♦ THE ADVENTURES OF PERO ♦

A Progressive Story by Shiba_your_Inu

Cast:

Shiba_your_Inu “Shiba”: Pero

Biddywolf “Biddy-Chan”: Dusk and Majenta

gabbz1234 “Gabz”: Pepper

Tinkers “Tink”: Myka

Koyuki “Yuki-Chan”: Akita

Esperanta “Esper”: Cauldron

♦CHAPTER ONE♦ “We shall not cease from exploration and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started

... and know the place for the first time.” – T.S. Eliot

It's a normal night, and the moon shines on Majenta’s Ruby fur. The soft pad of her paws is the only thing she can hear, but she liked it.

Majenta pushed pass the branches of the many trees that surrounded her, and made her way into a very dense wood.

Where am I? She wonders. Do I know where I am? And what is this feeling that I’m getting...The feeling of being watched?

The she-wolf doesn’t like this feeling. Not at all. She decided to take another route, and turns to what she thinks is a small ravine. The water is

very deep and murky, not the kind that you would want to lap out of. Or swim in, for that matter. “Now I feel silly. No one would live in a place

like this, so who could be watching me? Oh well, I guess it's time for me to turn back.” She said to herself, “Now that I think about it, the

forest, despite its look, is quite a calm place.” She added as she walked back into the woods.

But the serenity is soon disturbed as a low growl erupts from the forests' murky depths. Majenta flinched the tiniest bit, and looked around,

feeling disturbed. Being a dispersal wolf, she didn’t want to let her guard down.

A surprisingly curious face emerged from the shadows, and tilted his head at her.

"Who are you? I haven't seen you before. No one comes here anymore." The wolf said, and studied her closely. "Hmm...You don't seem

dangerous." He added, noticing that the She-Wolf doesn’t give a reply. "I can trust you, I guess." And a smile moved across the wolf's face.

"Name's Pero. And you are...?" Pero asked, and waited for her reply. “I’m Majenta.” She replied, feeling a little shaky. “Are you in a pack?”

Pero felt surprised, “No, but I’m thinking about making one. Are you in?” Majenta was wary around Pero, who she had just met. She looked

him up and down, he seemed harmless. The eerie sounds of the forest send tingles down her spine, but she had made a decision.

"Thank you for opening your home Pero... I think I will accept your offer" she said, her voice filled with pride.

Pepper crept around the forest, trying to be as quiet as possible. She didn’t know why she was being so cautious but she guessed it was

because this place creeped her out so much. She sniffed the air, she could smell some other wolves and decided to follow their scent.

Pero nodded at Majenta, "Fantastic." He grinned at her, and perked his ears. "There's that feeling again. This forest is creepier than it needs to

be." He shuddered, "Come on, let's go and see if anyone else is around."

The blue toned wolf padded through the murky wood, "Hello? Anybody there?" He called out, his voice echoing in the silence of the woods.

Majenta looked around, the fur standing up on the back of her neck from the feeling of being watched. The wind shifted and she caught the

scent of another wolf.

"Can you smell that wolf?" she said to Pero quietly & slowly stalked towards the scent.

Pepper looked up at the sky but all she could she was the dark treetops that blocked the light. She shuddered and kept walking until she heard

an echoing voice. Pepper looked around but couldn’t see anyone, in fact she could hardly see herself as her black coat blended in with the

forest surroundings. She figured the voice must be one of the wolves she could smell so kept following the scent.

"I can." Pero replied, "Whoever they are, they must be nearby. Let's go." He said quietly, and padded towards the smell that Majenta had

pointed out.

Indeed, there was a wolf nearby. "Judging by the intensity of the smell, the wolf isn't male. So we don't need to worry that much, as most

females don't pose threats." He advised, "But I can't see anything-- Oh? What's that?" He asked himself as a blue flash caught his eye. "There!

You!" He said, "Come on out!"

Majenta tried to hold back a growl, she felt too disadvantaged not being able to see very well in the dark forest when there was an unknown

wolf nearby.

Pepper turned to the he wolf, her blue eyes stood out in this black forest. Her eyes widened, ''And who are you may I ask?'' she said politely as

she began walking over to the two wolves. She was happy to see other wolves no matter who they were but was still cautious of them.

Majenta held her head high and stood very rigid "I was just about to ask you the same question dear". She didn't like being hostile but she

never took chances, she never wanted what happened to her family to happen to her.

Pero studied the new arrival, "Now now, introductions first." He said to Majenta, smiling a little. "I am Pero, and this is my new friend,

Majenta." He said with a nice nod, and moved his tail a little. "Say, do you belong in a pack?" He asked a little out-of-the-blue. "If you do, this is

a strange place for you to be in." He chuckled. ''No, I have no pack,'' Pepper said, she could sense that Majenta wasn’t so sure about Pepper.

She sighed, ''Look... I’m no threat to you,'' she exclaimed. She sat down on the spot and licked her paw. Majenta let the fur sit back smoothly

on the back of her neck and she relaxed more.

Pero nodded at Pepper, "Well, now that Majenta has calmed down, would you be kind enough to join us on our expedition?" He asked, hoping

that she would say yes. They needed more wolves on their side. "Don't be afraid to say no, by the way. I won't get angry with you." He added

with a slight smile. Pepper had a puzzled look on her face. 'Why would anyone want me to join them?' she thought to herself.

Pepper sat there for about a minute thinking about it until she came to a conclusion, ''Sure, I could use the company,'' she smiled at the

thought of travelling with other wolves. Majenta raised an eyebrow, she couldn't believe she'd let her guard down to 2 new wolves in one day.

She wanted to know what it was like not to be a loner, and have... company.

Pero grinned, "Awesome." He said to Pepper, and nodded his head. "Welcome to the pack, Pepper."

He then laughed at Majenta, "Not used to the company, I presume?" He asked, and nudged her, "Perk up." He said, "I'm sure you'll get used to

it. It's nice to be around other wolves." He grinned.

"Alright, you two. Let's go to the den. It's five miles away from here, but we'll get there soon enough." He cooed, and stood up, beginning to

pace forward. Majenta smiled a little and flicked her tail back and forth happily. The breeze felt cool on her fur and she looked up at the stars

in the sky, wondering where the galaxy ended.

Pepper's grin widened, she was glad to be with other wolves for a change. ''Soooo, tell me a bit about yourselves!'' she exclaimed trying to

make conversation. Pepper spotted a rock with slimy green moss on it and she decided to jump on it too see what it felt like on her paws.

You’re a very strange wolf, aren’t you Peppy? She thought to herself almost as if her brain was talking to her.

"Well for me there isn't that much to tell" Majenta said, "Except you both can call me Jen or Ruby if you like, I don't mind."

Pero tilted his head, "You obviously don't like talking about it. That's cool. Don't sweat it, Jen." He winked.

The blue wolf smiled at Pepper, "Glad to see how curious you are." He chuckled, "Well..." He began as the trio walked through the forest, "I

became dispersal after my pack broke up. I decided it would be better that I was alone, so I could make my own decisions in life." Pero

concluded.

He almost tripped over a stray tree root, and yipped softly, "Careful, there's a root there." He laughed. "What about you, Peppy? Surely you'd

come from somewhere interesting?" He asked, and looked up to the murky trees, with mist surrounding their tops. I'll be glad when we get

back to the den... He thought.

Majenta took note of the warning that Pero had said, and jumped over the root, landing with a petite thud.

Pepper silently screwed up her face in the darkness, the moss felt weird on her feet. But she kept walking. She suddenly looked up after

hearing her name, ''Huh?'' she mumbled as she cocked her head. ''Oh right my story, well...'' Pepper sighed, she didn’t like thinking about her

past either. ''..One day my curiosity got the better of me...And well, you can guess the rest''. Her eyes felt watery, she turned away from Jen

and Pero, so they couldn’t see her face as a tear rolled down her cheek.

Pepper hated thinking about how terrible and lonely she felt after she couldn’t find her way home, she had ignored her mother’s warnings

about straying too far away from the den. She was never able to find her way back home and that day still haunts her. She shook the feeling

away fast before she started crying uncontrollably. ''So how far now?'' she asked Pero, changing the subject. The blue wolf saw that Pepper

was changing the subject, and accepted that conclusion.

"We've travelled a considerable way, and the moon has moved slightly, I'm guessing that we've gone about 2 miles." Pero frowned; there was

a long way to go. "Sorry to burden you two like this." He said, "You both must be tired. At least the bears are asleep. If one were to approach

us now, we'd be in trouble." He chuckled, slightly worried, and hoping that he hadn't jinxed himself. "That's true..." Majenta said and became

more alert & aware of her surroundings just in case. Pepper stopped after hearing the word 'bear'. ''There are bears in this forest?'' she asked

as calmly as she possibly could. She continued walking at a fast pace, if there were bears in this forest then she didn’t want to come across

one. Pepper looked over her shoulder, she had become extremely paranoid. Pero laughed at the two, "Don't stress about it too much. We're

almost there, I can see another ravine ahead..." He said, straining his eyes to see the gently flowing water.

♦CHAPTER TWO♦ “We must go beyond textbooks, go out into the bypaths and untrodden depths of the wilderness

and travel and explore and tell the world the glories of our journey.” –John Hope Franklin

The blue wolf smiled, "Aha! There it is!" He called back to Majenta and Pepper, "The den is right up ahead." He said, and dashed forward.

But to his shock, everything was wrecked. "...Wah..?" He stuttered, and went inside to find rocks tumbled down, and the dirt dug up. "I can't

believe it...Who did this...?" He asked himself, walking deeper into the den, still shocked. "It's like an ambush came and trampled everything in

sight...." He added, "Guys, what do you make of this?!" He asked his friends quickly.

Pepper grinned, ''Finally we’re here!'' she yelled, she was so sick of walking after that long journey. ''Wow nice place you got here,'' Pepper

said sarcastically as she sensed Pero's shock.

Majenta looked around, confused.

"Who do you think would've trashed your place like this?" Majenta exclaimed, shocked. She sniffed around, trying to find the scent of an

intruder. Pero shrugged, “I don’t know, but whoever it was, or whatever it was, has enormous power.” He commented, gesturing at the giant

boulders that were turned over. “They weren’t like that before.” He scoffed, “Just look at this place! I left it for a few hours, and look what

happens!” He growled, his fur bristling. He looked at Majenta, "Have you found a scent yet?" But as soon as he asked the question, he saw

giant prints going deeper into the den. "Those look like....Bear prints..." He said softly, his eyes widening. "One must've gotten in to sleep

here..." He shuddered.

Pepper flinched. ''A bear... Was here?'' she asked barely believing her own words. Her eyes grew bigger and she sat down. I’m not living near

bears! She thought to herself. She had a strange fear of bears, so strange it even scared Pepper. Her tongue was hanging out of her mouth as

she starred into space, thoughts of bears spinning in her head. She was terrified but she still managed to look ridiculous at the same time.

"Snap out of it Pepper! We need to think this through and figure out how to deal with this" Majenta said and probably sounded a bit harsh.

Pero stopped, and thought for a little.

What should we do? He thought, If we disturb the bear, it might hurt us...Or worse... The wolf flinched at the thought, But if we move out

silently, it could very well hear us... Hmm...

He couldn't think, but he knew that they'd have to escape somehow. "We'll walk out, slowly." But we're halfway through the den! He heard

himself think. "No wait, we'll go to the bear..." But he'll kill us! His mind said again. "I don't know!" He yelled in a whispered tone, "Wait, let’s

just move out. We can outrun the bear, right?" He asked his friends. Majenta nodded and started to leave the den, the pads of her paws not

making a sound on the cave's floor. It was her specialty being able to not make a sound when need be.

Pepper looked around confused for a moment as she followed Jen out of the den. ''Oh yes right,'' Pepper whispered, ''I could totally out run a

bear, wait a BEAR?!'' Pepper yelped. She was so confused, so tired, and it seemed she was going a little bit crazy. "Shhh!" Pero hushed Pepper

and clamped her mouth shut, "Be quiet!" He snapped, and followed Majenta slowly and cautiously. Looking back to see if Pepper was

following, he said, "Hurry up, Pep!" He whispered, and kept following the Ruby-Red wolf.

Majenta looked behind her to see if the others were following. Facing in front of her again, she could see the cave's exit, and she sighed with

relief. Pepper’s head was spinning but she was still following Pero and Jen, even if she wasn’t going in a straight line. ''I’m coming guys,'' she

whispered, as she crept out of the den. She kept close to her friends even thought she was behind them. Pero sighed in relief as the three

wolves came to the exit, "Thank goodness. For a second there, I thought we were dinner for that bear." He smiled. He looked around, it was

still dark. "No sign of morning. We'll have to go somewhere else to sleep for the night." He said, and led the way, away from his old den.

Eventually, they came to a bush, which seemed to have some sort of camouflage in the woods. "Here's a good spot. No one will see us here."

He said triumphantly, and went inside the bush. He found his own corner, and layed there. "You all find a spot. We'll begin proper travel

tomorrow." He said, and yawned, before falling into a light sleep. Pero could never sleep deeply; it was a bad habit of his. Majenta found a

spot and lay down on her side. Her eyes became heavy and she soon fell asleep, into a world of dreams and nightmares. Pepper let out a yawn.

''I’m glad that’s over,” and followed Pero.

She looked at the bush, ''Isn’t it a bit small fo--'' she stopped in mid sentence; it seemed everyone was already sleeping and there was no point

wasting her breath. She layed down outside the bush with her head on her paws and let out another sigh, and then fell asleep.

♦CHAPTER THREE♦ “Creative people who can't help but explore other mental territories are at greater risk,

Just as someone who climbs a mountain is more at risk than someone who just walks along a village lane.” –R.D. Laing

Pepper rolled over in her sleep and hit the side of the bush. ''ARH!!'' She yelled as she jumped into a fighting stance. ''Not again,'' she mumbled

to herself as she stretched her muscles and did a massive yawn. ''Morning Pero,'' she yawned as she blinked her eyes a few times. ''Is Jen still

sleeping?'' she asked. The ruby red wolf woke up to the sound of a bird's tweet. Drowsily, she stood up and arched her back, stretching her

muscles that had stiffened as she slept. She noticed her two new friends and some rabbits, looking at the fresh kill made her stomach rumble

and it reminded her how long it had been since she'd eaten. "Good morning everyone" she mumbled in her groggy state "Are one of those

rabbits for me?"

“Morning, Kung-Fu Warrior.” Pero laughed at Pepper, and adopted a Chinese accent, "Bush is strong! But you are stronger, young cricket!" He

said, and laughed even harder. "Ha-ha, morning Jen." He said, and pushed a rabbit carcass over to her and Pepper. “Here you go. I caught it

this morning, while you two were asleep.” He grinned. “Eat up, it tastes good.” He said, munching a bit more on the rabbit. “Unless you don’t

like rabbits...?” "No I love them, thank you. “Majenta smiled and bit hungrily into her rabbit "Mmm... It's really good! Compliments to the

chef!" She laughed. Pepper gave Pero the evil eyes, ''Ha ha,'' she moaned sarcastically. Pepper quickly scoffed most of the rabbit, she hadn’t

realised how hungry she was until she'd seen the rabbit. ''Thanks Pero, tastes great,'' she said with a rabbit leg in her mouth. ''So what’s the

plan for today?'' Pepper asked, curiously of course. "Yes, I want to know which way we'll travel to find our new home!" Majenta said excitedly,

wagging her tail and feeling energetic after the tasty meal.

Pero chuckled at Pepper and Majenta, and then answered, "Oh, we're starting to move again. We could pass into another pack's territory, so

we have to be prepared. From the knowledge I've gathered, packs don't take dispersal wolves very nicely." He said, chewing more rabbit. He

then became stern, "If they attack, we have to take a longer and more dangerous route, so I'm hoping we gain their trust and keep moving,"

He continued, "But that outcome is very unlikely...." He remorsed, and took another bite out of his rabbit.

