"So, Drizzle, how was hunting with Spruce yesterday?" Her voice rose in a teasing tone.

I snorted, drawing my gaze from the trees to face her. "Not great," I said flatly, "but I think it went better than we all expected."

Her brows furrowed. "Spill it. Now."

With an eye roll, I explained the former day's events, all the while keeping pace with her and trying not to trip because my attention was on talking instead of walking.

Pine spit a little. "Well good for you," she said. "I know I can't stand hunting with him, so congrats on finding a way to put up with his mouth."

"It wasn't that great," I added. "Spruce is still as soft and cuddly as a porcupine."

The pup faltered in her step, sputtering through her lips. "And when did you expect otherwise?"

I shrugged, trotting a few steps to catch up. She was the one that told me I'd get through his thick hide someday.

Pine turned her head both ways as we continued down the trail through the trees. I followed suit, scanning the space between them for anything out of the ordinary. We added our scent to a few places on our territory's boundary where it had washed away, occasionally coming across a tree downed by last night's storm. Otherwise, our patrol was just as mundane as usual.

"So, why did you want to go on patrol with me?" Pine asked, gesturing to herself with a flick of her nose. Her question was serious this time––telling by her deeper, genuine voice, and the fact she didn't giggle at the end of it. "We never do this."

I slowed down. "What are you talking about?"

Her vivid green eyes sparkled with curiosity, and her muzzle scrunched. "With me. Over Cloud." She placed some extra emphasis on the second phrase.

What was that supposed to mean?

A sharp gaze cut over to me. She clicked her tongue at my hesitation. "You seem to be avoiding her."

My only response was another confused huff. How did she––I wasn't avoiding Cloud. And I wasn't sure how Pine had picked up on it either... but maybe she had a point. I hadn't spoked to Cloud since yesterday. The night had passed without a word exchanged, but at least the pounding rain and the crash of thunder had helped to drown out the awkward silence. It was the only reason I'd managed to sleep a wink either, my mind occupied by the noise instead of left unsupervised to roam the depths of my mind. It was constantly searching for more shadow creatures to scare me with.

It wasn't that I was mad... only, irritated. I didn't want anyone to feel like they had to watch over me like a pup. If that meant keeping my distance for a while, so be it. Her words back at the cave were true, anyway.

The only thing I was good at was getting myself hurt.

Even though the ache had faded, I remembered the crushing pain from yesterday. The image of the dark wolf flashed in my mind. He bore his teeth into my flesh. I shuddered.

"You two have gotten close, huh?" Pine's voice snapped my mind back, and I realized she had passed me by several long strides. I caught up to her, and she nudged my shoulder, urging me to answer with widened eyes.

"What are you talking about?"

She abruptly cleared her throat. "You can't just say that for everything, Drizzle." There was a laugh on the tip of her tongue, and her lips curled into a smug grin. "It's obvious. How do you not see it?"

I caught myself before I asked the same question for a third time. Were we close? Maybe. The sight of her eyes always sparkled somewhere in the back of my mind. Her laugh always warmed my heart. Even her snoring, it tickled my muzzle with a tiny frown.

But not since yesterday. It was obvious that the only feelings Cloud held for me were negative. She'd said it herself, she didn't like me. Not as a friend, not as a wolf. I didn't feel anything either. She was just a packmate, if I could even call her that––one that only put up with me out of obligation.

"No," I said sternly. "Can we just drop it?"

"Oh." Pine's tail sank as she realized I meant it, and she swallowed her words. "Sure, yeah."

I slowly breathed through my teeth, wishing I'd handled that better. I hated to be like Spruce, harsh without reason. Or even Cloud, so cryptic with her emotions that it made me question every step I took around her.

"I'm sorry," I muttered. "I didn't mean anything by it."

Pine nodded. "It's okay. I really shouldn't pry so much."

I licked her muzzle. That's what I liked about her, that she wanted to know everything. Not just because she was nosy, but because she cared.

"If you want, though, I'll tell you just how much Spruce was concerned for me." I feigned a gasp, and the pup's face brightened a little. We both laughed.

~★~

Soon, we reached the end of the trail at the creek. Having been promoted to full patrol routes, I'd helped Pine cover the whole of the riverside, and now we found the other party of two waiting for us in the sunlit grass. They'd done their own patrol, cutting through the meadow and covering most of the hunting territory.

Pine and I waded through the creek, much higher after the rain. I shivered as the chilly water met my belly, and it sapped any warmth beneath my pelt. On the other side, I shook out my fur, soaking the pup beside me in a downpour. Pine yelped and tried to escape, but then she remembered that she could do the same. I ducked away with a laugh, and water rained down around me.

Cloud walked over to us. My laughter caught in my throat.

"Hey guys, how was your patrol?" Her voice reflected a mood much more bubbly than my own.

