I walked through the woods, ears perked, as I listened for any sounds. It had been four months since my mother left and fending for myself had been a challenge. I didn't have much to worry about outside of food so I had taken to wandering, hoping to maybe find other wolves. I came to a stop as I heard the slightest rustle of some shrubs. I started the scan the ground in the direction the sound had come from.
After a few seconds the bushes started to rustle again and I could see a deer with a large rack of antlers stepping out of the brush. I settled onto my haunches as I observed the buck. Having never hunted one before I couldn't help but get excited. My mouth started to water with anticipation as I waited for the right moment to strike.
As the buck started to graze I used all the strength in my legs to jump forward and managed to get my jaws around the deer's neck. As I clamped my jaws down the buck began to thrash its head back and forth; stumbling as it bucked. I managed to get my claws into its shoulders as I clung to it, knowing that if I let go I would lose my prey.
The buck started to slow down as blood continued to pool on the ground. It was breathing hard and as its eyes dulled it collapsed on the ground. I let go and watched as it took its last breaths. "I did it," I thought to myself, grinning at my successful hunt.
I breathed in, inhaling the scent of the buck, when I noticed something. I could smell something familiar. I started to snoff the ground, trying to figure out where it was coming from. After a couple minutes I had located the source of the scent. It was the base of the trunk of a tree not far from where I had killed the deer. As I continued to breath in the scent, trying to remember where I recognized it from, I noticed that it wasn't coming from just this tree.
I started to investigate and came to the conclusion that they formed a rough line. "What left these scent marks here?" I thought to myself, completely stumped. Then a thought occured to me, "Maybe this is something's territory. I should probably let this go." But being the impulsive six-month-old I am, I couldn't resist the temptation. As I started to venture across the line of marked trees, I started to catch more scents similar to the ones on the trees but fainter. I continued on for awhile when I started to hear the sound of someone talking in the distance. I dropped into a crouch and crept forward, as if I was stalking prey, to avoid detection. As I got closer the voices got clearer and clearer until I could understand what they were talking about.
"You are to listen to the yearlings. They are here to guide you on your first hunt. If you stray from the group you will instantly fail this assignment, UNDERSTOOD!" Boomed a deep male voice. "UNDERSTOOD," shouted what sounded like kids. As I crept closer trying to get a better look I realized why the scent was so familiar. It was because the scent was similar to my mother's scent.
Staring at the group of about twenty wolves, I couldn't help but get excited. Most of the pups seemed to be around the same age as me. There were about twenty wolves total: thirteen pups, nine yearlings, and one adult. I got ready to head over to the group when something startled me. The adult in the group stood listening to the wolf howling in the distance before turning back to the group of pups. "The hunt is postponed. Something took down a buck on the perimeter. We will have your first hunt when it is determined to be safe," he said turning in the opposite direction from where I was and walking away.
I could here the pups groan and whine as they started to head in the same direction as the adult. As I looked around at the group I made eye contact with one of them. It seemed to be built somewhat daintier and it was probably safe to assume that it was a girl. I stared back at her until she turned away, but as she did I realized that the scent on the trees was probably the perimeter and that the buck the adult had mentioned was probably the one I killed. My heartbeat sped up as I started to panic. I bolted towards the direction I had come from not knowing what would happen if they caught me. Muscles on fire, heart pounding, I ran as fast as I could.
As the perimeter came into sight I saw a group of five wolves inspecting the ground. I dashed to the side and ran out of their territory, just barely out of sight, but they heard me. I could hear them giving chase and I knew I couldn't outrun them. I panicked as I tried to think but nothing I thought of was going to work. Out of ideas, I made a decision. I charged straight at the tree that looked easiest to climb. As I got the the tree I jumped and on impact sunk my claws into the knarled bark. I dug my claws in and climbed to the lowest branch, which was about ten feet off the ground. I just barely got onto it when I saw the wolves come into view. I held my breath and closed my eyes as they came to a stop at the base of the tree. I could hear them rustling the grass with their muzzles but none of them were scaling the tree. I cracked one eye open as I looked down, trying to figure out what they were doing. They seemed to be sniffing the ground like they were trying to figure out which direction I had headed in. A rather large red-tinted-brown one lifted its head and looked around before saying to the rest of the group, "We lost it. We better head back and inform the elders about the intruder."
I watched them start to run back in the direction we had come from then I let out all the air I had forgot I was holding in. As I started to climb down from the tree, I asked myself, "Why couldn't they find me?"
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