He was half finished, but since he hadn't eaten in a while, he wished it would last a little longer.

Pepper smiled, Yay! I’m going on an adventure, she thought happily to herself, and this time I’m going with friends... She added to her

thought. ''So should we get going?'' Pepper asked a big smile still on her face. Majenta frowned "Well then, I'll make sure I don't act as hostile

as I usually am with strangers so we can keep our pelts." Then smiled at the fact she got to have a travel adventure.

Pero nodded, and swallowed the last of his rabbit. "Alright you two! Let's set off-- Onward to the Mountains!" He cheered, and padded

forwards, out of the bush, and into the trees again. Wow, I've got friends by my side, and I'm about to explore unknown areas...This is heaven!

He thought with a wide grin, and turned himself back. "Come on! Let's go Pep and Jen!" He called, and wagged his tail, looking at the path

ahead. "Aye-aye, captain!" Majenta cheered as she followed closely behind him, taking in her surroundings; birds, trees & sunlight pouring

through the tree's leaves onto her red pelt. It was a beautiful day. Pepper trotted off after Pero. She looked around; she hadn’t noticed how

different this place looked in the day time. Everything was so much prettier, nothing looked as dark or intimidating, now I’m the only black

creature in this forest, she thought. ''Woah,'' she breathed to herself.

The blue wolf led the way, and the trio got to the outer edges of the forest. "I can see the end of the forest, that must be the exit!" He

exclaimed, and went forwards a little quicker. "As soon as we get out of this forest, we'll be in a grassy field. I've heard that there are lots of

flowers in that field, so it'll be a nice change." He smiled, and slowed down his pace, so his friends could catch up. "But that's also where the

pack’s entrance is, so be on your cautious side." He warned, and as soon as he said that, he saw a bunch of wolves staring down at them,

watching them with their slitted eyes.

The black wolf was at the back of the group watching everyone’s back. ''Umm... Guys, should we be scared?'' Pepper asked as she spotted

some wolves watching them from higher ground. Her blue eyes were fixed on the wolves, she watched them and hoped they wouldn’t come

down to 'greet' them.

Pero felt a wave of worriment wash over him, as the wolves on higher ground began to talk to each other, and study his group closely.

"Maybe." He finally replied, "Just look away and keep walking." He said, and led the group forwards. It wasn't long until one of the pack wolves

shouted out, "Hey! You three!"

Pero didn't answer, but felt himself sweat as the enemy wolves began to shout things at them. "Keep moving guys, if you don't answer, they

won't come near..." He said quietly, but the enemy wolves jumped off the hill and surrounded the dispersal group. On closer inspection, there

appeared to be about eight wolves, all male, and didn't look friendly at all.

Pero gulped.

Peppers eyes widened, as the wolves surrounded them. ''Psst... Jen, Pero! What do we do?'' she whispered sternly, her eyes watching the

strange wolves with a fake smile on her face. She could feel her heart pounding faster than usual.

Majenta held back her desire to rip the strangers to shreds, & deliberately kept her gaze at her paws.

A grey wolf named Myka trotted through the flowers, trying her hardest to keep her presence unnoticeable. The she-wolf looked ahead, and

she spotted three wolves being surrounded by eight male wolves! S-Should I help? She thought, her legs getting wobbly. She mustered up her

courage and walked up to the wolves. ''Hey, that's no way to treat a guest.'' She said, there was a hint of fear in her voice but normal wolves

probably wouldn't notice.

Pero was too frightened to answer, the pack of eight wolves grinned intimidately at the trio. "Just stay calm, Pepper." He replied, and then said

shakily, "Uhh...H-Hi fellas! W-We were just passing through, no need for violence! He-He!" He put on a fake smile, when all he really wanted to

put on were those running shoes that humans wear, and get himself out of this place. One of the pack wolves chuckled, "Oh yeah? How can

we be so sure?" He asked. Another joined in, "Yeah! For all we know, you could be spies from the other pack." He grinned. Another added,

"You guys better get ready to fight us if you want our territory!"

Pero shook his head, "N-No! Not at all! You see, we're dispersal wolves, a-and we're alo--" A pack wolf wacked him over the head, "Don't need

to be a dictionary, little boy!" He spat, and Pero fell to the ground with a thud.

The pack wolf then turned to Myka, "Oh yeah?" He laughed, "And what are you gonna do about it, girly?" He asked with a chuckle, and the

pack burst into manly laughter.

♦ CHAPTER FOUR ♦ “Exploration is really the essence of the human spirit.” – Frank Borman

Pepper glanced over at the she-wolf who appeared to be trying to help the trio and could sense she was a bit nervous. ''Leave her alone,''

Pepper growled her eyes narrowed, as she waited to see what their reaction would be.

Majenta growled at the wolf who hit Pero.

"Hey back off he didn't do anything! We're just passing through 'cause we need new terra and we're NOT interested in YOURS!" she said

angrily.

Myka let out a fearsome snarl as the wolf hit the friendly stranger, which usually scared anyone out of their fur. ''If you call me girly again I will

rip you apart and throw your remains into last night.'' She said in a low voice. She heard the other female's voice. She gave her a look that said

'I'll handle this, don't worry!', but then she other yelled at the wolves. She couldn't help but think Go girl!

Majenta saw the new girl who seemed pretty awesome and smiled at her; they needed all the help they could get. The pack wolves snarled,

and bared their teeth, "You should know better than to pick on pack wolves!" One of them growled. "Yeah!" The other seven chorused.

Pero growled, "Alright guys! If it's a fight they want, it's gonna be until the finish!" He exclaimed, and stood in a defensive position. "Get

ready!"

"Alright boys! You heard 'em! Let's kill these pups!" The lead wolf snapped, and snarled, with the rest of them joining in.

''Look, we don’t want any trouble! We just want to pass through your territory!'' Pepper blurted out desperately as she realised this was going

to end nasty. She smiled sweetly to the wolves but her eyes were full of doubt. Majenta snarled at the pack wolves, baring her fangs as the

hair stood on the back of her neck.

Myka got low to the ground, she waited for the he wolf to give the 'order', and then she pounced on one of wolves, biting it in the neck. ''Heh,

you guys are all talk!'' She said, but it was muffled due to the fur in her mouth.

"Go!" Yelled the leader, and his minions charged forwards, going straight for the group of now four wolves. Their teeth were bared, and Pero

couldn't help but feel slightly scared; he'd never actually fought someone before. Now's the time. He thought, and tackled a wolf to the

ground, who backfired and tried to swipe his muzzle. Pero dodged the swipe swiftly, and began to brawl with the pack wolf.

The other wolves attacked the four, taking each of them to the ground.

The wolf that was attacked my Myka snarled, and bit into her muzzle.

Pepper sighed. ''So were gonna have to the hard way eh?'' Pepper snarled as one of the wolves jumped on her. She kicked him off using her

hind legs and growled. ''Bring it!'' she growled as she jumped into a fighting stance, I always wanted to say that, she thought happily to herself.

Myka growled, and pinned the wolf that bit her muzzle. She bit into his paw, twisting her head. It hurt to bite, but she withstood the pain. The

wolf underneath Myka knew that she was straining, and took it into his advantage. He was just about to rip at her leg, before Pero dashed

forward and head butted him into a tree. "Woah." He breathed, and grinned. The wolf, which had been so strong before, ran off like a puppy,

yelping. "One down, seven to go!" He sang to Myka, and ran off, tackling another wolf to the ground, "ALL RIGHT!" He cheered as he tackled.

The lead wolf growled at the run-away, "Don't bother coming back, either!" He barked after him, and ran at Pepper, charging into her, and

pinned her to the ground.

One of the enemy wolves, Dusk, growled at the leader, "We shouldn't be fighting these helpless loners!" He yelled. Pepper growled at the

wolf who she figured must be the leader. ''GET OFF OF ME!'' she snarled she tried to wriggle out of his pin but she wasn’t strong enough. She

scowled, ''I hate being short sometimes,'' she mumbled to herself, as she kept wiggling.

Dusk was filled with anger towards his leader, so he knocked the leader off of Pepper. Myka watched in shock as Pero head butted the wolf

she was attacking. She shook her head and glared at him. ''It was just because I wore him out!'' She yelled after him. Myka then charged at the

lead wolf, tackling him. ''I'LL SHOW YOU WHAT GIRLY REALLY IS!!!'' She shouted, as they became a wolf tumbleweed.

Pepper got up and brushed herself down quickly, ''Thanks guys!'' she called as waited to sneak up on the next unsuspecting wolf or help one of

her friends out. The leader growled at Dusk, and shook his fur briskly "Shut up and fight, Dusk! For the Alpha!" He barked, "Unless you want to

banished, I suggest you get your tail into the ripping-to-shreds of these stupid pups!" He warned, growling at Myka as she attacked him.

Pero had a double-take at Dusk, Isn't he a pack wolf too? No, that's Pepper... No! It's a pack wolf! And he attacked the leader! He thought in

shock, and an enemy wolf lunged at Pero, in which he back-fired by kicking him in the gut, slamming him to the ground, and the wolf ran off,

also whimpering like a pup.

Pero stood up, and counted how many wolves were left, Six to go. He thought, and charged at another enemy wolf.

Pepper spotted an enemy wolf that was facing the other way to her. Perfect, she thought as she charged towards him and pounced on his

back, ''I really didn’t want to fight you guys but you leave us no choice!'' she snarled and she bit into his neck and shook her head.

"I'm sick of your rules and I'm no longer a part of your pack!" Dusk growled at the leader. The enemy wolf yelped as Pepper bit into his neck,

and fell to the ground. After he got up, he didn't hesitate to run away, as he knew that they had no chance. The leader growled, "Fine! I still

have the re-- What?! YOU PUPS! COME BACK HERE!" He growled, and stood up, to find himself in the middle of the wolf circle.

Pero grinned, "Looks like you're outnumbered." He said simply, and looked around at his friends. "So, who wants to attack first?" The leader

yelped, and ran away, with his tail between his legs. "Ha-ha! Alright!" Pero cheered, "We did guys!" He howled happily, "We defeated the

guards!"

♦ CHAPTER FIVE ♦

“It still amazes me how many millions goes to discovering another star in the galaxies when, for all we know, we are still sitting on top of another undiscovered world beneath our

feet.” – Martin Dansky

Pepper grinned, ''Well I suppose we had help,'' she said as she motioned towards Myka and Dusk. ''Thanks guys,'' she smiled happily her tail

wagging in between her hind legs. Myka stood up, licking her lips as the leader wolf ran away. She looked behind her, the other wolves

cheering without her. She grinned, with a wink, ''Heh! No problem!''. Blood was running from her muzzle, but that didn't seem to bother her.

She started to walk away, not thinking that she was that big of a hero. Dusk smiled slightly "Uh...No problem." Majenta was grinning because

of the victory that they had won, and was quite proud of herself. "Um, hold up!" Pero called to Myka, "Y-You did pretty well with us, what do

you say? Do you want to join us on our travels? That goes for you too, Dusk." He said, nodding at the panda-coloured wolf. "If you joined, our

group would be bigger, and more likely to survive as we cross the Northern Border." He added. He wanted these new wolves to join, he knew

that they could be a huge help. Dusk shrugged "Alright, I have nowhere else to go." He replied.

"I knew you'd say yes!" Pero grinned at Dusk, "We need a lot more, man power in this group." He winked with a chuckle.

"I don't exactly know your name, but I figure, after watching your power and persistence, that you'd be a huge help." He said to Myka, "Right

guys?" Pero asked, looking at his clan of wolves. Myka's head spun around. ''HEY! Girls have power too thank you very much!'' She snapped.

''Pshhh, men.'' She mumbled. Pepper looked Pero with the evil eyes. What does he mean we need more man power? She thought to herself

but decided that he was joking. ''Yes, you should defiantly come with us!'' Pepper grinned, her tail wagging frantically. Pero smiled sheepishly,

"Alright, the girls did better than the guys on this occasion. But you know, there'll become a time when we need men to do the fighting." He

grinned, and nodded at Myka, "So, what do you say? Gonna join?" He asked, "Everyone else seems eager for you to." He added. Myka rolled

her eyes, letting out a little sigh. ''Okay okay! But if anyone calls me girly I WILL kill them!'' She said, glaring at Dusk. Pepper rolled her eyes at

Pero's comment and laughed at Myka.

''Well now you two have joined the group and all, shouldn’t we introduce ourselves?'' Pepper said, still smiling sweetly.

Pero laughed, "Excellent! And of course we won't call you girly. That would be insulting, wouldn't it?" He grinned, and nudged Dusk a little. "Oh

right, names." Pero nodded at Pepper, "Well, I'm Pero. The leader of this dispersal clan. And the ruby-red one is Majenta, followed by Pepper,

who is the black wolf on my right, and one of our newest members, Dusk. You know the man powe--" He stopped, noticing the girls were

raising their brows again. "Eheheh..." He chuckled sheepishly, before turning around and moving forwards to sit on a rock.

"Ok gang, we're going to move again." He said to his clan, "The Mountains we need to cross are that way," He began, pointing with his paw to

a range of grey mountains, "And after that, we'll reach another forest, but it's slightly more difficult to move in than the last one we were in."

He said, motioning to Pepper and Majenta. "Also, be on the lookout for any bears, and-or enemy packs or wolves. They're our biggest threat

right now." He perked his ears as another threat crossed his mind, "Oh, there's also a ranch where some humans live, so make sure to steer

clear of that place." He nodded. "Ok, are we clear on that?" He finalised.

''I'm Myka.'' She said, following the 'pack'. She grinned, ''I guess we were so busy fighting we didn't have time to say our names!''

''Bears and humans and wolves, Oh my!'' Myka said in shock, she wasn't used to so many dangers. She wasn't scared because she knew that

her new friends would help her. Man this is great! I'm not alone anymore! She thought happily.

''Roger that, captain.'' Myka said, snickering a bit. Pepper smiled at the two new wolves and then listened to their leader. ''Right so ... lots of

bears, enemy wolves and watch out for... humans!'' she tried to remember everything Pero had said. ''I think I got it!'' she smiled her tail

wagging happily once more. Suddenly, Pepper’s tail stopped wagging, ''Wait a second... You said bears didn’t you?'' she whimpered, she didn’t

like bears at all. Pero laughed, "Aww, Don't worry Pepper! We're a bigger group now, remember? We could probably take a bear down while

you run and hide." He chuckled. "Everyone else clear?" He checked, "Also, you all might want to get ready, like go eat something, or pull your

belongings together if you have any, because we're not turning back any time soon." The wolf added, and sat down on the rock, "I'll wait for

you all until then."

♦ CHAPTER SIX ♦ “I prefer to explore the most intimate moments, the smaller, crystallized details we all hinge our lives on” – Rita Dove

After he was sure his friends were ready to go, he jumped off his rock, and landed on the ground below him. "Alright, have you all got your

things together?" He asked around the group. "The next checkpoint is about..." He turned to study the road that they would take, and then

added, "10 miles." He waited for everyone's reactions. 10 miles was a very long way, and he knew there would be some complaints. Myka

shivered at the thought, 10 miles?! But she had to keep her cool; she didn't want the boys to think she couldn't handle it. ''Ten miles doesn't

sound so bad.'' She said. ''And I'm ready!'' Myka added, jumping around. Well ten miles won't be so bad! I mean, it's gonna be an adventure!

