Chapter Two

 Chapter Two

“Storm, Thunder? Will you accept the ways of hunting? When a clash settles, will you be there? Will you protect your pack at all costs, even with your life?”
“Yes!” They howled at the same time. It had been a few weeks of waiting but it didn’t matter anymore! Thunder was exceedingly happy and Storm couldn’t keep his paws still! In Mountain Pack, all the wolves got to have a speech before they had to keep guard of the pack for a night, it was Storm’s turn first. “Best wishes, Pack brother!” Thunder whispered as Storm padded past him. Storm nodded. Thunder could see how nervous Storm was, it was devastating seeing him like this! He sat on the rock between the alpha’s, squirming. “Begin” Alpha Cloud spoke sounding regal and wise. Storm nodded and stood up, “I have chosen the place of being a hunter and fighter as my pack needs me. I look up to my pack brother, who will always be there and mother and father too” Haze looked at their father, Midnight who looked back then at their son.
  “I will be there for my pack. I would not like my pack to be destroyed and I wouldn’t be a guard - well I’m a puny howler” he spoke putting his head down so his chin was touching his chest as he was embarrassed. He continued on strong though,  “But I am a wolf and I am a Mountain Pack member! I will be there for you!” at the end of his speech he leaped and did a quick somersault and landed quickly. Thunder gulped as Alpha Cloud called him out. He nodded then leaped up onto the rocks, I feel like the younger brother! He thought nervously. “Begin!” Alpha Cloud called out in his usually regal way. He nodded then padded closer to the edge of the rock, which curved up edgeless at the top. One paw lay at the top as it was so small. He began his speech, “The sun will rise and it will fall but it well never set on us, for many generations Mountain Pack has thrived with rich prey and tender care. But, when harm comes to that I want to be there, with my brother at my side, well my true pack brother! I don’t want a stop to the prophecies, the caribou trips and the stories of the seniors! Everyone here has rights, will we let Forest Pack or even hunters take them? No! I will fight, I will hunt untill I die!” After his speech he bowed his head and everyone cheered, “Thunder! Storm! Thunder and Storm! Thunder, Storm! Thunder! Storm! Hunt! Fight!” Storm leaped up beside his brother and they both had a great start to their first day as a trainee. Alpha Wind stopped it all as she padded forward and announced, “Alpha Cloud and I have decided that, the wolf who will mentor Thunder is… Alpha Cloud! I will mentor Storm!” She padded back and the cheering began again. No wolf had ever been mentored by an alpha before. Never. For Storm and Thunder it seems light will shine bright on their future!

  The next day began early for the boys. They were to be assessed on their hunting skills, then in the afternoon they would be practising. Storm seemed to be bursting with energy as the trainee’s and mentors walked silently through the snowy woods. Beyond the trees the light of dawn seemed to be rising, stars were far in the west so they could tell they were heading east, as their mother has always said, “Dawn is east, Dusk is west”. Storm looked right up, in the centre they could see ‘The Rydhen Star’ which was there day and night. Wolves who did not believe in Rydhen called it ‘The North Star’ but Storm couldn’t see how no wolf couldn’t believe how the first wolf was a small black runt wolf named Rydhen. He had never really thought about. Around the star was a weird blue - purple colour, where dawn meets dusk.
  “Almost there!” Alpha Wind called back, twisting her neck.

  Thunder was racing to go when they arrived. It was a small clearing with roots and lots of deer track. Alpha Cloud called, “Thunder, Storm Alpha Wind and I will watch you and see what you do and I will take notes in my mind of what you need to improve on, ok?” Thunder nodded. He lay in a silent crouch waiting for a movement. Suddenly he saw a movement out the corner of his eye, a deer! He silently padded over keeping low. He was right behind it now! How could he not be seen, the deer turned around and it’s eyes widened with shock as it stared straight at it’s predator. The deer was frozen it couldn’t move, Thunder leaped at it and pinned it to the ground. Out of the bushes Storm clawed it’s neck and flank and finished it of. Alpha Cloud and Alpha Wind could not believe their eyes, two trainees, two brand new trainees took down a gazelle on their first hunting trial. Thunder glanced at his paws and then at Storm’s paws. Their was a red colour on them and a strange scent wafting from them, it reminded him of when he was born, but who was it? He recognized it at once. Blood. He glanced through his memories, there he was, yelping by his mother, then a bundle comes down next to him and something else, what was that? Another wolf? Could they have a sibling? No! It was impossible, Thunder thought, not entirely convincing himself. Alpha Cloud broke the long silence, “Boys! You are coming to the Rydhen Valley tomorrow! A hunt, on your first shot, eh? Well done! Not even I took down something on my assessment! Oh!- and Storm well done! Hunting is teamwork, you helped him!”. Thunder could see Storm taking in all the pride.

