~Night and Day~ Story by OwlLover and I

[iluvorpingtons]

(Perfect. I'll try to write Chapter 4 soon. Hopefully before dinner. [For me, at least. I think I'm in a different time zone than everyone else.])

 

[SilkiesForEver]

(Perfect. I'll try to write Chapter 4 soon. Hopefully before dinner. [For me, at least. I think I'm in a different time zone than everyone else.])

(What time is it there?)

 

[iluvorpingtons]

(What time is it there?)

(5:07 PM, I live near the west coast of the US.)

 

[SilkiesForEver]

(5:07 PM, I live near the west coast of the US.)

(It's right about that time here too.

)

 

[iluvorpingtons]

(Wow!)

Chapter 4

The next day, Nyx awoke to find Ash and Moss already playing outside. "Hey!" she started to say, but Moss wheeled around and shushed her.

"What's going on?" she whispered.

Ash glanced around. "Mom doesn't know we're out yet. We were just going to play around a bit before the sun rises." He pointed the tip of his tail towards the sky. Nyx realized it was still dark. She knew she--or a good pup--should run back inside the den and warn her mother so her brothers wouldn't get hurt. Another feeling overcame her before she could...excitement.

"I won't tell," she promised, "Just count me in!"

The three pups ran around behind their mother's den so they wouldn't be spotted by a packmate. Ash and Moss ran ahead of her to play tage. Nyx felt a little annoyed, but soon she was running after Moss as well. After a few minutes of playing, Nyx came up with another idea. "This is boring," she remarked, swishing her black tail. "Why don't we go into the forest and try hunting."

"You'd never catch anything." Moss flipped over, smiling. "Besides, Mom and Dad always said we had to stay away from it. There are bears and coyotes and foxes and eagles and--"

"Okay, Moss! Geez, it was just a suggestion." Ash snickered. "But I think Nyx is right. We should be exploring instead of just running around like tiny babies whose eyes haven't opened."

A twig snapped behind them. "Or pups that are your age."

Nyx, Moss, and Ash both turned around at the same time. Nyx's eyes were so wide she went a little cross-eyed for a second. Then she saw the speaker. To Nyx's relief, it was Lark. Storm wagged his tail as he trotted into sight behind his sister.

"What are YOU doing out here?" Ash inquired suspiciously.

Lark's eyes sparkled like pools of rippling light. "We're going to go hunting. You're too young for that, I guess."

"Um, you are too," Moss said with an edge to his voice. Nyx's ears quivered with worry. She didn't like where the conversation was going.

Storm's pelt bristled. "At least we're older than YOU. We're going to catch a nice big rabbit, and you won't get any of it." He tapped his sister with his tail as he left, telling her to come. Lark smirked and followed her brother, leaving the three younger pups with a feeling of uneasiness.

"Was it just me, or was that a challenge?" Ash whispered to his siblings.

Moss glared at him. "What if we get lost? Storm and Lark are a whole week older than us. They can handle it, but we..."

"Don't you dare say we can't too," Ash snarled. He looked into Nyx's eyes. "Nyx, we can hunt too, can't we?!"

Nyx straighten her spine. "What?! 'Course we can! Don't tell me you're too chicken, Moss."

Without another word, Moss turned away and started in the opposite direction. Nyx could see his hackles rising as he rushed towards their mother's den. "He's probably going to tell on us," Ash murmured, "Come on, let's go."

...

"We're lost."

Nyx closed her eyes, her head swimming with confusion. They'd been walking in the forest for almost an hour now. The sun was already rising, and Ash wasn't even certain they were on Emeraldpack land anymore. Nyx knew they would have smelled the border if they had crossed it, but she decided not to tell him that. He worked best under pressure.

"Howl, Nyx," Ash said again. "We have to howl. That's what I heard Thrush telling Storm and Lark to do if they got lost."

Nyx's eyes stared back at him with frustration. "I already told you, I can't."

Ash put his head down d kept walking. Nyx sauntered alongside him, uncertain they would ever see their pack or their parents again. She was already started to miss her mom, her packmates, and even her worry-wort brother, Moss. She wished they were just playing hunt the leaf instead.

Crunch!