Pero smiled at Myka, "Glad to see you're ready," He nodded, "Dusk? Jen? Pep? You guys coming along?" He asked, tilting his head. "I know the

trip is a little harsh, but there'll be some herds of elk around, so we can bring down one or two of them," He said, "But no matter how hungry

you get, you cannot go near the Cattle Ranch. That's only for drastic measures." He warned. Pepper smiled, Pero was right she was in a big

group now and they could take down a bear easy. ''Yup, I’m ready too!'' she barked as she did a little twirl to show she was excited. Pepper

was used to travelling long distances so she wasn’t too bothered about a 10 mile walk. Her tail was wagging furiously and her eyes were

sparkling in the light.

''Woohoo!'' Myka exclaimed as she chased her tail. After a while of chasing it she caught it and smiled into her tail. However, the happy

moment was interrupted by her stomach growling. She got a sheepish look on her face, letting go of her tail. ''He he, I guess I should of found

something to eat! But I can wait. And even if we're about to die of hunger we can't go to the cattle ranch?'' The blue wolf grinned, "Ok, while

we wait for Dusk and Jen," He said, looking at the sky, "We'll find some food. I don't know about you, Myka, but we haven't eaten since this

morning." He chuckled, and moved forward a little.

Pero paused and sniffed, before perking his ears to his right."We won't die of hunger, because I can smell a dead carcass just a bit away, so

we'll go and eat from that. It'll save our energy for hunting until we find that elk herd." He concluded, and dashed forward, leading the way to

the carcass. Pepper smiled, ''Yes sir!'' she giggled as she ran away after Pero. The black wolf jumped on top of a rock then dived off it in an

attempt to catch up to Pero. She barked happily as the wind caught her fur and cooled her down a little. Myka followed Pero ''I haven't eaten

since yesterday afternoon; I hope this is a big elk!'' She fake-pouted. Grinning, she fastened her pace so she could get next to Pero. ''I bet ya

ten rabbits I can beat you there!'' Myka barked. It's been a while since I felt this...what is this feeling? I can't even remember it...Relief?

Happiness?.... True happiness. That's it. She thought. Pero laughed, "Well I'm gonna be a full wolf, aren't I?" He said, and moved faster. The

swirls over his body seemed to move around in circles, but that was an illusion made by his fur. Pero liked his swirls, they gave him more

personality. I can beat her! He thought with a grin, seeing the carcass up ahead. ''Hey look! There’s the carcass!'' Pepper yelled as she could

spot it in the distance. She ran towards it, just realising how hungry she actually was. Myka panted as she ran as fast as she could. She slid to a

stop and touched the carcass with her paw. ''HA!!'' She grinned. Then her look was a stern one as she looked at Pero, ''You own me ten

rabbits.'' She said quickly, with a low voice. She bit into the carcass, jeez she was hungry. "Aww, no!" Pero exclaimed, but he was smiling. "You

beat me!" He laughed at Myka. When he finally got there, he took a big bite out of the elk. It wasn't the biggest of elks, as Myka had wanted,

but he liked it anyway.

"We never shook on it." He grinned at Myka, "If we did, then I would give you ten rabbits. But no, oh no. So no rabbits for you." He laughed,

and ate more of the elk. Pepper dived on the dead elk and took out a massive chunk out of its leg. ''This is good,'' she said but the sound was

muffled due to all the meat in her mouth. Myka glared at him, ''You better give me those rabbits!'' She demanded, but she laughed too as she

ate more. After she was completely full, she sat down and licked her lips. ''Yep, it was good!'' She agreed with Pepper.

Pepper giggled, she felt full now too. ''Maybe we should go find Dusk and Jen?'' Pepper said as she rubbed her tummy with her paw. "Yeah,"

Pero agreed, and stood up, shaking the dirt off his blue pelt. "Let's go." He said, and led the way back. Pepper nodded and pranced after Pero.

''Soo, these humans...What would they do to us if they caught us?'' she asked Pero and Myka curiously as she swung her paw around trying to

kill a fly that was annoying her. Myka looked at Pepper. ''Oh nothing really, just kill us and skin our dead bodies for money.'' She said, smiling.

''Oh and maybe feed us to cannibal dogs.'' Pero laughed, "Don't be silly, Myka. If they have the licence to shoot a wild animal, they'd probably

kill us, skin us of our fur, and hang our heads up on their wall if we tried to kill a cow." Pero corrected her in a smart-alec way. "That's what

would happen."

Pepper stopped dead in her tracks allowing the annoying fly to land on her nose. The small black wolf's eyes widened, ''Umm, okay. I think I

now have a new phobia, humans!'' she yelped as she shook her head and the fly flew away. Myka glared at Pero. ''Don't push it smarty '' She

uttered through gritted teeth. She giggled at Pepper's reaction, ''Don't worry. They won't hurt us if you don't go near them.'' She said.

Pero saw Dusk and Majenta in the distance, "There they are," He said, and moved a little quicker.

"If we don't move now, the leader of the enemy pack will come back again with his Alpha, and then we'll be trouble." Pero warned, looking

around. "So let's hurry out of here." He said, and moved towards the edge of the meadow. ''Agreed, no going near the humans!'' she

announced with her head held high.

‘‘Let’s go guys!'' Pepper grinned. She ran out in front and leaped up into a nearby tree and layed there on her back and watched the clouds in

the sky, while she waited for her friends. ''You're right Pero, let's go, quick!'' Myka agreed. She looked at Pero ''We're all ready!'' She added.

''Right guys?'' Majenta and Dusk nodded, and followed Myka to the edge of the cliff. Pero nodded, and landed at the bottom of the cliff with a

thud. "This way, guys!" He called up, and ran forwards. The path he ran on with craggy and un-even, sometimes he would step on a sharp rock

that made him flinch. "Be careful when you run, this path isn't smooth!" He warned.

The place had an odd smell, probably because of the humans. Pero hadn't seen a human before, but from his past knowledge, he knew that

there were only a handful of humans that were nice. He looked around for any sign of the ranch, but nothing. The scent was weak, so that

meant that the ranch might be a long way from where the group was now. 10 miles, oh boy. Pero thought, and let out a long sigh, slowing

himself down.

Myka looked at the bumpy road. ''...Kay.'' She replied to Pero. She walked fast, but carefully. ''So, are there any dangers we need to worry

about right at this moment, I can tell the ranch is far away, so we don't need to worry about that, but still?'' Myka asked. The blue wolf kept his

eyes on the path ahead, but answered Myka, "Keep your eye out for bear tracks. This path will stretch for a few miles, and then we'll reach the

forest, where bears are most likely to appear around these parts." He said. Pepper followed Pero hoping he knew what he was doing. ''So...''

Pepper said trying to make conversation, ''...Why exactly are we travelling to the Northern border?'' she added. ''Woah!'' she yelped as she

tripped over a rock and fell to the ground. ''Ehe he....’’ she smiled sheepishly as she jumped up and kept walking like nothing had happened.

"We are a Nomadic Group. This means we travel all the time. We usually stay at a den for a few weeks, and then begin to move again." Pero

answered Pepper, "Why the Northern Border, you ask?" He paused; no one had asked him this question before.

"Well, the Northern Lights." He answered.

''Ah, the Northern lights,'' Pepper thought out loud, ''I’ve heard about them... Beautiful, apparently,'' she continued. Pepper sniffed the air,

''...Ah...Ah...ACHOO!'' she sneezed; some dirt must have gotten up her nose when she had fallen. She sniffled and then sneezed a couple more

times. "Bless you," Pero and Myka chuckled at the same time. Pero continued, "Have you got some sort of hay fever? The flowers around here

might be causing you to sneeze," He advised, "But they attract some of the most beautiful butterflies...." He added, getting lost in thought as

he looked at the pretty yellow flowers that danced in the wind.

"And yes, the Northern Lights are a very good sight. But, that's not the reason I wanted to go there...." He said, trailing off. Myka awed. ''The

northern lights...'' She echoed. Then her ears perked up. ''Not the reason? What is your reason then, Pero-e-o?'' She asked him. “Well....The

truth is....” Pero began....

♦ CHAPTER SEVEN ♦

“Exploring is like an ice-cream in the sun —there’s two ways to make it melt away.” – Shiba_your_Inu

Pero sighed; he knew he would have to tell them.

"Well, truth is, I've never been there." He said, "And, the other thing is, I'm not....I'm not sure...Exactly how to get there..." He was spilling the

beans; his friends would hate him for it. "A-And that was my excuse to start exploring with you guys. I didn't really mean anything I said, my

history is a lie. I didn't come from a pack. My family and friends didn't break away from the pack. I was a traitor to them." He exclaimed, and

stopped to face his friends. "Everything I said, all of it, was a lie to get you to trust me and explore with me. I've never had any friends, and

pretending that my life was fine was the only way I could get you to come with me." He paused, and blurted out who he really was, "I am Pero-

- But not the Pero you think I am. In truth I am a deceiver, and I tell people lies that get them into danger, grave danger." He said.

Pero had blurted out everything that was true, and this time, he knew he had said too much. His friends would hate him, and they wouldn't

trust him any longer.

Well, that's what he thought.

Majenta gasped, What?! Damn it...I knew I shouldn’t trust wolves so easily... She thought in disgrace of herself, I feel like such a fool... Dusk

growled, “Why would you betray us!” He barked angrily. Stupid wolf, thinking he could lie to us like that, what a coward.... Pepper stopped in

shock and sighed. ''So... you lied to us?'' she asked with a disappointed look on her face. Why had she trusted someone she had only just met?

This was why she had travelled alone for such a lot time. She turned to everyone else to see what their reaction would be. Myka was in a state

of shock. ''So...you...lied to us? After we helped you?'' Myka sighed. She wasn't mad, in truth she understood, but she couldn't believe she fell

for it. She shook her head. ''And even worse, you don't know how to get there.'' She turned away. She muttered something, then added ''...and

now this...’’ She groaned, arguing with herself ...but I don't have anywhere to go! But he lied...but I helped them...

Pero frowned, "I know it was wrong to lie to you. But that's who I am, you can't change someone after they've done the same thing for so long,

can you?" But the wolf knew he had to say it. They would've found out sooner or later.

He lowered his head in shame, "But.... You are my friends." He said, and lifted his head, feeling that he had to change his ways. "And friends

don't do that to each other." He shook his head, and paused. "So be it!" He yelled after a long silence, "From this day forward, I will not step in

the paw prints of those who have done wrong; I shall sway from that path and follow the gods in their path of good will." He then slammed his

paw to the ground, "I swear it in the name of the Mother Wolf! For my friends, and for the survival of this Nomad Tribe!" He barked

triumphantly, and waiting for his friends' replies. He knew that they could say how Evil or Lying he was to them, and he would understand. But

he hoped that they would understand his cries for forgiveness, and that they would continue their journey, together.

Pepper sighed, ''..How can I stay mad at you after your little...Performance?'' Pepper said with an innocent little smile on her face. She ran over

to Pero and gave him a friendly nudge. ''Just dont lie to us again,'' she said with a serious face on. Peppy, sometimes I wonder out you, her

brain seemed to tell her, but she just looked up and smiled. She then sat down next to Pero and looked at everyone with cute innocent eyes

and hoped they would be just as forgiving as Pepper was. Majenta sighed, “Pepper’s right. But only if you swear that you won’t lie to us again.”

She smiled, and walked over to Pero also. Dusk frowned, “I don’t know...What you did was stupid.” He commented, “But, majority rules.” He

said, grinning at Myka, who still hadn’t decided.

Myka looked back, surprised at his sudden outburst. She had to hold back a laugh, though she did let out a little snicker. ''Whatever you say;

Pero the Almighty.'' She said sarcasm in her voice. ''Well all jokes and laughs aside, God Follower, I think I will forgive you.” But she then

thought, how could she not forgive him? Pepper, I mean... She’s experienced so much already...Poor kid. At least she’ll have me to help her. And

then she grinned, ''But you just lost your chances with me'' Myka joked, sticking her tongue out. Pero smiled at Pepper, "I won't screw up like

this again. I should've told you guys earlier," He said, "But I expected a worse reaction, so maybe I should be happy with you guys just forgiving

me." He smiled. "I thought you'd make a joke out of it, Myka. Oh well, that's just you. 'And I can't change that’." He grinned, mocking his own

words.

"We should probably get moving again, the forest is right around the corner," He advised, "I know that I said I didn't know where to go, but

we're in this together, right? So let's go!" He grinned, and sped off into the forest.

♦ CHAPTER EIGHT ♦

“Exploring is fun...Sometimes.” –gabbz1234 (Pepper)

The forest was slightly lighter than the last one Pero's Trio was in. The trees opened a canopy in the top, shedding the suns light into the

ground below, and the soil was a bright brown.

"Unusual..." Pero muttered to himself, kicking up a little of the ground. He looked ahead of himself; "Bear tracks." He said, and stopped to see

where they led. "They're swaying to the right, but maybe he's waiting for us..." Pero shuddered. Pepper whimpered quietly as she could. She

began to back up slowly her eyes were fixed on the bear. She was praying it wouldn’t attack. Her tail was in between her legs, and she was

about to yelp but she shoved her paw in her mouth to stop herself. Myka stayed still and quiet. The bear raised its claw, but Myka leaped and

bit into it before it could hurt anyone. She struggled. ''Don't just stand there!'' She yelled. The bear growled and then roared at the top of its

mighty lungs, echoing it's voice around the forest.

Pero didn't waste a second; he lunged at the bear that was moving closer to Pepper. The bear retaliated by whacking Pero to the ground, but

the blue wolf shook his pelt wildly and got back up again. The grizzly then slashed the side of Pero, making him flinch, but Pero kept pushing on

and gave the bear's face a hard pounding with his paws. The bear roared and threw Pero to the ground, rubbing it's face in pain. Pero snarled,

"Next time, pick on somebody your own size!" He chanted. The bear growled and snatched Pero from the ground. Tightening its grip on the

wolf, it then slammed him against a tree, and Pero had slumped to the ground; unconscious.

''PERO!'' Myka screamed, but didn't have time to do anything else because the bear threw her off of its paw. She hit the ground with a loud

'thump' but she got back up. She snarled, and the bear took that as a threat. The bear went to attack her but she dodged and bit into its leg.

The bear swiped at her, and she was thrown again, slamming into Pero. Pepper squealed, and froze where she was. She was in a state of shock

and just stood there starring at the bear. She could see her friends needed help but she was too afraid to help them. Stupid, stupid Pepper! She

yelled at herself inside her brain.

A pure white wolf named Akita, with piercing blue eyes, looked through the bushes at the action, and stepped in to help. She hurled out from

the heather, trying to knock the great bear off its balance, but failed.

She snarled in menace, her fur bristling, aiming an accurate swipe at the bear. But the bear had more swiftness and speed than her. He shoved

his claw into her face, and she howled, leaping back.

Akita didn't even know what to do now, all she had was herself. Her pack was destroyed. She had no other choice but to face the dangers by

herself, alone. Without her friends.

She didn't even know who the wolves around her were, maybe enemy. But they didn't seem like that type, they looked fierce and courageous,

fighting the bear. Majenta turned to Dusk & whispered a plan in his ear. He nodded and they braced themselves.

"1... 2... 3!" Majenta counted, and on the count of three they both leapt at the bear & started raking their claws on his belly furiously.

Myka slowly got up, around her right eye, there was a lot of blood and a slash mark. She panted heavily. ''You...Stupid bear...'' She got out

between breaths. Pepper ran behind a rock and watched the battle from there. Pepper could see some of her friends were hurt but they kept

fighting, while she was hiding from the beast. 'Why must I be afraid of bears?' she thought angrily to herself. The black wolf frowned; she was

disappointed that she wouldn’t face her fear. 'I have to do something!' she thought as she looked around for something to throw at the bear.

