when they were done some of them took the deer back to where ever they are staying but two stayed behind." He stopped, took a deep breath in, and continued, "The one named Weaver had called the other Alpha. They sat and talked and I overheard them wanting to find me and you to talk, I would have stayed but I started feeling trapped so I ran until I scented you." Oli finished with a huff and Kate sat wide-eyed.
Fear pulsed through her body at the thought of wolves, not normal ones but rather those that could shift. She had been warned many times by her elders that wolf shifters were the most dangerous amongst the shifter community. They were territorial and didn't take too kindly to unwanted guests in their territory. "What should we do?" Her brother asked her, pulling Kate from her thoughts. "I think we should talk to them but I don't think we should return home quite yet. I don't want them to find our hollow." She said and her brother nodded, his fur finally lying flat. "Why should we talk to them?" Oli asked curiosity lining his voice." Kate looked at him and replied, "Because it's unusual for wolves to want to talk to other shifters, they could be nomadic or they could be wanting to settle themselves a home here." Her brother nodded in understanding.
"Are we gonna stay in that hollowed-out log from before?" Oli asked and he watched as his sister shook her head, "No, we'll stay in the cave near the cliffs. They'll be more protection from the weather and from unwanted guests." she replied. Oli nodded once more before his stomach began to growl with hunger. His sister smiled before offering him the squirrel that she had caught. "We can share, it's not much but it's all I could catch since our prey is either buried in the frozen ground or high in the trees." She said and Oli nodded. Together they shared the squirrels, burying the bones. Once they were done they made their way to the cliffs.
Kate looked up, feeling intimidated by the tall, steep, and jagged cliffs that rose above her end and stretched for miles without an end in sight. She looked at her brother who was still a bit ruffled from his encounter with not one but two wolf-shifters. "Will we really be safe here?" He asked and Kate smiled, although he couldn't see it, before saying reassuringly, "We'll be sleeping in the quiet cavern. The only way in is the small crack that's just barely big enough for us. Wolves no matter their size wouldn't be able to fit in." Her brother only nodded before following a small stream that led to a crack in the great stone wall that was the cliffs. Kate followed suit and the two fox shifters settled into the quiet cavern. Kate watched as her brother fell into a deep slumber but as he fell asleep with ease she did not. Uneasiness settled into her fur, causing her to shiver as if the winter wind was blowing through her. She was silent as she stood up and walked toward the entrance o
Alex had woken up in a tent that was large and warm. He had shifted back into a wolf sometime during his sleep and looked over to see his beta Weaver sleeping as a wolf as well. The sun was just barely above the horizon as he nudged his beta awake. "Aye leave me alone. The sun ain't up so neither am I." Weaver said tiredly and received a harsh shove to his side. "Get up you lazy oaf." Alex said and Weaver slowly got up and stretched before asking, "We're going out to look for those two foxes?" Alex nodded and without another word the two wolves left the frozen meadow, venturing into the forest. Alex could smell the dead rabbit and with it, the two fox shifters who he had guessed were mated or at the very least siblings. He signaled to his beta and the two pushed past snow-covered ferns that revealed a clearing and with it the two foxes with their fur standing on end. The two foxes looked at him and his beta, neither pair of shifters daring to move, each sizing the other up. Alex took
The seasons passed five times since the wolves made a deal with the foxes. The two siblings had stuck to the agreement with the wolves and the wolves stuck to theirs. The prey was thriving and the two siblings were enjoying a well-earned day near the waterfall where a neutral boundary with the wolves was shared. "Life is odd with them here isn't it sister?" Oli asked as he cleaned his fur. "Hmm..., yes it's odd with the wolves here now but it'll make our lives a bit more interesting." Kate said as she stretched herself out in the sunlight. "I wonder how they are getting on." Oli said before joining his sister in the sunlight. The two siblings enjoyed the afternoon sun unaware of the eyes of a wolf watching them. "They truly are fascinating to you, aren't they Alex?" Weaver asked watching as the large greyish-brown wolf turned to look at him. "Of course, they're a species of rarity and to meet two that are close to one another, who aren't exactly fearful of us is nice." Alex said and