Leaves...Nyx's ears shot up. It was definitely not her imagination that had made that sound. "Ash..." She and her brother pressed together for protection. "W-what was that?!"

Storm stepped out of the bracken. His eyes were even rounder than Ash's and Nyx's were. He let out a sigh of relief like a balloon deflating when he realized it was just the younger pups. "I'm...I'm...you're lost too, huh?"

Nyx nodded. She'd never liked Storm himself that much, but the scent of other Emeraldpack wolves calmed her down a good bit. Her nearly choked when another scent hit her. Strong. Hostile. Strange.

Stonepack.

 

[OwlLover]

Chapter 5


"I'm bored," Russet complained as she trotted into the den. Outside, Stratadon and Sol played tug of war with a twig. The pups were now a month old.

"Not my problem," Atra snapped, pointedly turning her back to Russet.

"Come play with us!" Senkah said.

"You're boring," Atra growled. "There's a million other things for you to do. Maybe do something useful, like hunt."

"Si'ralle says we're too young to hunt!" Senkah protested.

"Who cares what she says?" Atra rolled her eyes. "She's so overprotective, anyway."

"No, she's not! She wants to keep us safe!" Senkah retorted, remembering the earlier incident a week ago when she had been playing with Atra and her sister had drawn blood.

Atra snickered, "you just want her to hover over you and protect you like a little pup, huh? You couldn't catch a rabbit to save your life."

"Wanna bet on that?" Senkah shot back.

"I already did."

"Just watch, mousebrain!" Senkah snapped over her shoulder as she padded out. "I'll catch more rabbits now than you will in a lifetime."

"Oh really?"

Senkah rolled her eyes, racing into the forest. "Hey Senkah, wait up!" Senkah turned and saw Russet and Sol following her.

"We want to hunt too!" Russet exclaimed.

"Alright," Senkah said, pressing her nose to the ground again. Rabbit! Quietly, she followed the trail, crunching twigs and ferns. The scent grew stronger, and Senkah's tail swished back and forth in anticipation. Her first kill! Si'ralle will be so proud! And Atra won't know what to say! Her heart quickened as she saw the rabbit, stretched out comfortably in the velvety grass. Just a bit closer... She sprang. The rabbit was instantly alert, its ears shooting up in alarm. Senkah landed beside it, snapping her teeth wildly. It bolted away, and Senkah chased after it. "C'mere, you idiotic mousebrain!" It ran under a holly bush, and Senkah tried to follow, but the branches were too thick. "Crap!" She cursed. A bird who had been perching on the bush flew onto a nearby oak and let out an alarm call. "Idiot!" She yelled at the bird.

"Yelling at the bird's not going to do anything," Atra's voice said from behind. Senkah rolled her eyes. Can I do a single thing without her looking over my shoulder?

"Shut up, would you?" snapped Senkah. Atra snickered.

"No. Why should I?"

"Because a bad string of luck made you my sister. You're the most obnoxious sister I could have ever had!"

"I think you are the worst." Atra shot back.

"If you're so great, then why don't you go get that rabbit and that bird?" Senkah challenged.

"Sounds like a plan," Atra snickered. She slunk down and began trying to push her way through the holly bush. Through the branches, she could see the rabbit crouching down, watching the two wolves with bulging eyes. Senkah looked up, and saw the bird perching on a low branch. Senkah stifled a growl, it's like it knows we can't climb trees.

"I can't get it," Atra spluttered as she backed away from the holly bush. "It's a nice fat one, too. Nice going, Senkah!" Atra's voice was dripping with sarcasm. Senkah was about to shoot back a stinging retort, when she realized just how dark it had gotten. She hadn't even realized that they had been leaving when the sun was sinking below the mountains. They were supposed to be in their den going to sleep now. Si'ralle would be furious!

The two of them froze when they heard the bracken rustle and a twig snap. "What was that?"

 

[iluvorpingtons]

(Ha ha, they sound so competitive already XD. Do you want the two groups to meet?)

 

[OwlLover]

(Lol XD I kind of think of them as having a Kludd-Soren relationship. Sure)

 

[iluvorpingtons]

(K, do you want me to write for the Stonepack pups? I guess we could do it line-by-line in PM too, sort of like RPing.)

 

[OwlLover]

(Let's do that, then we can make sure everyone stays in character.)