Myka ran and leaped, snarling. She bit into the bear’s ear, and it shook its head trying to get her off, but Myka held a firm grip. Pepper spotted

a small rock, ''Ah, that'll do,'' she said as she threw it at the bear. ''Take that stupid bear!'' she yelped, with an evil looking grin on her face. She

poked her tongue out at the bear, completely forgetting about her fear. She figured if she could distract the bear the injured wolves would get

a short time to recover and the other wolves would be able to sneak attack. The bear roared with rage as the wolves attacked him, and swiped

them all off before running away, with scars and cuts all over its body.

Pero still layed on the ground, that hit was hard. His back was pounding with pain, and his head throbbed with a bad headache. I wonder if

they're all right.....My friends..... He said in his dream, I hope the bear didn't get them.... Oh, what's that...No....Too tired..... And his vision went

black again.

Pepper felt a sigh of relief after seeing the bear run away, but the feeling soon faded after she caught sight of Pero. ''Pero!'' she yelped as she

ran over to him. She could tell he was in a bad way just by looking at him, ''Can you hear me? Pero! Wake up!'' she said, as she shook his body

slightly. Myka watched as the bear ran ''AND DON'T COME BACK!'' She snarled. Myka ran up to Pero and Pepper. ''Pero, come on you have to

wake up!'' She said. Myka sighed. ''It's my fault. He would be up by now if I hadn't of been thrown into him.'' But then, her eyes started to roll

back, ''Ugh...too much...blood loss...'' She hit the ground, her eyes closing. Her stomach was bleeding, and so was the area around her eye.

Dusk and Majenta ran up to the injured wolves.

"Pero! Myka!" Majenta exclaimed in shock, “Dusk, go get something! Hurry!” Dusk nodded and got a wad of cobwebs, pressing it against Pero

& Myka's wounds to stop the bleeding. ''Myka!'' Pepper squealed. 'This is my entire fault,' she thought to herself, 'If I hadn’t been so afraid this

wouldn’t have happened!' she sighed at the thought. She didn’t know how to help her friends so she sat and watched Majenta and Dusk help

them. ''Why must I be completely useless?'' she mumbled to herself. Akita bristling in rage, she would never forget her pack's death. The bear

reminded her strongly of how her pack died, unfortunate. She glanced over at the knocked out wolves, “Oh no...” She mumbled.

"Well well well." Said a voice that echoed from deep in the forest, "Look who we have here." The voice showed himself, and it was a thin

purple wolf. "Pero, my oh my. Look what you've gotten yourself into." He mocked in a high voice, "That bear gave you a pounding didn't it?

Naw, but don't worry, because I made that bear it out of spirits, I've taken it away, ok?" He grinned, "And looky here, you've putten a girl into

this situation too, huh? What a sight for sore-eyes." He scowled. He looked around at all of the other wolves, "Oh, that reminds me. I haven't

introduced myself. My name is Kerberos, and I have an insane power that can be controlled by no one else." Kerberos said, his shrunken heads

dangling around his neck. "Do any of you know what it's called?" He asked, but he had a sly tone that could make anybody flinch. Pepper

spotted Kerberos and narrowed her eyes. ''No,'' she replied sternly as she looked down at Myka and Pero who were still out cold. "He he,

wrong answer!" Kerberos exclaimed in delight, and tugged on one of his shrunken heads. A sudden force picked Pepper up and flung her to

the ground with a thud. "Next time, don't underestimate the power of Voodoo." He growled, and turned to Pero who layed on the ground.

Kerberos sighed, "Pero, Pero, Pero." He said, "If only you weren't so stupid." He said, and glanced at Myka. He mumbled a few words in Latin

under his breath, which made the blood sink back into her body, and seal their wounds. "Shame. If you worked a little harder, I would've

healed you too." Kerberos said, looking at Pero's unconscious body. ''Ow,'' Pepper yelped and she got up and brushed some dirt of her pelt,

and then she turned to Kerberos, “What do you want?'' she asked with a frown. “Who are you?!” Akita snarled, she hated the way the

'Voodoo' talked. She started to back away cautiously. Pero rocked in his sleep, feeling woozy and sick. Have to...Wake...Up.... He thought, and

winced. He opened his eyes wearily, and Kerberos's face was in front of him. "K-Kerberos...!" He exclaimed, still feeling sick.

"Sleeping beauty remembered my name? How adorable." Kerberos smiled slyly, and tugged on one of his heads, mumbling words in Latin

again. Pero was flung to a large boulder, and he was slammed into it.

Pero got up, "Y-You...Idiot! How did you get here?!" He barked, feeling a little more awake.

"Oh, I just walked in like everyone else." Kerberos said simply, admiring his sceptre. "Why? My little Pero-Kins?"

Pero snarled, "Don't use my name, you evil soul."

"Oh that's harsh. I feel so offended." Kerberos growled, tying his sceptre to a strap on his back, and snarling more. He glanced over at Akita,

"Look, you're making your friend scared." He fake-pouted. Pero looked over at the white wolf, and realised how scared she must feel. "D-Don't

bring her into this!" Pero stuttered, "I'm your competition! Pepper! Get the others out of here, we'll do introductions later!" He barked at

Pepper.

Kerberos smiled, "That's rude. Hm, rude and harsh, what an unkind wolf you are." He frowned. Myka groaned, rolling over. She slowly opened

her eyes... ''Wah...?'' Myka swiftly jumped up, a new scent came to her. She spotted the Voodoo Wolf. ''Who are you? Look we don't need any

more trouble, we already have enough! And if you are here to cause us trouble, skull boy, I will rip you apart!'' Myka barked quickly and

furiously, clearly not liking the sight of the strange wolf. "YOU EVIL NUT-JOB!" Majenta growled and charged towards Kerberos. Kerberos

smiled at Majenta, "Hold your horses!" He said, and tugged on the necklace with shrunken heads hung around it. He held Majenta in a paused

position, and then let her drop again.

Pero puffed, and looked at his friends. "Are you sure? This guy's no ordinary wolf." He warned.

Kerberos grinned, "Oh come now Pero, let them fight." He said slyly.

"I don't like the sound of that tone, Kerberos." Pero snarled, "What are you hiding?!" He barked at the purple wolf. "Hm? Nothing at all, my

blue pelted friend," Kerberos said, and untied his sceptre, "Nothing at all."

Pero glanced around at his friends who all seemed ready to fight. "Ok....Let's go then!" He howled, and tried to grab Kerberos's muzzle. But

Kerberos grabbed his sceptre and slammed him in the head, "Stay down, boy!" He yelled with a wide grin on his face, "Come on you pups! Let

me have it!"

♦ CHAPTER EIGHT ♦

“Too bad y ou c an't buy a voodoo g lobe s o that y ou c ou ld m ake the e ar th s p in rea l f as t

And fre ak e very body out . ” – Ja ck Hand y

Pepper's blue eyes widened, as she growled. ''I am not a pup!'' she yelped. As she ran towards Kerberos, bearing her teeth. "Snap your mouth

shut." Kerberos said, and Pepper's mouth clamped back.

Pero looked around, Those heads on his collar seem to give him power...And so does that sceptre...We have to destroy those things before we

can defeat him! He thought, and ran at Kerberos, tearing off his shrunken head collar.

Kerberos gasped, and then growled at Pero. "YOU!" He shouted, "YOU IDIOT! NOW YOU WILL PAY!" His sceptre lit up and shot a black sludge

at Pero, making him stick to a tree trunk. "Guys!" Pero yelled, struggling in the sludge, "Destroy the-- MUFFUMUFFR!" Kerberos had zipped

Pero's mouth shut, and turned to the other wolves. "You kids better scram before you end up like him!" He warned, and he slid the collar back

onto his neck.

Pepper tried to open her mouth with her paw. ''Woah,'' Pepper breathed when she could control her mouth again. Destroy what? She thought

to herself as she looked at Kerberos closely. He seemed to be getting a lot of power from his sceptre, maybe that’s what they were supposed

to destroy. It’s worth a try, Pepper thought as she pounced on Kerberos sceptre and grasped it in her teeth. Kerberos snarled at Pepper, and

gave Pero an evil glare. Pero was grinning in his mind, Go Pepper! Destroy it! He thought.

The purple wolf chased after Pepper, growling and smashing everything in his path. "Come back here you little twit!" He yelled as he chased.

''Ah!'' Pepper yelped as she ran. She had Kerberos sceptre in her mouth and wondered how she could destroy it. It seems pretty powerful, she

thought, How do you destroy something with so much power? She bolted through the trees in a straight line; she had no idea what she was

going to do. She looked over her shoulder and saw Kerberos was still chasing her. Kerberos snarled, "Give that back to me!" He snapped, "I'm

warning you!" He looked down at his shrunken head necklace as he ran, My power is weak here, but it's worth a shot. He grabbed a head with

his mouth and pulled it, "Give me that sceptre!" He commanded, but nothing happened. "Argh!!" Kerberos snarled in frustration, and kept

chasing Pepper. ''Hah, Not so tough without your sceptre!'' Pepper laughed as she turned her head and wiggled his sceptre around, taunting

him. ''Cant catch me!'' she giggled to herself, but as she turned around she slammed head first into a tree. The sceptre flew out of her mouth

and landed about 10 metres in front of her. ''Ow!'' she said, her head was spinning. ''The sceptre!'' she yelped as she ran towards it.

Kerberos laughed, "Hah! You stupid pup!" He said, and ran in front of her, picking up his sceptre. "I've got it back! So take this!" He said, and

tried to make the sceptre work, "Hah!.....Huh?.....Hah!....What the heck is going on here?! Work you stupid sceptre!" He yelled at the object,

and checked it's energy level. "What?! Zero Energy?! But I charged it before....Garr, the spirits must've escaped!" He exclaimed, looking at the

open end of the sceptre.

--

Pero struggled, but the sludge faded away, and the wolf landed on his feet. "I've gotta find Pepper!" He said, and ran after the wolves.

Kerberos growled, but he smiled, "Well, looks like I'll have to charge the sceptre up right now, with YOUR spirit!" He grinned, and held the

sceptre straight at Pepper, muttering Latin words, the Sceptre began to light up; brighter, and brighter....Until a large beam shot at Pepper!

"Take this!" The evil wolf snarled, but something stopped it's work--

Pero jumped in front of the beam as it was about to hit Pepper, and he slumped to the ground. "Pepper...Run..." He breathed, "I'll deal with

Kerberos...Run!" He wheezed, and stood up wearily.

"You don't have much time, Pero-Kins." Kerberos sang, "Your soul will soon be mine, and you'll die in front of your friends." He said, watching

as his sceptre did its work. Pero gasped for air, "Pepper...Please, run..." He wheezed, and his legs began to shake.

Majenta ran after Pero, but she felt too late. “No...Pero!” She gasped, and ran over to him. Dusk followed the ruby-red wolf and growled, “You

monster!” He shouted at Kerberos, but the purple wolf just grinned back at him. “It’s too late now! You’re all too late!” He announced. The

short black wolf, ignored Pero, 'As if I’m going to leave you?' she thought to herself. She growled and pounced on Kerberos and pinned him to

the ground. ''Let him go!'' she growled her nose pressed up against his. Myka let out a soft growl ''Oh no you don't!'' She whispered to herself

quietly, and ran towards the wolf. While he was distracted with Pepper, she attempted to bite into the sceptre. Maybe that would help in

some way. The sceptre flew out of Kerberos's grasp as Pepper pounced on him, "Gah!" he exclaimed.

Pero saw the sceptre a few meters away, "Need to...Grab...Sceptre.." He wheezed, sliding towards it on his stomach. His life was getting

drained away, and he needed it back. "Myka! Destroy the sceptre...!" He said with the energy he had left, and slumped to the ground. “Hurry,

Myka!” Majenta screamed, “He doesn’t have much time!” Dusk looked back and forth, feeling overwhelmed, “Destroy it now! Do it!” He yelled

at Myka. Myka heard everyone’s words, and darted for the sceptre. She quickly attempted to smash it with all her might, trying to jump on it,

bite it, sit on it, whatever she could think of. Pepper kept Kerberos’s firmly pinned. ''I'll teach you to try eat my soul,'' she snarled at Kerberos

as she dug her claws into his skin.

Kerberos winced as Pepper dug her claws into him, and then screamed at Myka, "NO!!!"

The sceptre crashed as Myka gave it a final blow, and it broke into a million pieces. The spirits of many-a-wolf flew into the sky, and a bright

light shot into Pero's body, making him glow white.

Pero's strength returned, and he stood up, groaning as if the pain was fading away. "Pepper! Get out of the way! I've got a Witch Doctor to

smash!" He exclaimed, and slammed into Kerberos, making him fly across the forest floor, and stop at a waterfall's edge. Pero put a mighty

paw on the wolf, "So long, Kerbo." He said, and shoved the purple wolf off the cliff, his screams fading out as he went further.

There was a splash at the bottom, and Pero knew that Kerberos wasn't coming back for a long time.

As soon as the screams faded, Myka jumped and screamed, ''WOOOOOHOOOOO!'' She howled. ''WE DID IT!'' But then she stopped. ''Well,

psh, I did it.'' Myka corrected herself, very lady-like. Pepper walked over to the waterfall, ''Gosh, I hate voodoo powered wolves,'' she smiled as

she looked over the edge. She couldn’t see Kerberos. Something tells me he'll be back, she thought. ''Hey Pero,'' she began as she turned to

Pero, ''Thanks for like saving me and stuff,'' she said, her tail was wagging. Pero nodded, "Hey, I did something bad to you. Think of it as my

thanks." He smiled, and peered over the cliff. The water was raging down the side of the hill, and Pero couldn't hear anything besides the

water rapids. "He'll be back. You watch." He said. Majenta laughed, “I don’t like the sound of that.” She said. Dusk smiled, “If he does come

back, we’ll be ready for him.” Pepper looked up at the sky; it was begging to get dark. ''Maybe we should find shelter for the night,'' she said

with a yawn. 'First we have to fight enemy pack wolves and then we have to fight insane voodoo guy,' she thought, ''That’s enough action for

one day thank you very much,'' she thought out loud. Myka walked over and sat next to them. She grinned, looking at Pero and Pepper. Myka

sighed, '' We did it.'' She chuckled, ''Yeah, I hear you Pepper. Let's go find a den, or something.'' Pero laughed, "You're right, let's pack up and

call it a day." He said, and turned around, going back to a corner in the forest.

* * *

A few hours later, everyone was feeling hungry. "How about someone goes and finds us some food?" He asked, laying down in a relaxed

position, and grooming his fur. "Like, you Myka?" He asked, chuckling. Myka grinned. ''Who me!? Yes!!'' Myka barked jumping up. ''I'll be

back!'' She said, darting off. After a bit she found a couple of rabbits. Pero sleepily grabbed a rabbit, and ate a little. "I've lost my appetite. You

have the rest." He said, and threw it into the rabbit pile again.

He walked over to a little spot by himself, and layed there, thinking about Kerberos.

How did he find me...I lost him back there, didn't I? He wondered, thinking about the first time he met Majenta and Pepper. Before I saw

Jen...He was right there next to me...Has he been following me the whole-- Yes, that would explain the leader wolf! He thought, suddenly

realising that Kerberos had planned the whole thing. He made a deal with that pack...That evil soul. Those were his final thoughts before

drifting off to sleep, thinking about everyone. Myka nibbled on a rabbit. ''Okay,'' She said to Pero, but he was asleep. She sighed, and got up.

She walked out of den, and jumped on a rock. It was cold outside, but she didn't care. The she-wolf slumped, exhausted, and closed her eyes.

She fell asleep a moment later on the rock. Pepper took a bite out of the rabbit, it tasted good. She took another bite but for some strange

reason she was already full. ''Weird,'' she mumbled to herself but shook the thought away. She walked over to a tree a little away from where

the others were sleeping. She leaped into it and kept climbing through the branches until she was almost at the top. She lay down on her back

and watched the stars come out, until she drifted off to sleep.