The sun had risen high above the trees as the two foxes made their way to the falls at a steady pace. "Summer had been going on well." Oli said as he took in a breath of fresh air. "Yes, but I fear that whatever the wolves have to say will put an end to this well-going summer." Kate said in a sign and Oli nodded. "If anything we can move fir the time being and come back next spring." Oli said and Kate thought about this knowing that this was an option but not the best solution. "I know it's not in our best interest since this is our home but we can't really make the wolves leave." Oli said and Kate let out another sigh at her brother's words. "Sorry." he whispered, Kate was going to say something but stopped herself as she and her brother entered the clearing the scent of wolves filling her nostrils. "Welcome." Alex greeted them while dipping his head down, his beta did the same. Kate dipped her head in greeting as well. "What is it that you wished to talk about?" Kate asked cutting s
The Sun was well over the horizon when Oli and Kate left their den. The forest was filled with the chirping of birds and the air was crisp and clean. A perfect day and yet the two fox siblings sulked and said not a word to one another. The night had been spent in deep discussion, neither wanted to shift into their human form and neither wanted to be surrounded by wolves, even if it was just for the night and yet, Kate wanted to at least try to make an effort with the wolves even if that meant shifting into her other form. She had tried to convince her brother but nothing got through to him as he denied wanting to shift, over and over again. "It would be a bad idea. The wolves would have us surrounded and we wouldn't be able to escape." He'd say, which was a fair point. Kate had no replies to her brother's words but still kept trying to convince him. The night had ended in a stalemate, neither could agree on a decision and both fell into an uneasy sleep. Now they walked through the f
Elder Nora walked through the forest, taking in the story that Kate had told her. It was tragic that the poor kit would have drowned if not for the two owl shifters. They were known quite well throughout the shifter world and many shifters thought of them as the Watchers of the Council. It would be befitting since they always managed to show up when someone was in trouble, almost as though they had the magic of the old world. Nora shook her head at that idea and took note of the trees around her. The brown bark turned to white with black eyes that saw everything. An aspen groove that was hidden by the verdant forest. A true spectacular for those who did not know the forest well. Nora took in a breath and perked her ears to hear the soft breeze whistling through the leaves. She smelled that of blossoming wild berries and the return of prey, old and new. She continued her walk until she reached a clearing where a great weeping willow stood in the center. It's bark looked as though it
The forest was just beginning to awaken as Oli stepped out of the hollow. His sister had left earlier, most likely to hunt, and he had left soon after to meet with Elder Nora. The crisp morning air filled his lungs as he walked upon a trail that he had known since he was a kit.It was trail that his sister had led him on so many times that he had lost count years ago. A trail that in the summer smelt of wild blackberries and wildflowers. A trail that was a memory to never be forgotten.It had been five years. Since their abandonment and three since Oli's bad experience with shifting. Spring had come and left, making way for the heat of summer. From what his sister described to him, the forest was a deep green and prey had returned in plenty. Kate had been training him on how to stalk and no matter how hard he tried to sneak up on his sister, he could never surprise her. She always knew he was there, either by his scent or by the many sounds he'd make. Each time he failed, was another l
Kate had awoken to the sound of her brother leaving. She said nothing as she listened to him leave their hollow, his pawsteps quiet as he tried not to disturb her sleep. His pawsteps faded and Kate decided to get up but paused as the scent of Ami filled her nose. "Why hello sleepy head." Ami said her gold colored eyes glowing. "What do you want?" Kate asked ignoring the feelings she got if she stared to long into those golden eyes.Ami took a step back startled by Kate's hostility. "Well I wanted to see if you wanted to hunt with me since your brother is clearly doing his own thing." She said and Kate was taken aback. "Sure." Kate said in a monotone voice not lowering her guard at this stranger of a friend....The woods were filled with life as she and Ami stalked through the undergrowth, two rabbits were just up ahead, both her and Ami crouched on instinct, they looked at each other for a moment before silently agreeing on moving forward.They stalked onward till they were foot away