A kiss back

As the sun rose, the sky became a rosy pink. The lake swirled with fish, who made quiet little bubbles. "You'd better be heading home Andromeda," I said. Andromeda shook her fur. "No thanks. I'd rather be here than talk with that witch." I smiled. "She's not a witch. She just strongly dislikes you." I pointed out. "I'd rather be here with you!" Andromeda said. "But you need to go home! Imagine if you went missing, and she found out you snuck out? I'd never see you again!" I said. Andromeda pushed me into the lake with a splash. "Hey! What was that for?" I asked, sputtering. "You bore me with your endless babble." She said, putting on a mischievous smile. "Well, babble this!" I grabbed her by the chest, pulling her under. She came up with a gasp. "You devil!" She laughed. "Now how will I get dry?" I pulled myself out. "You'll figure it out. With that large noggin of yours." "Is that support to be an insult?" Andromeda asked. "No, big brain," I said. My ears twitched. "What is it?" Andromeda asked me. "Follow me," I said. "What is it?" Andromeda asked. A human stepped out of the forest, holding a gun. "Run, Andromeda. Run!" I yelled. She bolted without contest, heading into the bushes, in front of the forest. The man shot at the bushes, but there were no yelps of pain or cries. I ran away, and the man followed me. He kept shooting, and one got lodged in my tail. I yelped, leaving a trail of blood behind me. I ducked into one of the bushes as a bullet whizzed past my ear. I stayed there watching him. I slowly left the bushes, almost colliding with a passing dog. It was Andromeda. "You're hurt!" She exclaimed. "I'm fine," I said, my sides heaved. "Go home. Your owner would be worried sick. Besides, I have to get you away from pack territory." Andromeda reluctantly walked away, into the bushes.

I used the annoyingly long way to get back to camp, to make sure no one was following me. When I got there it was almost night, and I didn't have any prey. Everyone (If they even cared) would be wondering where I had gone. 

The camp was huge, with a large rock where you can see everything. There was a cave right under it, that was clawed out years and years ago. There were small caves made from bushes, that families of wolves could sleep in. The higher class families were closer to the large rock. The lower class were at the farthest back, with less security from coming attackers. I was in the front because I was a hunter. 

My friend moon was in front of my cave, drawing circles in the dirt. Moon looked up and saw me. "I've been worried sick! we heard gunshots an-" I could tell by the look on her face she had noticed my tail. "Jay! Your tail!" She exclaimed. "I'm fine," I said. Moon gave me a skeptical look. "Anyways, you missed a pack meeting. But, I think that was for the best." Moon said. "I think, you need to challenge alpha. "

I paced in the cave, feeling worried. To challenge alpha, you have to announce it and have a duel. You either kill alpha, or he kills you. I looked at my claws. I had never killed a wolf before. I had challenged many (How do you think I got to this position?) but never killed them. Moon walked into my cave. "Calm down. The next full moon is the next sun cycle away." Moon said, pointing to the sunlit sky. "I need to clear my head. I'm going hunting." I walked off without waiting for her answer. I stalked a rabbit,

I finished hunting by nightfall, and I dropped my findings in the meat pile. I ran into Rovia, the Beta. "Oh! Rov-I mean Beta!" I said. She hissed at me. "Causing trouble, jay?" Beta asked. I wanted to claw her face off for how she talked to me. "No, Beta," I said. Beta gave me a challenging look. I stood my ground, prepared for a challenge. Then, I remembered Andromeda who was waiting for me. Probably best to not, get killed on the way to her. I knew that Beta would gladly kill me if I won or lost. And besides, no males can be Beta.

That night, I didn't see Andromeda. My heart wasn't into it. I was tired and weak, and I had lots of training to do tomorrow anyway.

I had a dream.

I was in the forest, running. I could hear Andromeda's voice yelling, "Jay! Help!" It was all around me. The trees started closing in, each almost crushing me. Then, they started falling. My legs ached, and I pushed harder. A tree almost crushed my tail. Gunshots rang in the air. Soon holes started appearing in me, along with searing pain. "Jay! Help!" Finally, I stopped, in front of a house. I could see in the window, that a small girl, was holding up the head of a dog. It was Andromeda's head. "You were too late," The head said, in an eerie way. "All gone." I turned around and leaped over trees. "All gone, all gone, all gone, all gone," The voice whispered. Then I fell into a black, and dark hole...

I woke up with a start. The sun was still down, but the birds were chirping, indicating that the sun cycle was about to start. I stretched. As I walked camp (a usually exercise including re-marking camp territory) I ran into Moon, who had a small wooden horse. "Good morning," I said, just as she clawed the horses face. Without looking at me she said, "Morinin'." "Can we train together?" I asked her. "Sure." She said.

We went to a clear patch of grass near the river. "Okay, we fight until one of us surrenders. No killing," Moon said with a smile. "Why would I ki-" I was interrupted by her leaping onto me, almost digging her claws into my eyes. I bucked, kicking her off with a thud. I jumped to pin her down. I pinned her by the arms, but she used her back legs and pummeled at my underbelly. Large gashes appeared, and I used her legs to push me backward. "I surrender," I said. Moon smiled and helped me wash all my wounds. "Nice practice," She said. The sun was high in the sky by the time I went back to my cave. I was tired, so I fell asleep again. When I woke up it was night fall, so I decided to see Andromeda.

I found Andromeda looking at the lake. She looked sad, and her tail drooped. "Hey," I said. She did a double-take when she saw me. "Hi," she said. "Are-are you mad at me?" I asked her. "No," She said. "Just the opposite." "I-I, neverminditsstupidanyway..." She trailed off. "What is it?" I asked her. "I love you!" She blurted. I kissed her cheek. "I- uh, love you to-" I was interrupted by her kiss back. I looked at the lake. The moon reflected off it, shiny and perfect. You may not believe me, but I swear, the moon winked at me.