Pero turned and twisted, but he couldn't sleep. The image of Kerberos was in his mind, and it was making him feel sick. He woke up from a

nightmare, and looked around. Everyone else seemed to be asleep; I should just try and feel happy, and dream about other things. He thought,

and closed his eyes...

* * *

Pero walked through a dense wood, like the one he had met Pepper and Majenta in. He saw a figure dash past him, which made him jump. "Who's there? Come out!" He said, and heard Pepper's voice. "Pero...Pero help me!" She seemed to scream. Pero ran towards the scream, and saw Majenta instead. "Jen? What..I heard Pepper!" Majenta looked sad, and a

tear rolled down her face. "You betrayed me!" She yelled at him. "What? I didn't do anything to you!" He yelled back, but Majenta had faded away. "...What on earth is going on here...." He wondered aloud, and walked forwards.

"Pepper? Jen? Dusk? Myka? Where did you go?!" He howled, and saw Akita in the distance. "Hey! You're that wolf from before!" He called to her, and ran towards the white wolf.

Akita stared at him with her icicle blue eyes, and whispered, "Murderer." Pero stopped dead in his tracks, and suddenly he was on a cliff, with the sea raging below, and the rain pounding against his body. "N-No! I didn't kill anyone!" He retorted, and Akita growled, "Lier!!" She yelled, and a strike of lightening flashed in the distance, making the thunder

rumble. Pero shook his head, "W-What are you talking about?!" He shouted. Another flash of blinding light made Pero unable to see, and when it faded, his friends were standing around him, on the same cliff. "Guys?! Guys!" The blue wolf yelled.

"Pero... Why?" Dusk asked.

"Pero...You're a monster..." Pepper whimpered. "You let us down, Pero." Akita said.

"Pero! You idiot! It's your entire fault!" Myka yelled. "I can't believe what you did...Pero..." Majenta cried.

♦ CHAPTER NINE ♦

“I believe in everything until it's disproved. So I believe in fairies, the myths, dragons. It all exists, even if it's in your mind.

Who's to say that dreams and nightmares aren't as real as the here and now?” – John Lennon

Pepper heard Pero's scream and woke up suddenly. She forgot she was in a tree and jumped up, ''WHAT?'' she exclaimed out of surprise.

''AHHHH!'' she yelped as she slipped out of the tree. She landed on the ground with a thud. ''Ow...’’ she whimpered as she was spread out

across the forest floor, luckily she hadn’t been hurt badly, just a few bruises. She rolled over to face Pero and gave him the evil eyes. ''Having a

bad dream are we?'' she groaned and rolled her eyes.

Majenta had her dream stuck on a loop. Kerberos kept tumbling down cliff... down and down and down and down and down...

Suddenly she woke up to a scream.

"What the-?!" she yelled as she jumped onto all fours, ready to rip an attacking pack of wolves to shreds. She looked around, confused,

because everyone seemed fine.

Dusk was out wandering in the woods, because he never slept, when he heard Pero scream from far away. He changed course, running back to

the others.

"You said I was a monster in my dream...E-Everyone was there..." Pero stuttered to Pepper, but shook his head. "Sorry I woke you up, Pep." He

smiled sheepishly, "Dreams do that to everyone...Speaking of everyone, I saw, you in that dream as well." He said, pointing to Akita. "Oh! That

reminds me, I haven't told you my name yet." Pero said, "My name is Pero-- And I lead this Dispersal Clan." He greeted, "Who are you?"

Akita couldn’t wake up. Things were changing... with such speed, her mind couldn't keep up with it. She had a full slash across her shoulder,

and a bloody clot was forming on her belly. While she slept, she thought of how she had to start her journey all over again. It seemed so

intense and endless...

Pero tilted his head at Akita, "....Hello? Oh, no!" he exclaimed, and got up, looking at Akita, with no idea as what to do. He heard someone

coming, and saw Dusk in the distance. "Dusk! Quickly!" He called.

* * *

After the others were asleep, Myka woke up. She jumped down and padded off. I need to find it She thought. She had lost a part of her

bandage during the fight with the Voodoo Wolf. Her nose was basically glued to the ground.

Eventually, Myka grinned. ''Aha!'' She had found the part of the bandage she was missing. It wasn't too damaged. She picked it up. Myka

turned around but she was too tired to go back... ''Ugh, I'll just sleep here.'' Myka decided, and plopped down, falling asleep with the bandage

in her mouth.

Myka opened her mouth to yawn, but she almost choked on the bandage. ''YUCK, ack!!'' She screamed, spitting it out. The birds flew away in

terror due to her awakening. Myka rolled her eyes and groaned. She buried the bandage part, before going off to find a rabbit or two.

After eating a rabbit, she dug out the bandage again, picked it up, and began to trot back to the den.

* * *

Dusk grabbed plenty of seeds & cobwebs, and rushed back to Akita & popped the seeds in her mouth, then tried to stroke her neck to help the

unconscious wolf swallow the seeds. He then pressed the cobwebs on the slash running across her shoulder. Majenta went and stood next to

Pero. "Who did this to her?!" She asked him. "The bear...It must've gotten her..." Pero breathed, "I left her alone, no wonder she was in my

nightmare!" He exclaimed, "Whoever you are, I'm sorry...I should've been there to help you..." He apologised, even if Akita couldn't hear him.

If Akita hadn't lost conscious, she would have never let strangers touch a single hair on her. But this was another situation. She was trapped

inside dreams, wondering blankly. "I gave her some seeds to help any dizziness that might have caused her to fall unconscious but I don’t think

that there's anything else I can do" Dusk said sadly. Pepper got up and walked over to the others. She felt a bit sore from her fall but she would

live. ''I hope she gets better,'' Pepper said, she had a worried look on her face.

Jen licked Pero's cheek "It's not your fault Pero, you shouldn't beat yourself up about it" she said, then blushed from embarrassment and

regained her hard exterior again. Pero's straight face turned bright red as Majenta licked him. He blushed and began to stutter, "M-M....M-

Maahaa...." He muttered, but shook his head and tried to snap out of it. Wh-What was th-that?! He thought, things rushing through his head

like no tomorrow. Pepper snickered at the sight of Pero and Jen. She couldn’t help herself, she was just that type of wolf. ''Aww... You two are

too cute,'' Pepper said as she burst out into laughter. Jen growled at Pepper even though under her red fur she was turning even redder. Pero

coughed slightly at Pepper's comment, and turned to give her an evil look. "Ahem...A-Anyway..." Pero said, and turned to Dusk. "Is she going to

be alright?" He asked him, but the moment was still running marathons in his head.

* * *

Myka had been listening to them for a short time now. She had got back about two minutes ago and had overheard the whole Akita moment,

she had also giggled to herself at the little Jen and Pero moment. She sighed a bit. Maybe they are better off without me. She thought sadly.

Myka ran off, the bandage still in her mouth.

* * *

Pero waited for his question to be answered. That reminds me...I haven't seen Myka all morning... He thought, and turned back to Pepper,

"Hey Pep. Here's something you can do; Go and find Myka. I haven't seen her all morning." He said, and grinned.

Pepper looked around, no Myka. ''Ok but I’m not going to find Myka 'coz you told me to, because I want to.'' she smiled, she wasn’t going to

take orders from anyone but herself. She put her nose to the ground and walked around to see if she could pick up a scent. She followed her

nose to the tree she had fallen out of before. There was a pretty blue flower under the tree, that had been squished went Pepper had fallen on

it. ''Blue, my favourite colour!'' She announced to herself she pulled it up from the ground and put it behind her ear. ''Now what was I doing

again?'' she asked herself, ''Right!? Myka.'' Pepper sniffed around for a little bit longer until she picked up Myka's scent. ''This way!'' she said as

she ran off after the scent.

Myka ran as fast as she could, not even looking back. Yeah, sure, it was fun while it lasted, but Myka needed to move on. Besides she was just

a burden to them anyways.

Or was she?

Pepper followed ran after the scent, '' Myka!!'' she screamed, while she was running. Pepper saw a grey blur ahead of her and knew it must be

Myka. ''Myka come back, we need you!'' she yelped as she ran faster. Myka still ran, but her ankle twisted and she tripped, hitting the ground

hard. ''Ugh...'' Myka groaned. She tried to get up but it was no use. Pepper gracefully leaped over a rock and bolted towards Myka. When she

finally reached Myka she was puffing and panting. ''Are you okay?'' she asked as she saw Myka's ankle, ''...And why did you run away?'' she

added confused about the whole situation. Myka glanced at the ground. ''....you guys don't need me.'' She whispered. Myka got up, and

started to walk away. She flinched a bit every time she took a step with one of her paws. Pepper chased after Myka, ''But... We do need you,

what would make you think we don’t?'' Pepper smiled sweetly and her eyes grew bigger. She put her innocent face on, ''Please don’t leave

us,'' she begged. Myka rolled her eyes, How could I ever leave. She sighed.

'' It's just that...I'm not noticed. '' Myka said, turning around. She started to head back. Myka wanted to leave but she couldn't. At least not

now, she couldn't run. ''Besides, if I keep going, what will there be for me when we finally get there?''

''Of course you’re noticed,'' The pup protested, as she followed Myka. ''And well, there’s nothing there for me either,'' Pepper sighed, ''But at

least we have friends who care about us''. Pepper pranced on a rock, and jumped off as high as she could, ''Hey you like my flower?'' she

asked, grabbing the blue flower from behind her ear and showing it to Myka. She smiled innocently as she looked down at her flower which

wasn’t as blue as before. ''You didn't even know I was gone till I was leaving for good...'' Myka whispered to herself, but shrugged it off.

She chuckled. ''Yeah, I guess.'' Myka answered. The partly-blue flower was pretty. Myka walked faster. ''Come on, I can't leave now.'' She still

held the bandage in her mouth. ''Good to hear,'' she grinned and trotted after Myka. ''How’s your paw?'' Pepper asked, remembering Myka's

injury. She grabbed her blue flower and put it back behind her ear. She could just see it out of the corner of her eye, so she admired it.

* * *

For a moment, Akita's mind came to her, and she yelped, "Help! I-" But she never finished that sentence, she dropped to the ground once

more and she quickly closed her eyes shut. But before she fell, she whispered, "Help... someone..." Dusk looked at Akita worriedly "I don't

know how else to help you!" he said to her even though she was unconscious, and then he said to Pero "Because I don't actually know how

this happened, there's not much I can do to treat her. I think she just needs to rest." Pero sighed, ''Ok. Well if you figure out a solution, make

sure you tell me.'' He nodded, and slowly walked over to Majenta. ''H-Hey.'' He greeted, and sat down next to her. ''Y-You know I...'' He began,

but didn't finish his sentence. Spit it out, Pero! He thought, It's not that hard... "Uh, hey" Majenta said awkwardly. "L-Listen...About before, you

don't need to feel awkward about it or anything." Pero began, "Because, well, I don't know..." He shrugged, "I guess, I kinda...L-L-L-Liked...I-It."

he stuttered. Gah! That came out all wrong! He cursed himself, Stupid! I kinda liked it?! What the heck am I saying...? Majenta’s eyes grew

wide, and she blushed under her fur although you couldn't tell because of her fur colour.

"... You did?" she finally said after a long awkward silence. Grr...I messed up big time... He cursed, "Um, y-yeah." He replied with a smile he

tried to make, "I've never felt that feeling before." He blushed. "Yeah... I didn't mean it to be like that when I did it but I've never felt that

before either" Majenta said, her face still as awkward as before. "Oh, y-yeah I knew that." Pero said, cancelling what he was about to say. "So

um, K-Kerberos is a bad wolf, isn't he?" He said, trying to make decent conversation. "Yep, he sure is" Majenta said "And I hope we can get rid

of him for good next time, but I'm sure you'll be able to defeat him with your eyes closed" she smiled.

Myka nodded at Pepper, ''Thanks for the tour, kiddo.'' she grinned with a wink. They eventually reached the den shortly, and walked up to Jen

and Pero. ''Sup, ladies, sorry to interrupt this chit-chat, but we gotta get moving.'' She said with a grin. Myka shot a look at Dusk, and then her

gaze moved to Akita. ''Who's that?'' Pero narrowed his eyes at Myka, "Ladies huh..." He muttered, and then turned to Akita and Dusk.

"Dusk here is trying to cure Akita, who got attacked again by the bear once we were gone." He said, "He hopes she'll get better, as we all do."

He added. He looked down at Akita; You look like you're struggling...What could be wrong with you? Dusk healed all of your wounds...Well I

guess that was a Voodoo bear. Maybe it hurt you more than we think. He thought. Majenta blushed; She didn’t hear us, did she?! She thought

a little worriedly. "Myka's right, we need to keep travelling"

"Yes Pero, I've done everything I can to help medically but it doesn’t seem to be working" Dusk said. Pero nodded, and looked around. "Well

someone will have to carry Akita." He said, glancing at everyone. "And, speaking for myself I’m not going to do it." He chuckled, "Personally, I

don't want a half-conscious body on my back." Dusk sighed, knowing this would be the outcome. "I guess I will, seeing I'm the largest here." He

said as he lifted Akita onto his back slowly. Myka looked confused. ''Akita...Akita...where have I heard that before...Nah doesn't ring a bell.''

She thought out loud. The she-wolf chuckled. ''Yeah, Dusk, you’re strong like that. Let's go.'' She bumped into him lightly. Myka still held the

bandage in her mouth. She shook the pain off that came from her paw, and waited for Pero to lead. Dusk chuckled at Myka, and nudged her

back. The blue wolf smiled, "Thank you, Dusk." He thanked, and turned around.

"So, the exit is this way," He said, "And we've still got about seven miles to go. So all of you get yourselves ready," He said, and strode to the

front of the group. "We can't stay here any longer, for all we know; Kerberos is watching our every move." He warned, looking around at the

shadows of the forest.

I know you're watching, Kerberos...But we will defeat you. Some day. He thought, and began to move forwards.

Majenta looked at Pero adoringly as he did his whole leader thing, then realized what she was doing and snapped out of it, back into her

serious expression and rigid structure. Myka smiled at Dusk, and then walked faster. ''Well uhh one thing, I need to find a place to put this

bandage, because my jaws are starting to hurt.'' Myka said, looking around. Majenta tilted her head, “I’ve heard you mentioning that bandage

a lot lately...What is it?” She asked. “I’ve always had a bandage around one of my legs, not for any real reason. I lost part of it and I found it,

now I have that piece in my mouth.” Myka answered with a smile. Majenta smiled back, “Ahh, ok.” She replied. Pero nodded back at Myka,

"Hmm...I'll hold it." He said, grabbing the bandage from her grasp and holding it in his own mouth. "Once you're satisfied, then I'll give it back."

He chuckled. Majenta walked silently, her tail swishing from side to side as her mind raced with thoughts of what had happened between her

and Pero. Maybe he...No, that’s not possible. He’s too flamboyant for that. She thought, rolling her eyes. Dusk walked lugging Akita on his

back, not really thinking of anything in particular.

♦ CHAPTER NINE ♦

“The price of greatness is responsibility.” --Winston Churchill

Myka started to move her jaws into awkward positions. ''Thanks, Pero!'' Something seemed to put a bounce in Myka's step. She smiled. ''How

about a bit of music, guys?''

''♪Open up your eyes take a look at me

If the picture fits in your memory

I've been dreaming by the rhythm like the beat of a heart

And I won't stop until I start to stand out

Some people settle for the typical thing

Living all their lives waiting in the wings

It ain't a question of 'if', just a matter of time

Before I move to the front of the line

And once you're watching ev'ry move that I make

Ya gotta believe that I got what it takes♪''

Pero grinned, and looked back at Myka, "Is that a human song? I've heard heaps of them in my time." He nodded, thinking of some. Hmm...

