A gentle breeze ruffled the brown and black fur along Silent Whisper's shoulders, bringing scents from the hills beyond the dens. Far off, she smelled elk—earthy and sweet. She couldn't quite tell how far they were yet, but the mere thought of hunting made her mouth water. Every fiber of her being longed to hunt... to be the faction's best hunter, to feed the alphas atop the mountains.

That was a long way away for the little pup. The dawn of her next moon cycle, though... she'd be up and hunting before the sun finished rising. She only wished No Eyes would join her.

Fear pricked her pelt. She didn't want to hunt without her brother by her side. Yet... he couldn't see. Still, Silent Whisper stayed determined to find a way they could hunt and provide for their pack together.

"Are you going to eat?" No Eyes asked around a mouthful of meat. A newborn moose calf sprawled at their paws. Their mother had surprised them with the meal early that morning before leaving to hunt again.

No Eyes' tail flicked, the skin over his eye sockets wrinkling. "Before you-know-who takes off with our breakfast again?"

Hunting Prey. Silent Whisper's lips pulled back in a snarl at the mention of him. Only one moon cycle older, the male made her hackles raise. Arrogant, rude... sometimes she wished she could teach him a lesson or two. Someone ought to, as his parents certainly didn't bother.

"I just wanted to make sure you got your fill," she said before leaning down to tear a chunk from the calf. "You're awfully small. I'm worried you don't eat enough!" she teased. In truth, both pups were small bodied for their age.

No Eyes let out a playful bark in response, snapping his jaws at Silent Whisper. "You're no bigger than me," he retorted.

She scoffed, reaching out to shove his shoulder with her paw. "As if! I'm almost as big as the mountains themselves!"

"Right," he woofed, laughter in his voice. "A wolf pup as large as a mountain. I'll believe it when I see it," he said with a smug grin.

Silent Whisper rolled her eyes before diving back into their meal. A few yards away, the ivy covering the broken stump den quivered.

Hunting Prey padded out, stretching his lanky body with a yawn. His cold yellow eyes narrowed, locking onto the pair of siblings hunched over the half-eaten calf. The brown fur along his back raised, his tail shooting up into the air.

He bounded over, his lips pulled back over his teeth. "I think that belongs to me," he snapped, grabbing a hold of a hoof.

No Eyes' ears flattened to his head as he took careful paw steps back. His paws shifted rocks under paw and they clattered loudly in the clearing.

Silent Whisper's ears shot forward, a growl rumbling deep in her chest. "Back off, Hunting Prey!" She jumped to her paws, claws digging into the warm, soft dirt.

The male's eyes widened in surprise for a second.

"Little Shadow brought this back for us," she said, placing a paw firmly on the calf. "Quick Foot and Fast Stride will bring you back your own piece if you're too lazy to hunt for yourself." Hunting Prey was three moon cycles old—old enough to hunt voles and other small prey. He knew well enough how, he just didn't seem to care.

No Eyes side stepped towards his sister, his muzzle pressing into her side. "We should just let him have it," he whispered, tail tucked between his legs. "We've eaten enough."

With a smirk, Hunting Prey sneered, "Listen to your brother, half-breed."

Silent Whisper's muscles tensed beneath her brown and black fur. In a swift motion, she leapt at Hunting Prey. He fell back to the ground with a yelp as she crashed into him. Her paws battered his face unskillfully, growls flying through the clearing.

Hunting Prey was larger, though, and rolled the pair over in a heartbeat. His enormous paws pinned her by the shoulders and he snarled in her face.

"When I tell my mother about this—"

"Enough!" a cold, firm voice called from the entrance to the clearing.

Hunting Prey snapped towards Silent Whisper's face one last time before jumping off her with a huff. He sat down as she pulled herself up off the ground. Giving her pelt a shake, she turned to see Quick Foot, Fast Stride, and Little Shadow padding into the clearing. The scent of blood was fresh on their maws.