They were back at the training hollow now, showing the alpha’s their fighting moves. Thunder bounded up to Storm and clawed in against the flank, with his claws blunt so it wouldn’t hurt. Storm growled, pushed his body back then leaped, he landed right on top of his brother then pinned him down, doing a rubbish impression of an angry wolf. They both laughed. Alpha Cloud smiled while Alpha Wind nodded,  the boys would make fantastic fighters.

  “The time of the daily howl is here! Please meet on The Howl Rocks for the howl!” The alpha’s called out, their voices echoing of the walls of the ravine close by. “Ready?” they asked each other, they both nodded. They threw their heads back into an inviting howl, soon followed by the beta, then the healers then soon joined by the rest of the pack. It was a friendly howl tonight. Storm threw his head back and let out a whiny howl, he felt embarrassed but he had pack spirit - lots of pack spirit. Once it had finished, a downpour was wetting the snow. A loud gang and a flash happened across the sky. Lightning. The young trainees watched with awe, that’s what their mother meant, it really does grow back quick. The next flash was blue and just missed ‘The Rydhen Star’. Storm sighed with relief, what would happen? Suddenly a fierce electric flash burned the ground between them. They stared at each other, “Run!” Storm howled.

  Thunder ran, ran as fast as he could. He was out of camp now and his fur was soaked through. He stopped at the woods, “Pack brother, where are you!” he howled as loud as he could. No answer. He started to panic. BOOM! Another out burst of thunder happened. Thunder widened his eyes. Run. He dashed out of the woods and down the slope, a flash of lightning hit a tree. He turned back, “NO!” he yowled. Suddenly an avalanche swept the land, he was drowning in snow! He tumbled in the snow storm, lifted his head to get some air. It had stopped, at last. He lifted his head above the snow, where was he? No trees, no nothing, just snow and some brown terrain. He walked onto it, “Oh it’s mud!” Rydhen must of travelled on it. He faced the mountain and his mouth hung open.  He stepped back to take it all in, the mountain was huge. He whipped around and faced the forest. “Storm! Pack brother! Where are you!” he howled as loud as possible. He waited for a reply. Nothing. He turned towards the forest, “I won’t give up! Never!” He told himself over and over again.

  Storm woke up, he was at the foot of the mountain, lost and trapped under lots of snow. He heard a howl before he fell, but he couldn’t reply. He rummaged around in the snow and lifted his head up through the top. Once he was on flat surface, he looked at his paw. It was cut, bad, there was a gash right down his left forepaw. What now? He thought. Suddenly a light bulb clicked in his head, he’d find his brother. He looked up from his paw, woods, but there was no snow. Mud! He and Thunder had been taught about mud. Thunder! Was he alive? His vision blurred and tears filled his eyes, what would he do?

  Storm stood on top of boulder the next morning, he hadn’t ventured far but he had slept that night. He howled, “Brother! Pack brother! Where are you!” he howled. He wasn’t expecting an answer though. As he ventured deeper into the woods he heard a rustling in the bushes, another wolf! He felt as if he would faint, he was so happy! “Hello?” he called. Then a grey and white she-wolf whipped around, her eyes were like emeralds sparkling in the moonlight, she was about the same age as him, maybe a little bit older.
“Hello!” she replied, “Who are you?”
“I’m Storm, I got lost in the storm last night, who are you?”
“Oh, I’m fine, my name is Rainbow, I was born then captured and took away from my family. When I was born I had two brothers, one of them looked a bit like you! I was born on a mountain far from here!” she replied acting strange. Storm looked curiously, he recognized her. He just didn’t know who she was. As they padded through the night, Storm forgot about his paw, he told her all about his brother and how he was trying to find him. She stopped, “I’ll help you, I’ll help you find your pack brother!”