There's that one... But I ain't singing it. He chuckled to himself.

"What was the one you sang before?" He asked. Myka grinned back, “It’s called Stand Out, I think.” She nodded, trying to remember.

Suddenly, the white wolf awoke, “No..." Akita began, slowly. But she snapped awake. She realized strangers were all around her, staring at her,

in curiosity and wonder. She understood that curiosity. But she hated the way everyone looked at her. Besides, they were strangers. And she

couldn't trust strangers. "Who are you?!" Akita hissed threateningly. "Leave me alone!” Pero turned quickly, "Who what where?!" He asked,

looking around the place. His gaze then focused on Akita, who seemed to be snarling at...Him? And everyone else?

Pero tilted his head, "Hold up snowy," He said, "W-We don't wanna hurt you!" He re-assured.

Well, tried to re-assure. Myka jumped when Akita hissed. ''Whoa?!'' She looked at Akita. ''Hey hey, calm down, we're here to help!''

"Yeah! Yeah we are!" Pero agreed, obviously, his words didn't help. "We know you're distressed; it must be horrible to wake up and see

unknown faces, but really, we're not going to hurt you." Pero added moving closer to Akita. Akita flattened her ears, and her frosty-blue eyes

flashed in rage. They couldn't play with her. "Liar!" Akita snapped, shifting away. She broke free of Dusk’s grip, so suddenly. Akita would begin

her journey from the start, there was no way, she'd let a group of strangers get to her. Thinking quickly, she fell in a swift dash, leaving Pero

and the others. Pero frowned; there was no way he'd let the little snowball go.

"Let's go guys, that kid's on the loose!" He exclaimed, and dashed after Akita. "Hey! Winter Wonderland!" He yelled after the running pile of

snow. "Please listen to us! We're not lying!" He added, still trying to keep his speed. ''HEY WAIT NO!'' Myka yelled, giving chase. Myka let out

an ''Ow'' every time her hurt paw hit the ground. Pepper growled, “Don’t pull a runner on us!” She yelled, and gave chase as well. Dusk and

Majenta exchanged glances before also pegging it along the path behind the young wolf. Akita stared at Myka for moment. She looked quite

familiar. But she wouldn't dare halt, she continued her leaving. She also daren't look behind, they would catch her. But she had to try; there

was no way that she was going to listen to lies. ''Snowball! Snowy! Snow white!'' Myka yelled, running even faster, getting next to Akita. She

attempted to bump into Akita, knocking her down if it hit.

Majenta and Dusk ran after Akita. Dusk was a very fast runner so he caught up to her quickly and stood in her way once Pero had a hold of her

tail.

"It seems awfully ungrateful of you to react like this after I healed your wounds, because frankly you would probably be a goner without our

help." Dusk said. Pero nodded at Dusk's comment, and tried to stop Akita. She's strong, but I'll keep trying! He thought, "You've gotta

understand!" He added in, while Majenta caught up to them and tried to help Pero hold Akita. Akita's fur bristled anxiously, she couldn't trust

them yet. Not now. "No, no, no and no ! I want the truth! Not lies!" Akita cried, her hope falling, "I lost my Clan-" she paused. No way, Akita

couldn't tell them. Not a bit. "It is the truth, you were wounded from Kerberos' bear attack & I gave you medical treatment to bring you back

to health" Dusk said "Don't worry, you can tell us anything, especially about losing your pack, we're just a bunch of dispersal wolves for Pete’s

sake." Pero smiled, and let go of Akita's tail. "Now, listen to us. We've experienced a lot too. Most of our packs were destroyed, as well. You

can trust us, we're not liars..." He said, but remembered that he lied a lot when he was younger. "Well, most of us aren't." He smiled.

Majenta sat silently close by, knowing how Akita was feeling. The feeling of betrayal & losing your trust in fellow wolf, the desire just to be left

alone and try to move on from your loss. The hatred for whoever it was that took away the ones you loved, even though you don't really know

who they are. Myka tripped, ''WHOA!'' She hit the ground, sliding deeper into the dirt. ''I'M OKAY!'' Myka called. ''If you even care, that is.'' She

mumbled. Majenta snapped out of her daydreaming and ran over to Myka. "You OK?" she asked. Pero rolled his eyes, "Great timing, dance

perfectionist." He said, and stormed over to her, "This little wolf is beginning to trust us..! Sort of!" He whispered, and glanced back at Akita

and Dusk for a second, smiling, before turning back to Myka. "So try to act a little positive." He grinned, and pranced over to Akita again. "Once

we know your name, and you feel that you can trust us a little more, you can feel free to talk to us." He nodded. Myka let out a low growl,

glaring at Pero. She got up, shaking the dirt off of her fur. The she-wolf looked away. ''Whatever.'' Myka mumbled, in a lady-like way. Pepper

finally caught up with her friends. ''Thanks for waiting guys,'' she moaned sarcastically, ''Ohhh hi,'' she grinned as she spotted Akita. Pepper

trotted over to Myka, ''You okay?'' she asked.

Akita thought for a moment.

This isn't too bad... for now. But she couldn't trust them, "I'll stay with you. But if you try to kill me..." Akita threatened warningly, "I'll rip you

all, to shreds!" Dusk shook his head, "We'd never try to kill you, what would be the point?" He chuckled.

Jen walked up to Pero "That was no way to talk to Myka and you should apologize" She said. Pero flinched at Majenta, "I was just telling her--

...Aww, dang it." He cursed, and walked over to Myka. "Fine, I'm sorry that I whispered slash yelled at you for falling over and I should've

helped you up. There." He nodded, but knew that his 'apology' wasn't going to be enough.

He sighed, but then laughed at Akita, "For a young one, you sure have a lot of spark!" He exclaimed. "So, let's do the introductions before we

lose you again, my name is Pero-- And I lead this Dispersal Clan." He said, and pointed his tail to Dusk, "This is Dusk; I guess you could call him

our 'Ambulance'." He laughed, and pointed to Pepper, "This black pup is called Pepper, and she's really energetic. And...Loves, flowers?" He

asked, tilting his head at the blue flower next to her ear. He grinned, and continued, "This is Majenta, quiet, but she's nice." He smiled, "And

finally, there's Myka. She has an unusual spunk." He chuckled. Pepper grinned and looked up at her flower, ''Yup, you guys like my pretty blue

flower?'' she asked as her face lit up at the thought of flowers. She did a little twirl to show she was happy, ''Well let’s get going, again!''

Pepper grinned as she stopped twirling and looked at her friends. She was in a good mood today. Majenta scoffed and raised an eyebrow

"Quiet, eh?" "When you need to be." Pero winked at Majenta with a smile. Myka gave Pero a 'You did not just say that' look when he said that

spunky comment. She sighed, rolling her eyes. ''Anyways now that that's over with...'' Myka paused, yawning. ''Let's continue travelling.''

"Good idea” Majenta said and started to walk at a fast pace without checking if the others were following. He nodded at Myka, "Yes, I agree.

Let's keep moving, Kerberos will officially die next time we see him." He chuckled, and led the pack back into the forest.

* * *

The forest seemed to be ages away once the group started moving again. The clan had walked about 2 more miles when the gang had come to

a rushing waterfall. "Look familiar?" He called above the waterfall's mighty roar, and thought back to Kerberos’s plummet to the water below.

Akita gazed at the rushing waterfall. It seemed familiar, like she'd been here before in the past. "I don't trust you." Akita scoffed, stubbornly.

"Who's this Kerberos wolf, anyway?" She suddenly lurched feebly. Frankly, to say, the anxious truth was that she was actually scared of

the thought of crossing it. Akita shuffled, pretending to be fine. "Kerberos is a wolf with Voodoo powers. He adapted his strange phenomenon

from a mentor, and mentor whose name can't be spoken of." Pero started, "The bear that attacked you...He was a Voodoo bear made up by

Kerberos. You're lucky; sometimes Voodoo can be fatal. I know I've experienced his powers...But that's another story." He smiled at Akita,

"So, you ready to cross this thing?" He asked.

Majenta looked at the waterfall nervously. Dusk wasn't nervous about crossing the stream because he believed he was definitely strong

enough to fight the current. Cauldron watched the rabbit as it nibbled on some plants, not aware of the black and grey wolf watching it from

behind the bushes. He waited for it to come close, then darted out and grabbed the rabbit, killing it before it knew what had hit it. Devouring it

quickly, Cauldron continued on through the woods. He thought he heard voices close by, so he went to check it out. Getting closer, he sped up,

excited to meet new wolves. He saw some wolves by a waterfall and went up to them. "Hello!" he said happily. Dusk and Jen both spun around

as the new wolf approached. "Hello" Dusk said "What brings you here to our dispersal pack as we travel?" Pero turned around to see a wolf

greeting them with a big smile. He was happy about this. "Why, hello young wolf," He said, walking up to Cauldron, "You seem happy. Why,

may I ask?" He asked. Even though the grey wolf had a smile, Pero knew not to trust faces so quickly. Myka had to hold back a laugh. ''Dusk,

Pero, you’re so...formal. It's scary.'' She said, rolling her eyes. ''Yo,'' A short pause, ''I'm Myka.'' Dusk laughed "OK Myka. I'll chill..." then turned

to Cauldron and said "WAZZUUUUUUUUUP!" as he shook his head around and his tongue stuck out all awesome-like. Pero laughed one of

those belly-laughs and did the same in the opposite direction, "WAZZAAPP!" He repeated. "This wolf will think we're crazy." He whispered with

a chuckle so only Dusk could hear him. Dusk chuckled back and continued to stick his tongue out. Cauldron was about to answer Dusk and Pero

when Myka said that they were too formal. He laughed as the two males changed dramatically. "I am THRILLED to meet you all!" Cali said,

even a bigger grin on his face.

Majenta went into hysterics and laughed so hard she fell into the water and was being pulled by the current towards the waterfall. She tried to

fight the current as much as possible but she just wasn’t strong enough a swimmer.

"HELP! " she cried as she was pulled away from her friends and towards death. Dusk turned around after Majenta cried out and saw her

getting further & further away.

"JEN! We need to help her guys!" he said anxiously. Pero stopped his laughing and saw Majenta struggling in the rapids. "Hold on, Jen!" He

gasped, and looked ahead, seeing the waterfall's end. "We'll need everyone's help! Even yours, unknown wolf!" He called to Cauldron.

The wolf dashed down the ravine, and tried to reach out his muzzle. "No use!" He sighed, and saw rocks up ahead, "Majenta! Grab onto one of

those!" He yelled. "I'm C-" he was cut off as Magenta screamed help. Without a second thought Cauldron was in the water and swimming

towards her. He grabbed her scruff and tried swimming back, but the current was too strong and pulled them both closer to the waterfall. Pero

growled, "Grab the rocks!" He spluttered, "If you don't you'll both be killed!" He screamed, rushing around madly. He finally gave up yelling,

and jumped the ravine rocks. "I'm--" He began, dodging the flying water, "Coming!" He stuttered, and got as far as he could go. "Try and push

yourselves over to me! C'mon guys, we need to pull when they grab me!" He called back to his clan. As Jen was pulled closer and closer to the

edge she saw a rock directly in front of her, so she scrambled on, it was slippery but she was careful as she could. She dragged Cauldron on

also, and then caught her breath that she'd lost from the struggle fighting the water. Then she noticed Pero coming towards them on the

rocks, and lost her balance and fell in again.

"Pero!" she spluttered and tried to swim towards him. Myka ''JEN! W-what do we do?!'' She got serious and followed Pero's directions. ''Okay!

Jen, claw, kick, claw kick! Like you know, stalking prey!'' Myka called, but she knew that it would probably not help; Jen already knew how to

swim. "I'm trying!!!!!" Majenta called out in frustration to Myka. After some claws & kicks, Jen finally scrambled onto the rock Pero was on,

panting and shivering from the icy cold water that dripped from her soaking fur. "Majenta! Majenta grab me!" He said, holding out his body as

far as he could, "I don't care about the pain; all I want is for you two to be safe!" He yelled, the water feeling louder than ever before. The rock

seemed to be more slippery as well, the moss and grime making his paws slick."Myka! Pepper! Dusk! Akita! Get ready to pull me back!" He

called back to his clan once more. Myka nodded, and got ready. ''Okay, let's do this!!'' She shot a quick glance behind her. ''C'mon guys.'' The

she-wolf said. Majenta sighed with relief that she was safe. Then she realized the stranger wolf was still on the other rock far away from where

they were. "That wolf is still stranded on that rock there!" Jen said worriedly. Cauldron panted and spluttered his fur wet and soggy, “H-Help!”

He called out hopelessly to Pero.

♦ CHAPTER TEN ♦ “The final test of a leader is that he leaves behind him in other men, the conviction and the will to carry on.” --Walter Lippman

Pero looked at Cauldron, and gasped, "Myka! Get Majenta to safety!" He called, and dove into the water.

Underneath the water, Pero could see the sparkle in the waves as they rushed. He felt that he was being pushed back, but fought the current

and paddled on. He rose to the surface to take breaths, but ducked under to swim faster. The rock seemed to be ages away, but Pero wouldn't

give up. At that moment, the moment where Pero felt that he couldn't give up, he felt someone watching him. Not with evil eyes, but with

awe and wonder. He then realised that those eyes were his friends, and how important they were to him, and how they would make him

move forward in the hardest situations. This was one of those moments. A sudden wave of courage washed over him, and he felt himself swim

forward even more, finally reaching the rock where Cauldron was shaking on.

He gasped for air as he reached the surface, the water suddenly seeming so harsh and terrifying. He grabbed onto the rock using his paws, and

did his best to dig his claws into its hard surface. "Quickly! Get on me!" He yelled up to Cali, his eyes wide with ambition and persistence; the

eyes of a true leader.

Myka nodded ''Oka---'' She spotted the missing piece of her bandage floating aimlessly. I can't-... She leaped, hitting the water with a splash.

She came up, gasping for air. She got the bandage in her mouth, and swam over to a rock. ''Carry on without me! I'll be fine!'' She called, ''I'M

SERIOUS, DON'T SAVE ME!'' Myka added, glaring at Pero. Myka put the bandage on the top of the rock, hopefully it wouldn't slip off. She

practically threw up water.

Majenta watched the scene of her hero saving a wolf they didn't even know the name of. The courageous blue wolf had, secretly, won over

her heart, and her eyes swelled up with tears of joy. She bit her bottom lip, wondering what Pero would do now that Myka had her little stunt.

Pero looked back at Myka, and took Cauldron onto his back. "Great! Now that you've saved your bandage... Save Majenta would you?!" He

barked, and began to swim back. If I drop Cauldron at the bank of the ravine, I might get swept away...But that's the price I'll have to make. He

thought, trying to fight the current of the water, Why's that bandage so important to Myka, anyway? It confuses me. He added.

Pero then called up to Cauldron, "Are you ok? It won't be long, just hang on to me buddy!" He yelled.

Majenta realized she was still on the rocks in the middle of the river, so she carefully leapt back from rock to rock, until she was back on land.

She shook the water from her fur and watched what happened next. Myka let out a low growl, Pero just didn't understand. The bandage was

from her loving mother. Man, her mother had always been there for her. Until...she disappeared. The she-wolf was so caught up in flashbacks

that she fell back into the water. She hurriedly got on the rock again. Picking up the bandage again, she noticed that she was not too far from

land. She let go of the rock and started to swim. After a few seconds, she dug her claws into the ground. Myka's body was half on the ground,

half in the water. She started to get pulled back in. Myka panicked, looking around. She pressed her hind legs against the ground wall, and

jumped up. The bandage fell out of her mouth as she landed, and she gasped for air. Myka was in the middle of turning around to follow Pero's

orders, when her eyes rolled back and she fell to the ground, limp. Pero's head was getting pushed under the water by Cauldron's weight, but

he kept pushing on. At a moment, he saw Myka fall to the ground, and everyone's faces turn to shock as she did so. Myka strains herself so

much; I wonder how she can even survive? Pero thought, and paddled through the water faster. Jen ran over to Myka.