Quick Foot's hard amber gaze landed on Hunting Prey before sliding to Silent Whisper. Her lips wrinkled, a growl rumbling in her throat. "What is the meaning of this? All three of you—I expect better behavior."

Silent Whisper's pelt flashed hot with embarrassment, her ears flattened against her head. She averted her gaze from the older she-wolf. No Eyes had moved to sit next to her, nosing her pelt.

"Hunting Prey was mocking us," she said quietly, scuffing the ground with her paws. Quick Foot and Fast Stride's eyes bored into her. "He wouldn't stop, and I lost my temper."

Hunting Prey stood up, chest puffed. "She's lying! They wouldn't share their food, and they started calling me names."

Silent Whisper's head whipped to glare at Hunting Prey, her paws itching to batter him again. As if they'd stoop so low to bully him!

"Silent Whisper, No Eyes," their mother, Little Shadow, said in a calm, soft voice as she approached. Her warm, sweet scent calmed Silent Whisper, cooling the fire in her blood. "You two are old enough now to solve your problems without resorting to fighting." She turned to the other whelping mother, a small tail wag exchanged between the two. "Your son isn't completely innocent either, my friend."

Quick Foot glared at Little Shadow, a darkness in her eyes. The fur on her shoulders relaxed as she turned to her mate and son. "It's not important who started it. What matters is that all of you learn to behave yourselves better. We're a pack—we must work together if we want to survive."

Fast Stride nodded, eyes focused on Hunting Prey. "You're nearly of age to join us on hunts and go to the mountain every season. Don't ruin your chances of attending the next equinox by acting like a pup."

Hunting Prey leered at the siblings before nuzzling against his parents. They turned toward the camp entrance, where the smell of elk wafted from just out of sight.

Little Shadow licked between Silent Whisper's ears before nuzzling into No Eyes. "Finish your meal," she said. "I must go see Tide to discuss travel plans."

Travel plans. The Summer Solstice Howl was only a few days away. Most of the pack would leave tomorrow night, arrive the next evening, and leave the night after. Every Howl event was exciting—she assumed, though she'd never been.

Each of the pack's factions, led by their Lord and Lady, gathered at the peak of the mountain to share food, news, and mingle. It was the one night every season where the pack wasn't divided into factions anymore.

All Silent Whisper wanted was to make the journey and howl from the top of the mountain with everyone else.

One day, she thought, digging into the moose calf again. I'll howl the loudest. The best hunter, the loudest howler... nothing will stop me!

Determination flooded her from nose to tail tip. If she excelled in hunting, perhaps... perhaps No Eyes would have a chance. His only hope was to be placed as a grunt in the faction. If the Seers from the Endless Forest claimed him... he wouldn't be her brother anymore.

Her gaze flickered to him, who laid next to her, gnawing on the hoof of the calf.

Movement across the clearing caught her eye. Gulping over her bite of food, Silent Whisper stood up and sniffed the air. The grunt's den, farthest from everyone else's, sat at the other end of the clearing. A rock shelter, with hardly any coverage from the elements. Laying at the very top was Little Runt, his yellow eyes watching her and No Eyes.

The fur on her hackles prickled, and Silent Whisper padded toward the grunt.

"You let yourself get tackled," he said with a wag of his tail. "If you were just a little bigger, you'd have had him."

"Why are you watching us?" she asked, ignoring his comments with a lash of her tail. Ever since her and No Eyes had returned from the Biter at the stream, Little Runt's eyes stayed glued to their hides.

He shrugged his shoulders, his white fur catching the sunlight. "You looked to be in trouble. I wanted to make sure you didn't get hurt."

Silent Whisper pulled back her lips in a growl. "I don't need help from a grunt," she snapped.

Little Runt's torn ear flickered, amusement sparking in his gaze. "I wouldn't dream of overstepping boundaries," he said, licking his maw. "Apologies, little one."

With a huff of annoyance, Silent Whisper turned and bounded back over to her brother. She hoped with all her heart that he wouldn't be forced to work as a grunt—to be one of them. An outcast—a nuisance.

She'd die before she let that happen to him, she decided.