Chapter One

Chapter One


          “What? How can the sky get set on fire! Won’t it burn? Oh! What about the stars?” one small and very curious wolf cub was laying next to his slightly older brother and their mother in the dull light of the nursery den. He looked up at his mother, curiously. The mother, a fluffy white she - wolf replied, “Oh Storm! You really do ask too many questions! The sky gets burned a little, then it, and the stars grow back. It’s called, lightning!” her voice was gentle and had a slight hint of teasing to it. Storm looked up at his older brother, Thunder, and looked into his eyes, they were the colour of the deep sea which he had seen when the cubs got sent to high ground during the storm, Mountain Pack has many wonders to it, he thought. He looked back at Thunder, he also has a slightly fluffy grey pelt and his chest was completely covered in white fur. Neither a strand of his fur was out of place. Storm turned back to his mother, “Do I look like him?” he asked full of green envy. His mother smiled, “Look for your self!” she took him to a small puddle at the back end of the den and told him to look in. He peered into the puddle and saw himself. What he saw was a small grey fluffy bundle with tiny white paws and his chest was more fluffed up than his pelt itself(which was nearly impossible!). His eyes were as blue as the sky on the clearest of days. His tail was long and extremely fluffy. He smiled, he liked himself just the way he was. Out of the corner of his eye saw a movement at the back of the puddle, his mother. She was tall and very white, her eyes were hazel coloured. Storm had a strong feeling of happiness then.
  
  The next morning Thunder padded outside of the gloomy nursery then stretched and yawned. “Boring!” he mumbled to himself, no interesting wolf is up and awake! He thought. He caught a movement, maybe not, he carried on. Leaf. Leaf was a beautiful dusty white she wolf with speckles of grey on her, her eyes were mysterious too as they were misty grey. Leaf was also his best friend, she was a moon older though. He padded over grinning, “What have you got up to this time?” he murmured. Leaf had heard him, “Just wai-” she was cut off by a howl in pain. It was Thistle. Thistle was a big black wolf, his amber eyes glowed like hot sparks flying out from a newly burnt fire, he was mean. For sure. He looked at her with his mouth open, “Out of all the seniors - out of everyone you picked Thistle!”. She nodded and then they both giggled untill their stomachs hurt.
   Sunset. The most beautiful time of the day, all the time it is stunning a full of - and of course magical. “All wolves, please gather on the Howl Rocks, the time for the daily howl is here!” The alphas’ announced from the alpha rock, the huge granite rock in the centre of the Howl Rocks. Guards stayed on their duty points, always close to the rocks, looking proudly at their pack, tails wag, all the excitement begins. Healers wait by their hollow, the beta stands in front of the alpha male and female. Cubs stay by their mothers, hunters and fighters with their friends, all the family together made it look so amazing! Alpha Cloud was the alpha male, he was tall and completely grey, his shoulders far apart, his ears pricked up like a fox’s and his only white fur was on his muzzle. His sky blue eyes shone with delight. Meanwhile Alpha Wind, the alpha female, was smaller and completely white and her emerald eyes sparkled, too with delight. Wolves all shapes and sizes would know these wolves, of both packs, Forest Pack and Mountain Pack. “Lets begin!” Alpha Cloud barked, with a cheerful hint. In the distance they could hear that Forest Pack had already started. Alpha Cloud threw back his head and let out a cheering howl, soon followed by Alpha Wind, then the beta and guards joined in, soon the whole pack was howling with delight. Storm and Thunder howled together side by side, like true pack brothers would.
  Thunder and Storm both woke up early the next morning, they were going to catch Leaf before her training, they were gonna play ‘moss ball’. They bounded outside of the nursery cave. The nursery cave, was a natural cave, a puddle eternally there as water always leaked there, the entrance was hidden by a bush, which was very handy in case of predators. They glanced around to the trainee’s den, which was a huge mound of snow, dug out by Mountain Pack’s very own fighters and guards, in was snug inside as leaves and moss were constantly brought in. The two cubs longed to be with Leaf In the den, she was accompanied by her brother, Rock a small grey wolf who was wanting to be a guard, his eyes were misty black. They then glanced at the biggest den of all, the adults den, this was very big! It was a very tall oak tree, with holes in it, they all sheltered inside, even the beta and could fit! It was truly amazing. They then looked at the healers den, a disguised hole with chambers underneath, they knew it couldn’t collapse it was held up by logs underground. They looked lovingly at the alpha’s den, it was just a bit smaller than the adults, it had many holes in it and looked ever so cosy! The den was hidden by a huge holly bush. A cold wind brought Storm and Thunder back to the real world. Storm saw threatening black clouds up above them. Then it started to rain, “No moss ball now then!” Storm shouted as the rain was making so much noise, they went back inside a tried themselves with some leaves.
   
