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I soon awoke as some thumping came from outside of the den - I must have overslept, badly.
I quickly came out behind the shadow - of which being Trivolep, of course. I could smell his untidy coat, but I had to go back into the den in fear that he could smell me too.

I sat and waited for minutes, soon getting impatient and ran out of the den, swiftly turning in the direction of the meeting spot.

My tongue was hanging out of my mouth in anticipation, feeling the prickly harsh wind slap my eyes, awaking me as I glided across the snow, turning towards a large rock, at which I jump on and stared at the moon - it really was guiding me.

I let out a long howl, deep from inside me, as if it was part of me. Part of my ancestry, something more than me that went back generations. The same noise that the first Spirits echoed, the same that my mother, and her mother, and my mother's-mother's-mother cried.

I reminded me of her, and my howl turned into a wail.

My throat twisted and I swallowed a sob, sniffling.

I got off of the rock and slowly walked over to our place. By the time I got there, the moon was just barely hanging above the horizon line, yet still no sun in sight.

I imagined that the Spirits were gifting me more time, and I gave them a silent thanks.

Though, unlike other times, I didn't have to wait long as mere minutes later Mahogany's head stuck out from some undergrowth.
I shrieked with happiness and ran up to the rocks, jumping on two until I was in the middle of the river.
He smiled happily and went over to me as well.

I didn't care if anyone found us; if anyone smelled us or heard us.

Right now, it didn't matter.

He held out his paw, as he did many times in the past
"Please, Hikoshi?"

For the first time, I took it.

"Not yet... I'm not ready."

"That's fine."

They just stared at each other for a while before drawing closer, slowly rubbing and licking each other as signs of gentle love. He then took another step back and gazed at her.

"I don't have anything going on today..."
I nodded too and pulled him close to me, laughing as he splashed me with water, chasing him through the water.

We danced and played and cuddled all throughout the day, the spirits gazing at us with interest as two lovers acted as pups.
I knew that Trivolep and Caribou would be furious about me leaving, but I didn't care. I only cared about Mahogany at the moment, and I realized this as I was licking his tail in the new sunlight.
My thoughts wandered throughout everything.

As soon as it all started, it was done.

I stood up and left, licking him once more before going into the more deeper waters, getting rid of all the grit on my pelt but, most importantly, his scent.
He sighed and got out of the water, shaking off water droplets.

"Did I... do something wrong? I thought you wanted.... Us."
I closed my eyes and dunked under the water, eventually looking back at him, my long fur drooping down.

"No. No, you didn't do anything. I wasn't ready, I'm sorry."

He glanced around, unsure.
"I'm sure it will be fine - nothing will happen, yeah?"
I looked away, skeptical.

"Yeah...."

I then got out of the river and left the clearing, glancing once more at his face before leaving.

—- after the walk —-

I soon arrived to Trivolep glaring at me.

"You didn't heed my advise, Hikoshi. Get in the den, now.... Something smells off about you - your scent, it's.. it's wet, and you hate water. Hikoshi, where were you?"

I growled at him.
"It's none of your business, but I was at the border, cleaning up and checking for irregular activity, taking a walk. I was otherwise far away from the border."

He hissed and pointed to the den. I grinned.

"Actually, I talked Caribou into giving me one free day out of the week until I have pups."

Oops.
I shouldn't have said that, as he looked at me.

"Yeah, until you have pups...."

I paled but nodded.

He grinned but walked out of my way.
I quickly walked around the camp, desperately hoping for that one familiar face...

"HIKOSHI!"

Wyethrin came barreling at me, rolling us both around until she was on top, licking my face happily.
"Wyethrin... it's been a week, I'm not dead or something, get off."

She smiled at me playfully and continued to sit on me.
I laughed and shoved her off of me, jumping at her instead, sending us rolling down a slope on the side of camp.

"But... it's good to see you too."

She eventually stopped us and pinned me again, this time giving me a hug.
"It was... very boring without you. I had nothing to do! But don't worry, we're planning an attack on The Onyx tomorrow! Finally, a real adventure, I'll be so heroic afterwards, you won't even KNOW."

I gave her a sad smile.
She was too innocent for battle, as it was nothing pretty.

"You... do know that it won't be like that, right? Death isn't... heroic."

She giggled.
"The death of our enemies is always heroic! Just you wait, once I come back I can tell you of the adventure."

I sighed into the hug, going into it a bit.
"I missed you too."

She licked me again and got off of me, sitting on a rock at my right side, yawning.
"Let's go to bed, I'm tired."

I sighed again and went up to her, leaping lightly onto the rock and laying next to her. She put her body almost around mine, in a way, as we bathed in the new sunlight, keeping each other warm from the bitter weather as usual. Her nose was buried in my neck and her front paw dangled on my back as I closed my eyes to the memory of our younger selves.

I opened my eyes lazily to see Wyeth sitting in front of me.

"Oh, finally, your awake! Come, come."

She leaped out of the den - our parents den, where my other litter mates were also staying.
I groaned and lazily dragged myself up, muttering as I crawled out of the den, eventually letting out a big, exaggerated yawn.
The first rays of light blinded my eyes, me eventually tearing them apart and blinking rapidly as I processed the scene in front of me.
Wyeth was on the edge of the clearing as wolves walked around in the background, doing everyday chores like hunting parties and fixing den issues or training.

I focused my attention to Wyeth as I saw her laying.... Next to a flower.

I walked up to her, no longer tired as my childish brain flooded with curiosity.

"What's that?"

Some... some new aura was coming from it as I went over to Wyeth, sitting next to her.

"It's a Freesia, silly! A blessing of the Spirits, and we mustn't crush or harm it in any way, or the Spirits would be mad. It says that if we crush it, Karma, the first Freesia, would hunt us down and declare vengeance. We even made a word off of her. She was amazing..."

I nodded along and gazed at the Freesia wonderingly.
A name echoed through my skull, straight up to my brain like a flaming rocket.

"Adrenali."

I burst out calmly.

"It's... it's from Adrenali."

Wyeth giggled and waved to the flower.
"Hi, Adrenali! Best wishes to you!"

She then sprang up to her feet, looking into my eyes and pawing me, racing away.

"Your it! I'm the bunny!"

I laughed and ran after her, closing my eyes as the breeze ruffled my pelt.

I sighed at the precious memory, knowing that moments like those would never be able to form again.

I guess... when I was young, I had dreamed of becoming older.
But now that I'm older, I had wished that I took those moments more for granted.

Many wolves get so caught up in the past that they miss the present.