"Myka! Are you alright?! MYKA!" she yelled in her ear, trying to make her wake up again. Dusk ran over to Myka and tried to help her with his

usual medical whatnot. Myka woke up for a short moment, her head moving upwards slightly. ''T-the...bandage...'' She croaked, before

groaning slightly and falling limp again. "Keep an eye on Myka please" Dusk said to Jen & ran towards the river. He tried to find her bandage,

and luckily he found it between some rocks on the river's bank so he didn't end up having to search for it in the stroppy river. He picked it up

and ran back to Jen and Myka. He placed the bandage next to the unconscious wolf. Myka's paw moved slightly, touching the bandage. She

opened her eyes slowly, the bandage seemed to give her life. ''W-Wha...Dusk...'' She mumbled. Myka tried to get up but she fell down, starting

to cough up water. "Shh... save your energy Myka, everything's OK" Dusk said soothingly. Myka blinked after getting all of the water out. She

smiled. ''Very demanding,'' Myka started sarcastically, ''Go on, say something else.'' She urged, relaxing. Dusk wasn't that good with words, but

seeing it was helping Myka he tried to think up more things to say.

"Starry night, the moon provides light, as the night creatures fight, uh... dragons are at flight, and along comes a knight who is awesome the

end..." Dusk said awkwardly, his poetry skills obviously needed improving. Myka giggled. ''That's a good start...'' She looked up.

''♪Night,

And the spirit of life,

Calling.

And a voice

With the fear of a child

Answers...

Wait,

There's no mountain too great...♪'' Myka sang, but paused. ''Uh...'' She stuttered, trying to find more words. ''The end?'' She said sheepishly.

Dusk smiled "Well it's better than my poetry attempt, you're a good singer" he said, and then started to sing one of his favourite songs;

"♪You would not believe your eyes

If ten million fireflies

Lit up the world as I fell asleep♪..." Myka blinked. ''You sing...like a man.'' Myka mumbled, That sounded so stupid. She thought, looking down.

Myka rested her head on the ground. Dusk laughed, he didn't know if that was a compliment or not.

"Well at least you're feeling better now" he smiled. Myka's eyes seemed to sparkle as she looked up at him. ''Yeah...way...better.'' Myka said,

her voice trailing off. She blushed, looking down quickly. She jumped up. ''Well let's go, we shouldn't be sitting here while Pero struggles!!''

How could I forget Pero like that? I was thinking everyone was safe?! I just got trapped in Dusk's eyes and...No. Nonononono. Not thinking, just

shutting my mental mouth off for a moment. "Oh yeah!" Dusk had completely forgotten also. He ran to the bank of the stream and saw Pero

and Cauldron.

"C'mon, Pero! You can do it!" he called out. Jen had been watching the whole time.

"Isn't he amazing?" Jen said and sighed happily.

"Well I'd be able to do that easy, I'm much stronger after all" Dusk said loud enough so that Myka could hear, because he was trying to impress

her. What am I doing?! He thought to himself Get your head straight and stop being stupid. ''Jen, you are so in love with him. But I won't cut

you any slack, because Dusk is so---'' Myka began to whisper to Jen, but cut herself off, ''U-u-uhh...so...so...'' She coughed. ''And that's that!''

Myka said, nervously. Pepper looked at Myka then at Dusk and saw their connection. ''Yuck,'' she muttered as she screwed up her face. ''Ach,

you guys make me sick,'' she said as she looked over to Pero. ''Go Pero!'' she yelped in excitement. Pero finally reached the bank, and placed

Cauldron down carefully. He slumped to the ground, "Are...You alright, buddy?" He asked the grey wolf, "Myka...You're, ok now?" He asked,

puffing from exhaustion. "Myself and this little guy...We're pretty darn tired," He chuckled with the energy that he had left, "By the way,

what's your name?" He breathed to Cauldron. "Am not!" Jen barked.

"Yes you are!" Dusk said and stuck out his tongue at Jen, then turned to Myka "Uh I would thank you if I knew what I was 'so' of? Please tell!"

and when Jen and Myka weren't looking he shot a 'you're dead meat later' look to Pepper.

Jen ran over to Pero and Cauldron "Are you guys ok?! Thank you for before... by the way. Both of you" she said awkwardly. ''Y-You know...You

are so...strongANDdreamyANDIloveyou.'' Myka looked at Pero, regaining her usual spunk.

''Pfff,'' She started, rolling her eyes. ''Of course I'm o-kay! Jeez Pero I'm surprised it took you so long, we were basically tapping our paws

waiting for you. Expect for Jen, she was admiring you thinking you were dreamy, isn't that right Jen. Anyways who is this wolf, and Jen!'' She

turned to Jen with an angry look on her face. Myka towered over her. ''You, started this whole mess! You just had to go laughing and fall into

the river, then of course Pero has it out for you so he went to save you, and me and Dusk and Pepper were dragged into saving you!” She took a deep

breath after talking so quickly. Pepper stuck her tongue out at Dusk, and looked at Myka. ''Myka be nice to Jen,'' she said in a way that you just

couldn’t take her seriously. Pepper sighed, ''And the truth is all you guys are ALL totally in love, and the quicker you admit that the better for

everyone!'' she exclaimed and gave everyone a look that said 'I’m always right'. Dusk felt a bit embarrassed but decided to get it over with.

"Fine! I am! So what?! There, I said it, you happy now?!" Dusk said, then turned to Jen and said a bit like a teacher talking to a toddler, "And

maybe there's something you would like to say also Jen?"

"Nope!" Jen said and stuck her tongue out at Dusk. Myka growled, ''You do have something to say.'' She snarled. ''What was it now? Oh,'' She

copied Jen's voice, ''Isn't he amazing?''

Myka then turned to Dusk, thinking about what he had said. "And...why in the first place, are you all speaking of nonsense?" she retorted.

"I can't believe this. Talking gossip. Could you talk something else?" Akita was selfish at heart, and she was actually interested. But on the

outside, she didn't care. Majenta rolled her eyes "I don't have to say anything if I don't want to."

Dusk turned to Akita and rose an eyebrow, "Oh so you don't only want to be ungrateful for me saving your life, you want to criticize me as

well? Yeah that's so fair" he said sarcastically. Akita eyes widened, wide as the full moon. "Saved my life ?" she coughed, "You must be joking. I

have no memory." Akita added, "And I can critique freely. Unless you try to kill me again." Myka said clearly and slowly, ''I will push you back

into the water if you don't admit it. Besides, you'll be so busy admiring Pero that you won't even notice that you're drowning to your death.''

Myka turned to Akita, ''Maybe I WILL try to kill you, pearlygirly.'' Majenta's eyes turned into slits.

"THERE'S NOTHING TO ADMIT!" she growled and pounced at Myka. But before Jen could land on her Dusk grabbed her by the scruff mid-air &

put her down.

"Both of you, stop fighting!" Dusk said to Jen & Myka, then sighed and turned to Pero "If it's OK could we all just have a break to rest? I need to

go clear my head" and without waiting for an answer he walked away, off to a secluded area and sat under a tree. "A pearl, eh? And there’s no

way, I'd admire that little brat." Akita mumbled, "Try to kill me...huh? Maybe she's more interesting than I thought..."Akita decided not to fight

back. It could cause worse trouble, she thought. Akita gazed, turning her frosty blue eyes on the glaring wolves. This is going to be fun. She

thought, smirking to herself. ''GAH!'' Myka twisted around and stomped off. ''I knew I shouldn't of stayed! Everything that's happened has just

caused me trouble! I'M LEAVING!'' She picked up her bandage and went into the forest. ''IF I DON'T COME BACK DON'T BE SURPRISED!'' Dusk

heard Myka yelling from a distance away, so he looked to see what was going on, and far away he could see the group as well as Myka leaving.

He ran after her.

"Myka, wait! Where do you think you're going?" he called out to her, then he caught up to her and he stood by her side as she walked "What's

wrong?" Myka wanted to scream WHAT'S WRONG?!!? But she kept her anger down. ''It's nothing; I just need to be alone for a while.'' She

said, and there was clear anger in her voice. Myka walked faster. ''Jen...stupid...love...Pero...Pearlygirly...nothing to admit...gah...'' Dusk felt

hurt "But is what you said before true? That you think you got nothing good out of the whole time you've been with our dispersal pack

thingy?" Myka stopped in her tracks. ''...Well...I fell in love.'' She kept walking, looking down. The she-wolf sighed. ''Dusk, do you think I'm...no

use? I mean, like, how can I even help...'' Her voice trailed off again. For some reason, it didn't really click in his mind that he was the one she

fell in love with, and his heart ached. "Well I hope whoever he is likes you back" he said sadly, then his voiced cheered up a little: "And you

definitely play a vital role in the group, like everyone does, each wolf is a vital link. Without you, our pack just wouldn't be the same, and

everyone, well, especially me, would really miss you. It's like we're a family" Myka smiled, ''You...would especially miss me?'' She blushed,

hesitating, Come on, just spit it out... The wolfess swished her tail from side to side. ''I-I hope he likes me back too.'' GOD! Pfff, 'He likes me

back too'?! "Yeah, I'd especially miss you" he said, then hesitated "Well, because... I really like you. I love you! I don't know who this guy is

that you like, but I hope that whoever he is cares about you and will look after you like I would, because you deserve it. You don't deserve to

feel like you're useless either, because you’re amazing" he said very quickly, relieved to get it off his chest.

♦ CHAPTER ELEVEN ♦

“Love at first sight is easy to understand; it's when two people have been looking at each other for a lifetime that it becomes a miracle.” –Amy Bloom

Myka's jaw dropped, after a moment she finally blurted out, ''Okay...well...I love your eyes, and your fur, and basically everything about you, I

can't stop thinking about you and when I look at you I completely forget about the world--well no I never forget about the world because you

are my world--and I just wanted to say that I really,

really,

really,

Love you.''

Dusk was speechless, but his face lit up because he was filled with happiness. Finally, he said "I feel... exactly the same way. Well probably

more. I love you so much," Myka giggled, blushing. She just couldn't control it, the feeling was overwhelming. ''No, I love you more.'' She

nuzzled him. Good thing Jen isn't seeing this; I would never hear the end of it... She thought, smiling. "Nuh-uh, I love you the most, & you can't

prove me wrong!" Dusk laughed. Myka laughed, ''Oh yeah?'' She bumped into him lightly. ''Well we should get back now. Oh and whatever

happens, you cannot tell Jen about this. Like seriously.'' She started to run back to the group of wolves. Dusk laughed "Don't worry, I'd never

do that." he said as he ran after her back to the others.

"Where did you guys go?" Jen asked, just 'cause she didn't have any idea. "Meh, nowhere. Myka was feeling down so I cheered her up." Dusk

shrugged. ''Yep.'' Myka said, shrugging also. She plopped down. ''...What's going on?'' She asked, looking around. The she-wolf grinned. ''I see

Pero's still not in shape.'' Myka said, but she didn't go into any detail. The wolfess knew that it would only be trouble if she got Jen mad. Jen

took a deep breath to calm down.

"He's fine" she shrugged

Dusk bit his bottom lip and tried to keep his cool.

"Are you OK Dusk???" Jen asked and raised an eyebrow

"Of course I am couldn't be better...Tralala..." he said, trailing off into a mumble

Jen thought something fishy was going on but she didn't say anything. ''Heh.'' Myka gave Dusk a look that said 'Don't give it away..' ''So....What

now?'' Myka said trying to change the subject. ''We sleep?'' Jen looked up at the dark sky "Yeah I think that would be a good idea" she said and

found a spot to rest and soon fell asleep.

Dusk took longer to find a comfy spot. He rolled onto his back and looked at the stars because he wasn't sleepy. Myka laid down by Dusk, and

rested her head on him. She didn't care that Pero saw, at least Jen was asleep. ''We have a big day tomorrow.'' She whispered. ''Every day will

be a great adventure...I mean just think of what we went through today.'' Myka continued. "I know, it'll be pretty great from now on" he

smiled and licked her on the cheek. Myka smiled back before closing her eyes. She let out a small yawn. ''Well...Good night.'' The she-wolf

nuzzled him, after a moment, she fell asleep. She couldn't wait until tomorrow...funny, how you become so excited about tomorrow that you

can't get to sleep. Well, she was too tired to stay up. Dusk yawned. He usually could never sleep, but soon his eyes got heavy and he went into

a world of sweet dreams.

Pero smiled; his friends’ argument had soon dyed down, and he turned to Cauldron, “So, about your name...” Cauldron shook his soaking wet

pelt and sending water flying in every direction. "I'm not that little... am I?" He said, sizing himself up to the other wolves. True, he was short

for his age, but he had never thought about it before. "I'm Cauldron, but they just call me Cali for short" Cauldron said, plopping down on the

grass. He was really exhausted and Cali surrendered to sleep. Pepper was confused by the whole Dusk, Myka and Jen thing, so she just forgot

it. She wondered away from the rest of the group until she found a tree that looked sort of comfy. 'Pero so better not have another nightmare,'

she thought to herself with a yawn. Pepper jumped into the tree and climbed two branches but found she was too tired to carry on. ''Ah, too

much effort to climb the tree,'' she mumbled as she collapsed onto the branch and fell into a deep sleep.

Pero looked around; his friends had fallen asleep. Good. Now I can have some alone time. He thought, and snuck off through the woods. "Kerberos. I know you're there. Come out." Pero growled at an unusually dark bush, and Kerberos showed himself. "Well, you're a smart one, ain't you Pero?" He chuckled. Pero narrowed his eyes, "Leave us alone." He said. "Oh, but why? I had so much fun. And our past battle was merely a fluke by your side of the team." Kerberos replied. "It wasn't. We were stronger and you know it." "Stronger? I call it good luck." "I disagree." "Too bad. That's no skin off my nose," Kerberos said, ending the argument. He paused, and sighed, "Fine, I'll leave. But you haven't seen the last of me." Pero snarled, "Good. And you'd better hope that we don't see you again." Kerberos scoffed with a chuckle, and slunk away into the night. ---- After a while, Pero returned to his friends, and layed his head on his paws. We can't cross that waterfall after the incidence today, He thought, That'd be too controversial. But there's no other way, unless we climb that cliff. He added, looking up to the waterfall again. There was a cliff of rocks that scaled up the side of the waterfall, and it looked hard to climb. We'll do that then, we can do it....We can...Do it... Those were his final thoughts before he fell to sleep.

* * *

Pero was on the other side of the waterfall, and saw his friends laying down like before. "Guys, it's time to move again!" Pero called out. Suddenly his vision of his friends disappeared, and Kerberos was standing in a dark space. "Say goodnight to your friends, Pero-Kins." He chuckled, and disappeared. Pero looked

around, he couldn't see anything, but heard a loud scream coming from somewhere. "H-Hello?!" He yelled, "Guys?!"

The same cliff that was in his last dream appeared before him again, but this time with Kerberos standing at the edge of it holding Myka over the side. "I told you what happened was good luck." He snarled with a grin, and dropped a screaming Myka to her death.

* * *

Akita was curled up quietly, awake.

She had come from the South Pole. Where it was bitter and freezing, and was

somehow, slightly colder than the North Pole. She had heard about the North, and its terrors, though.

She thought that the North was much more terrible than the South.

"I'd rather go back. Even if my pack's not there..." Akita thought bitterly.

While the others were sleeping soundly,

Akita had escaped, once more.