I nodded, finding it useless to speak a single word when a head bob meant the same thing. Besides, Pine said more than enough for the both of us, regaling them with the boring tale of our morning.

The three jogged ahead as we started back toward the cave. I followed behind with a limp, tuning my ears out of their conversation.

My eyes traced the pale fungus that hung from trees in flat or wavy shapes. More rounded mushroom caps emerged from the ground on soft and squishy stalks. Insects crawled both beneath and above the forest floor, always there, skittering their lives away while the animals on top of them trampled the ground, oblivious to their existence. Seen even through the canopy of needles, clouds slowly drifted by in the sky, covering the blue with a relentless, wispy veil.

"Hey, are you okay?" With a start, I turned my attention to her. Cloud was walking beside me now, a concerned squint in her silver eyes. "You seem a little... off."

"U–um, yeah," I stuttered back. "I mean, no. I'm perfectly fine." Blood rushed to my cheeks, and my heart took off in a trot. But the numb, cold feeling quickly dissipated, replaced by burning coals. I didn't want to talk about it, either way. I didn't want her to feel like she had to talk to me. Without another word, I sped up to walk in line with the two pups.

I couldn't resist the urge to look back, finding Cloud confused and thrown off. Maybe a little hurt. It served her right, really, but still I cursed to myself for playing that so un-cool.

Before I could spiral back into my thoughts, a noise caught me unawares. I stopped in my tracks, and so did everyone else when my nose shot toward the trees. My ears stood erect, facing the direction of the shrill and horrible sound.

"What is it?"

I shushed the voice. It took me a second to figure it out myself.

It was a sound I recognized with a sinking feeling of dread. Pups.

And they were in danger.

"Drizzle?"

I couldn't hear her. All I could see was fear. It suffocated me. The sight of fangs. The sound of claws. The stench of blood. Three sets of paws scrabbled at my side as we huddled in terror.

"We have to help!" A white blur stepped in front of me. She met my eyes, pulling me back into the present with a short bark.

"But that's outside of our territory," Spruce reminded her, an unfamiliar tinge of apprehension in his tone.

Cloud didn't bat an eye. "Pine, run and get Mist, now!" She gestured strongly with her nose in the direction of the cave. "Both of you, come on!"

She took off in the direction of the yowls, Spruce right at her hind paws.

Did I follow? If it was something dangerous, could I really do anything to help? I'd just get myself hurt again. Maybe this time, I wouldn't be so lucky to make it out alive.

But every time I blinked, I saw them: my siblings. I heard them. Wade's scream of terror.

I couldn't let that happen to another pup. I had to try.

I ran after them. I had no hope of keeping up, but my frantic, stumbling steps chased their fleeting forms. They leaped over logs and through underbrush like it was nothing. I closed my eyes and ducked my head, forcing my way through the sharp and stinging branches.

"Drizzle!"

The brambles tugged at my fur as I broke through to the other side. I whipped around to face the strange voice. It was small, weak, and shrill. Desperate. It clung to the hope that I could save it.

The thick underbrush I ran through towered behind me, and my small paws were stinging and weary from passing through. But she was still on the other side.

The echoes rang in my ears. Her familiar tone, it was alone and full of fear.

Crawling back through the thick vines, I wanted to call her name, but I couldn't. I had to stay silent. I peered out from beneath the cover of the thistles, scouring the forest for any sign of her small, gray form. Even more so, for the flash of tan I feared had gotten to her first.

I strained my ears. Every wisp of wind, each falling leaf, they filled the silence. I tipped my tiny nose to the sky, even though I knew my unpracticed sense of smell wouldn't be able to find anything among so many scents.

There was no sign of her anywhere.

I imagined my little sister's body with the same fate as Wade. Her flesh was torn, her fur ripped from the sickening, scarlet meat beneath it. The monster would crush her bones. It would swallow her in a couple bloody bites.

Why couldn't it have been me?

I didn't care about hiding. If my sister was still out there, I had to find her. And if the cougar killed me too, at least I'd die like the rest of my family. "Ripple!"

Silence met my ears in response. I crawled out from the cover of the underbrush, and called her name again. I screamed it to the sky while I spun in circles, desperate to see any sign of where she may have gone... or been taken.

There was a snap behind me. Rustling leaves. My heart sank as I turned to face the tawny beast. Blood dripped from his pale chin.

A howl rang out. I whirled around on my feet again, the forest changing right before my eyes. My head fell to my chest in a dizzy haze. I shut my eyes and shook the fear from my mind––and the stinging tears that clouded my vision. I remembered what I was looking for. Not my sister, but the pups.

I'd been left behind. Cloud and Spruce nowhere to be found. I strained my ears to find the fearful sounds once more, and I locked my feet in that direction.

I ran as hard as I could. My paws pounded into the ground with a rhythmic pound against the pine straw. My heart burned with a starved fire that wrapped its flames around my throat. I couldn't breathe, but I couldn't stop.

Nobody else would die.