The atmosphere at the wolf den had finally taken a turn for the better. After over a week of running low on food, the wolves had managed to bring down a whitetail deer, providing plenty of food for the pack.
'This is the first time we have had a large animal to eat, there is some sort of eating order for wolves, right? I don't want to make any of the adults angry.' Ash thought, watching as his family began to gather around the carcass.
^I'm not sure, I guess we should just follow along with what all of the others do.^
The largest male of the group, which Ash had dubbed as Scar, due to the many scars around his snout, walked up to the prey and bowed his head.
'Is he honoring the dead prey? These wolves are way more intelligent than what I know of them from the little I can remember from our past life.'
After a short moment, all of the wolves converged on the body of the deer, including the pups. Mimosa led them- she had become the de-facto leader of the pups due to her endless energy and enthusiasm…
Or just that none of the other pups wanted their legs to be gnawed on while they slept.
Ash had grown close to Oak and Fern, and spent most of his time with the two, climbing trees and play fighting. Ash couldn't speak, and even if he could, none of the wolves would be able to understand him, but the wolves did not have difficulty communicating through body language.
After the pups were full from their meal, they walked over to the river bank to sunbathe.
The weather was great, the river was flowing past peacefully, and silvery flashes of fish could be seen swimming playfully in the water. The pups' stomachs were comfortably full, and life couldn't hardly get better. Gazing out over the river, Ash had no complaints.
'Ahhh… this is great. Hopefully we keep finding good prey, and whatever it is that was keeping us from hunting doesn't return. I would be happy to live the rest of my life like this.'
^Don't get me wrong, this place is amazing, but don't you want more from life?^
'What do you mean?'
^Well you know, adventure or something? Sure, it would be comfortable to live out our lives here, surrounded by our pack, but it lacks excitement. After we grow up, we should explore and try to learn more about the world! Besides, we can find you a mate somewhere along the way too, you don't want to live your whole life without a partner, right?^
^Sure, adventuring would be fun, but it isn't worth risking our lives to go exploring when we have everything we need here. We should be happy with what we have. About the mate thing… we were humans in our last life, and that is what I'm into, not wolves. Unless this world has an extensive population of furries, I don't think finding a human mate is possible, not that I would want to be with a furry anyway. Maybe I'll change at some point, but wolves are a no-go from me.'
^So what does that make you, an anti-furry?^
Ash shrugged at this, and the two went into silence for a moment, before Ash spoke up again.
'Well, we don't know much about this world now, but there might be some supernatural elements to it. I mean, we are two people in the same body. I don't want you to have to live your whole life only being able to borrow this body, never having your own free will. We might have to do some exploring to figure that out, but let's leave it for after we are all grown up and can fend for ourselves. For now, let's just enjoy life.'
The pups sunbathed by the stream for the rest of the day, with most of the adults joining them in enjoying the good weather. The pups acted like there were no issues with the world, but the adults, despite having had a great harvest, still seemed uneasy, often casting wary glances into the forest.
'Well, looks like our lives won't become easy just from this one good day, and whatever the threat in the forest is, it hasn't left.'
The wolves returned to their den to rest as the sky darkened, like a dark curtain being pulled over their sunny day.
The next morning, sun was covered by a thick layer of tumultuous clouds, casting a slight shade of gray onto everything around. The adults looked up to the sky before deciding to stay inside for the day. There was still some left over meat for the feast the previous day, so they wouldn't have to search the forest for food again.
The pups were much more energetic, play fighting outside. Ash, Oak, and Fern wandered off a short ways into the woods, looking for more difficult trees to climb. Oak and Fern seemed oblivious to the danger in the forest, but Ash kept a close eye out to watch for any danger.
'Hopefully we don't run into anything that thinks we are food, and if we do, hopefully it can't climb trees.'
^Yea, we are supposed to be wolves but we act more like cats. We should stick to hunting like normal wolves instead of trying to learn how to hunt from trees. Also, doesn't it look like it is going to rain? It is probably better to head back to the cave for the day, we don't want to get soaked.^
'I could use a good shower, that cave is starting to stink. We can head back if it starts to rain, but for now let's keep climbing!'
Ash kept a cautious eye on the woods while the pups played, but as time passed he started to let his guard down. A bush in the distance moved unnaturally, but it escaped Ash's perception.
He was trying to climb up higher into a tree, but it was guarded by Fern, who refused to let him climb. Oak was a branch higher than Fern, the three were playing a sort of king of the hill using the tree.
A bush shook again, this one much closer to the pups.
Completely engrossed in climbing past Fern, Ash still didn't notice the incoming animal.
Oak was the first one to see the incoming threat. His eyes locked onto the animal, his back tensing up. Ash noticed the change in the atmosphere, finally seeing the incoming animal.
It was… a large rabbit.
The fluffy hare was hopping through the woods, completely oblivious to the wolves perched up in the tree. The wind was blowing in the opposite direction of where the rabbit was coming from, blowing the scent of the wolves away with it. Ash's eyes changed from panic to excitement waiting patiently for the rabbit to approach the tree. He breathed as quietly as possible, his heart pounding in excitement for the ambush.
As the rabbit passed under the tree, Ash jumped down, landing right on its back. The pup was only a small bit larger than the massive hare, and he wrestled with it before it managed to break free from his grip.
Before the rabbit could run, Fern and Oak jumped down as well, latching their jaws onto the helpless rabbit. Ash crunched down onto its neck, ending its life.
The three pups looked proud of their hunt, ecstatic to show their newly acquired food to the adult wolves.
The hare was too heavy for any one of them to carry, so all three of them grabbed it at the same time, dragging it back towards the cave.
The scent of blood from the rabbit covered their noses, but somehow, as they got closer to the cave, the bloody smell seemed to grow more intense, overpowering everything else.