* * *

Pero awoke, and the sun streamed through the forest's canopy, and made the water from the waterfall sparkle. He yawned and stretched,

going off to find some food. After a few minutes of sniffing, he found a carcass of an elk and dragged it back to his friends. "Ok guys! WAKEY

WAKEY~!" He sang, and banged his paws against a tree trunk. Pepper rolled over, ''Is it time to wake up already?'' she groaned as she jumped

out of the tree. She stretched her whole body out and did a massive yawn. ''Morning Pero!'' she sang as she pranced over to Pero, ''Have

another nightmare?'' she teased happily. "Sort of. Hey, at least I didn't wake you up by screaming." Pero replied with a laugh, and ate some of

the elk. "Have some, it's FREE!" He said, sticking his tongue out. ''Good point,'' Pepper agreed as she sniffed the elk that Pero had found. ''Are

you sure it’s free?'' Pepper joked as she bit into the elk's leg and started chewing on it. ''How far until the Northern Border?'' she spluttered as

she still had food in her mouth. "A long way." Pero grinned at Pepper, "Don't get excited yet." He added with a smile, and took another bite

out of the elk. Myka yawned, ''Morning guys...'' but when she opened her eyes she noticed she was still resting her head on Dusk. Blushing,

she jumped up. Myka pretended nothing had happened and walked over to the elk the others were eating. ''So, what happened in your dream

this time?'' She asked, taking a bite out of the elk. Pepper looked over at Myka and rolled her eyes. 'It’s so obvious,' she thought with a smile as

she began chewing on one of the elks bones. ''Yeah, what was your dream about?'' she asked curiously. Dusk woke up and heard the others

talking. He yawned and stretched, then walked over to the others. Jen was in a very deep sleep still. ''Hi Dusk,'' Pepper smiled sweetly and

innocently as she caught sight of Dusk. Her tail was wagging happily as she kept chewing on her bone. Her eyes had a childish sparkle in them

as usual, and she felt like chasing her tail. Myka blinked, and she stopped eating. ''Hey, Dusk. Good Morning.'' She said with a silky voice,

smiling. Myka licked her lips before she started to eat again. But then she stopped, smirking. She walked over to Jen. ''Ahem....WAKE UP JEN!

THE EARLY BIRD GETS THE WORM YOU KNOW!'' Myka yelled in her ear. "Hehe, morning ladies" Dusk said happily.

"WHAT?" Jen jumped up and fell over again, and then realized Myka had yelled at her for her own amusement "NOT funny!" Myka laughed so

hard she was crying. ''HAHA! Oh my god, HAHA! I can't—HAHA--breathe!!'' She was rolling on the floor. ''DID YOU-HAHA-SEE-HAHAHAH-

THAT!'' Myka tried to get up but she kept laughing. Dusk bursted into laughter as well. Jen stood up and was an even brighter red than usual

because she was so embarrassed. Pepper snickered, and picked up her bone. ''What have you guys got against each other anyway?'' Pepper

asked as she sat down next to Myka and Jen with her bone in her mouth. "Plenty of things" Jenta said, glaring at Myka. It took a while for Myka

to finally stop laughing. ''That was so worth it.'' Myka said getting up. ''At least you're up now. Well let's keep travelling!'' Myka snickered. ''You

should’a seen the look on your face...’’ Dusk wiped a tear from his eye, "Lighten up Jen it was pretty hilarious. And yes I think so to, if that's OK

with Pero of course. We have a long way to travel." Pepper frowned, ‘’let’s all try get along... Okay?'' she smiled hopefully as she stood up. Her

pretty blue flower fell out from behind her ear and landed on the floor. She looked down at it, '' I swear this flower is brighter than yesterday!''

she barked as she sniffed it. Jen looked at the flower curiously "Yeah... I think you're right!" Pero laughed, "Jeez Myka, you sure know how to

wake someone up," He said, "And yes, we will start to move again. I've decided; Up that rocky cliff." He said, and pointed his tail to the rocks

going up the side of the waterfall. Myka followed Pero's eyes. ''Dang...'' She looked at him. ''Question, what happened in your dream this

time?'' Myka shook herself randomly to get the dirt off of her. "Um, well, Kerberos might've...Accidentally....I mean, you might've, sort of,

died." Pero stuttered, finishing his sentence with an awkward smile. Myka narrowed her eyes, her face showed sadness. ''I...died?'' She

echoed. What if this means something...what if it means...I'm...not strong enough? No, it's just a dream right? ''Was..Anyone else there?'' Why

was it me? I mean, he doesn't have anything to do with me really. Shouldn't it of been Pepper or Jen? Pero has known them longer. Dusk had a

sad expression on his face because he never wanted anything bad to happen to Myka.

Jen laughed "Aw don't worry Myka, it was just a dream. Maybe it just means Kerberos finds you annoying, I wouldn't blame him!" she said

jokingly. Myka glared at Jen, her look said 'Take that back or I will kill you.' She looked down, still thinking. What if I am too weak...what if I'm

all talk? The she-wolf thought sadly. Jen laughed "Aww I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings I guess we're even now." Dusk sighed and gave Myka a

sympathetic look and a smile. Myka spun around and bit the air just a inch away from Jen's nose. ''Shut. Up.'' She snarled. The she-wolf didn't

like to be picked on, not. at. all. If you messed with her, she would get you back. Even if you were just joking. "Hey I apologized!" Jen growled.

"Guys just stop fighting already" Dusk sighed in frustration, squeezing his eyes shut because he was getting a headache. Pero stopped grinning

sheepishly and turned, Oh no...This is where it gets bad. He thought with a worried look. Pepper starred at the two she wolves. This is going to

end badly, she thought to herself as she backed away slowly. Myka growled, tempted to attack, but she didn't, “Jeez I hate you!'' She shouted

looking up. ''And I mean, all you do is get yourself in trouble! I haven't seen you attack anything yet!'' "Incase you haven’t noticed, the only

trouble I've had is with you 'cause you're a pain in the neck. And I haven’t needed to attack anything, although it looks like I'll HAVE to soon!"

Jen growled and charged at Myka, ready to rip her apart.

"Stop it! You’re being really immature!" Dusk said to both of them as he stood in Jen's way

"Jeez you're always in my way, you never let me rip Myka apart because you lurrve her." Jen said to Dusk

"Well so what if I do?! And anyway I wouldn't let you rip up any of our other fellow pack mates either 'cause it's wrong. You two have to make

up!" Dusk said. Myka pushed Dusk aside, ''Did you forget that I risked my life trying to kill that Voodoo Bear? Oh right, you couldn't remember

if you wanted to,'' A short pause, “Because you have no brain!'' She screamed. Myka was ready for any attack Jen might try to do. ''Come on,

attack me. Can you do it?'' She waited a few seconds. ''Nope? I was expecting more out of you, I didn't know you were this weak.'' She wasn't

going to attack back if Jen did, merely just keep dodging until she made a mistake. Then laugh. Pero backed away with Pepper, "I don't think

we should get involved..." He began. Pepper turned to Pero, ''Umm, I think we should before they tear each other apart?!'' She exclaimed.

Pero sighed, and nodded. "Let's go." He said, and stood in front of Myka and Majenta. "Hold it you two!" He barked, "You'd better settle on

down, now!" He added. Pepper ran over to join Pero, ''Can't we all just get along?'' She sighed with a hopeful smile on her face. "I wasn't going

to fight her anyway 'cause I don't need this crap!" Jen said angrily. Myka smirked, turning around. ''Oh I completely understand, running from a

fight is so un-cowardly.'' She said, hoping Jen would attack. Myka would stop after a while, but now she was curious rather or not Jen really

was strong. "No. Choosing not to fight a pack-mate is being responsible..." Jen said, and Dusk sighed with relief. "...But it looks like I have to

teach you some manners!" Jen growled and bowled Myka over. Myka head spun around, her eyes widened, ''Tch!'' and jumped up into the air.

She landed a few feet to the right. ''Bring it on!'' She growled, ready for a fight.

"Oh it’s on alright!" Jen yelled before she charged at Myka and head-butted her side.

"Guys stop it!" Dusk yelled

''Gah!'' She bit into Jen's neck, flipping her over. Well sorta, Myka wasn't that strong. ''Stupid brat!'' She growled. ''You're going down!''

"Grr!" Jen growled and lay on her back underneath Myka, kicking her hind legs upwards, which clawed deep into Myka's soft underbelly.

Dusk shook his head and walked away, he couldn't watch. Myka growled, sinking her fangs in. She threw..or slid Jen across the earthy floor.

Her underbelly was bleeding. Myka charged at her, ''Grr!'' Pero snarled, "Both of you! Stop!" He barked, and his fur bristled as he shook his fur.

Pepper growled, ''Okay you too knock it off!'' She barked, and widened her eyes at Myka's bleeding stomach. Suddenly, her blood pressure

sped up, making her breathing fast paced and her heart pump quickly. Pero glanced over at her, "P-Pepper?!" He cried, seeing as the young

wolf began to become angry. Jenta wiped blood and dirt from her eyes, and winced from the pain of the bite mark in her neck. She quickly

dodged Myka's attack just before she was about to get hit. Cauldron woke to the sounds of a fight, What's going on? He wondered, looking to

where the sounds came from. "Whoa whoa whoa! What's the problem here?" he barked, jumping into the fight and grabbed Jen by the scruff

to hold her back from Myka. Pero growled, "They just don't get along!" He said, "We need to do something!" He added, and thought for a

moment. Think...!! He strained himself, and finally came up with an idea. "Guys! Uh, if you keep fighting, err... We won't be able to get to the

Northern Border! So um, stop...Err, fighting!" He said with a bunch of awkwardness. Well that didn't come out the way I planned. He thought

with a sigh.

Pepper could feel herself getting angry. 'Woah, settle down Pep,' she thought to herself. Her thoughts filled with rage, ''Can you two just quit

fighting so we can get to the Northern Border already?!'' she snapped. She took a deep breath, 'Count to ten, Pep. Count to ten,' she thought

as she rubbed her head. Jen stopped and turned to Pepper.

"Wow, Pep. Didn't know you had it in you!" she said. She looked from angry Pepper to worried Pero, from him to Cauldron holding her back,

from him to injured Myka, and from her to... well, Dusk was absent. She sighed.

"I'm sorry about that everyone, I don't know what got over me" she said and licked her bite mark. Pero sighed in relief, Thank goodness that's

over... He thought, and turned to Pepper, "What got into you?" He asked, tilting his head.

Pepper turned to Pero, ''I dunno,'' she sighed she was still rubbing her head. Pero growled and looked around, "Have you done that before? Or

is someone using you?" He barked, looking at the shadows. ''What do you mean using me?'' she asked, ''..And no, I’ve never done that

before.... Ow my head!'' she added. Pero felt a sudden wave of fear; like he had forgotten something. "Kerberos couldn't have...No, no way."

He said, shaking his head. Myka stopped. She glared at Jen, but didn't do anything stupid. Myka dragged herself over to a tree, and slumped

down. Her breathing was unsteady. She coughed up a little blood, but it wasn't that much. ''Whatever...Go on without me if you want to.'' The

she-wolf mumbled. Pepper rubbed her head some more. ''My head is killing me,'' she sighed as she layed down on the spot. She felt a little

dizzy, and her whole body was hot. “Why must my head hurt so much?!” She snapped randomly. Pero turned to Pepper, "Alright, settle down.

I think we should move up that cliff now, the sooner we find snow the better." Pero said, and started to lead up the rocks.

♦ CHAPTER ELEVEN ♦ “A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song.” –Maya Angelou

Suddenly, the wind became cold and wintery. "Brr...Anyone else feel c-c-cold?" He asked, his teeth chattering. Pepper ran around in the snow,

''I love snow!'' she sang. Her black coat stuck out like a sore thumb in the white snow. She jumped around in the snow, 'This is so ... FUN!' she

thought happily. Myka dragged herself in the back of the group. ''...I like grass better.'' She mumbled, Myka seemed to be down in the dumps

lately, but it would fade in time...hopefully. Pero looked down on the ground, "S-Snow is c-c-cold...It mak-k-kes my t-teeth ch-chatter..." Pero

stuttered. The wolf never had liked snow, it annoyed him. ''Toughen up Pero.'' She said in a low voice. Myka looked around, ''What's so bad

about the snow? Sure it doesn't really have anything good about...but it's not bad.'' She looked up. Pepper frowned, ''How can you not like

snow? Sure its cold but it sure is fun!'' she exclaimed, as she looked up to see if her flower was ok. Pepper stopped and shook her head to

make the flower fall out. ''I swear it’s not a normal flower,'' she said as she picked it up and carried on walking. Pero frowned, "S-Snow is

annoying and c-cold...F--F-Freezing!" He exclaimed back, and trudged on. S-Stupid snow... He thought, growling. Myka sighed. ''Come on don't

be weak! I don't want our leader's weakness to be snow.'' It wasn't a insult, more of..a encouraging sentence. She started humming. Pepper

frowned and sighed, ''Everyone’s been acting weird and grumpy lately,'' she barked, ''..Including me,'' she admitted quietly. ''So, can we get

some of our enthusiasm back!'' she barked happily with a smile on her face. ''Hmm..'' She started to sing the song she did early when they

were leaving the den.

''To stand out

Above the crowd

Even if I gotta shout out loud

'Til mine is the only face you see

Gonna stand out 'til you notice me''

Pero grinned, and started to dance; bobbing along to the rhythm that he had heard before,

"If the squeaky wheels always gettin the grease I'm totally devoted to disturbin the peace And I'll do it all again, when I get it done

Until I become your number one

No method to the madness and means of escape Gonna break every rule I'll bend them all out of shape

It ain't a question of 'how' just a matter of when You get the message that I'm tryin to send

I'm under a spell, I'm in over my head

And you know I’m going all of the way, till the end...!"

He looked to Myka, giving her a 'you know the words' look.

''To stand out Above the crowd

Even if I gotta shout out loud 'Til mine is the only face you see

Gonna stand out 'til you notice me, yeah...''

There was a pause, and then Myka's voice filled the air again.

''If I could make you stop and take a look at me instead of just Walkin' by

There's nothin' that I wouldn't do If it was gettin' you to notice

I'm alive

All I need is half a chance, a second thought, a second glance'll prove I got whatever it takes''

She paused again, grinning.

''It's a piece of cake.''

"Heh, to stand out!

Above the crowd even if I've gotta shout out loud! 'Til mine is the only face you see,

Gonna, stand out! Stand out, yeah! Stand out!

Yeah yeah yeah yeah!" Pero shook his head widely, and then started singing again, "Stand out! Hmm!

'Til mine is the only face you see, Gonna, stand out,

'Til you notice me."

Pero grinned and flicked his tail in satisfaction. "Nothing like a good song to get you feeling warm inside." He said, and nodded before moving

forwards again. ''Now see! Now the...You know what let's not mention it.'' She knew that if she said it, the problem would start all over again.

She bounced up to Pero, walking beside him. ''So, we are still very far away right?'' She asked. "Mmhmm." Pero nodded, still bobbing along to

the song's beat, "Can't you see? This is a snow field!" He exclaimed with a grin, swirling his tail around in a circle. He was right; there was no

sign of anything where they were. Not even a single tree. "We've been moving so fast we haven't realised how far we've come!" Pero added

with a chuckle, but heard a low howl in the wind. "That doesn't sound wolf-like." Pero said, stepping back a few paces.

"...There could be a blizzard coming our way." He finally added after a long pause. Myka's ears dropped. ''A blizzard? That doesn't sound

good.'' She said, crouching down. ''Should we be scared?'' Myka walked slowly. ''A blizzard? Great,'' she said sarcastically. ''If it is a blizzard,

how do we avoid it?'' she asked. "..." Pero didn't have an answer; he just stared at the horizon ahead. "...I...Don't know." Was all he said, and

started moving forwards again "Let's just keep going." He added, feeling sort of confused.