  As the milky dawn light slowly evolved into normal morning light, the cubs grew restless by the minute, the rain had stopped and they were talking by the howl rocks, not on them though! No wolf was allowed to untill the time. It was as if something was going to happen, not today, not tomorrow but very, very soon. Suddenly a tall black wolf came through, his blue eyes shining. Midnight. The cubs father. Storm lightened his thoughts, “Father!” then he bounded towards him. Thunder soon came padding over, just going with the flow, he didn’t really know what he was doing untill Storm nudged him, “Snap out of it!” he whispered. Thunder shook his head and nodded. Midnight turned to them, “Hello, have you seen Haze…err your mother?”  It was Thunder who replied, yeah she’s sleeping. He pointed his tail towards the dull nursery cave, then a snow heap fell from it, Thunder laughed as it happened at the right moment. He padded away, Don’t wake her! he thought, but all he did was turn right towards a caribou muscle on the Prey Pile. Storm padded over to his brother, “Thunder you coming, I’m gonna get the seniors to tell me a story!” Thunder was sinking his teeth into a deer leg, “Jast a minat let me finash thi” he spoke sounding funny as his mouth was full of food, “Swallow before you speak!” Storm barked at him, pretending to be their mother.
   As the cubs waited in the seniors den, waiting for one of them to wake. They waited for seconds which turned into minutes which nearly turned into a hour. Storm got bored. He pounced on an ‘abandoned’ nest, a yowl came, “No!” Thunder screamed dashing out the den, Storm gulped then followed. He had woken up Thistle. He bounded out the den, bumping into wolves, he nearly stood on Alpha Wind’s tail! He found his brother resting at the nursery wall, “You could have told me!” Thunder just grunted, “Pay back!”. Storm grinned, “Thistle ‘saw’ you laughing at him”, Thunder squirmed, “You told him!”
  “There are caribou? Please! Please can we go? Alpha Cloud told us, that we could!” Thunder asked, nudging Storm. Haze replied, “Ok. If you bring me back a leg!”
“She-wolves!” Thunder mumbled to Storm, who just grunted, “WAKE UP!” Thunder shrieked, Haze thumped his ear softly. “We are going hunting!” he whispered. “Now? Let’s go!” Storm shot up and bounded out the den. The two brothers bounded around the field which was where the caribou were. Two cubs can take down an adult! Thunder thought, there. Thunder nudged his little brother and they dashed of to try and hunt him, One slaw of the face and it yowled. Storm pulled his tail and he fell to the ground, Alpha Cloud came over and finished it of with a rake to the throat, “Well done boys!”
     “Storm! Thunder! Come to the alpha’s den!” Alpha Wind called out from the entrance. They froze. Were they in trouble? Storm widened his eyes. They were having a great game of ‘Moss Ball’ and with leaf! They padded inside. Alpha Wind smiled at them, “You’re not in trouble, but we were just wondering-” she pointed her head Alpha Cloud who was snoozing, “What job you want to take?”. The boys smiled. “Hunter!” they howled at the same time, nudging each other and barking in excitement, “Ok! Your ceremony will be soon! Make your last cub days good!” They nodded, and she smiled. “Pack brother?” Storm asked Thunder.
  “Yes?”
  “You will always be my pack brother! We will hunt and oh it will be so much fun!”
  As Thunder curled up to sleep, he realized this his younger brother really looked up to him. Thunder whispered, “He called me pack brother!”