would always reply and change the subject quickly.

“Why does Rallan receive all the special treatment?” Rayne asked bitterly, but dropped her angry tone when her father shot her a disappointed glance.

Finally, when Rallan was ten months old and almost completely grown up, his father introduced him to Captain, their Head Guard and commander of their defenses. He trudged through the snow, his son by his side as he approached the clearing where he’d told Captain to meet them.

“Rallan, this is the girl I wanted you to meet,” Typhoon said as he led his son up to Captain, “Rallan, this is Captain. Captain, Rallan. He’s your new student. Teach him all you know…”

Without so much as one word of praise, Typhoon walked off, leaving Rallan and Captain alone. Immediately, Captain began to circle Rallan, giving him a thorough examination. She nodded as she inspected every finer detail of the young wolf.

“You seem to be in good health… A decent build… Yes, your father has definitely trained you well so far… But if you think it’s gonna get easier with me, then you’re dead wrong.”

Captain stopped circling him and sat down in front of Rallan, staring into his eyes.

“My name is Captain. I’m your new mentor,” she said, a strength in her voice that signaled authority, “Now that you’re under my training, get ready for some of the most brutal and hard challenges you’ll ever meet. This shall prepare you for warfare and advanced combat.”

Without warning, Captain leaped at Rallan, his reflexes only barely getting him out of the way of her attack. She growled softly and spun around, swinging viciously at Rallan’s muzzle, missing only by an inch. Rallan recoiled and kept his eyes on her, tracing her every movement.

“What are you doing? I’m on your side!” Rallan said and dodged yet another attack.

Captain continued fighting against Rallan, occasionally knocking into him, but every time he went down, the young male got right back up. No matter what attack Captain threw at him, Rallan either dodged or took the force and got back up. Yet throughout the entire battle, Rallan refused to attack Captain back.

“I won’t fight you!” Rallan said determinedly, “Why are you doing this?”

“Because your father ordered me to…” Captain replied in an unemotional tone.

Rallan’s eyes widened as he realized what she was saying were most likely true. Narrowing his eyes slightly, Rallan leapt at Captain, hitting her and causing the two to tumble about in the freshly fallen snow. After tossing about for a minute or two, Rallan finally pinned Captain down, a look of surprise on her face.

“Nice one…” Captain muttered, a sly grin on her mouth, “But not good enough to defeat me…”

Placing her back legs under Rallan’s stomach, she kicked back, sending Rallan flying into a nearby tree, hitting it hard and collapsing to the ground. Groaning, he got to his feet and saw Captain leap at him, grabbing him and tackling him in return. Rallan felt Captain press her paws down on his shoulders, attempting to pin him. Grabbing her shoulders, he rolled, reversing the pin and holding Captain down. Before she could react, Rallan grabbed her neck in his mouth, showing her that he could have defeated her right there.

“Alright, alright… I give up… I submit!” Captain said, pushing him off and slowly getting to her feet.

“See? I’m not all t-” Rallan started, but was cut off when Captain gave a powerful blow to the side of his muzzle.

Rallan went tumbling into a nearby pile of snow. He struggled to get to his feet and glanced over at Captain. A mixed look of shock and anger crossed his face as he walked back over to her.

“What was that for?!?!” Rallan asked angrily, rubbing his cheek to relieve the stinging he felt in it.

“To show you not to get arrogant…” Captain said, smirking at him, “You may be pretty good at fighting and kinda cute, but you need to be on your guard at all times… Even a surrendered enemy can sneak attack you…”

“Yeah, thanks for that demonstration…” Rallan muttered, still rubbing his cheek.

“What, you want a kiss to make the pain go away?”

“Uh, no thanks, I’m alright…” Rallan replied and lowered his paw back to the snow-covered ground, “So what’s my first lesson?”

“First, we need to hone those reflexes of your first, then we’re going to go on to teaching you how to tell a lie between the truth when an enemy is speaking to you. After that, we’ll test your skills, and then if you pass, that’s it.”

“That’s it?” Rallan asked, cocking his head somewhat, “Well then, let’s get started!”

            Though most of his life was training, Rallan had time to relax and play with his friends. He’d often fight his friends for sport and fun, always turning out to pin them down into the snow, whether it was Varim, Drake, or even Hunter, his superior when he was a pup. Now Rallan could pin them all and beat them all in a fight, whether it was 1-1 or 2-1.

Even though Rallan was having fun, he couldn’t help but feel a little deprived. He’d never gotten to have as much fun as his friends had because of his training, but he was grateful for his skills.

Though I really do miss- Rallan though, but was cut off when something cold smacked into the side of his muzzle.

Rallan grunted as he fell sideways and rolled down a hill, his fur picking up all the snow he went over. Finally, he came to a stop in a large snow bank, shivering slightly as he struggled to get up from the sneak attack he’d always been forewarned about. Glancing up at the top of the hill, he saw his attacker, a familiar grey and white female named-

“Krystal!” Rallan shouted up to her, a smile on his face, “That wasn’t very fair, you know!”

“I know!” Krystal shouted back, “But it sure was fun!”

Krystal was roughly the same age as Rallan, but a month younger. She was the only one who lived in her litter. His father had told him that she was lucky to have survived and be the daughter of Talon, their current Beta. She came bounding down the hill and stopped in front of him, a sly smile on her face.

“You know I don’t like falling face-first into snow, Krystal…”

“I know! That’s why I did it!” Krystal said teasingly and tackled him, pushing him back into the snow bank.

Rallan laughed and grabbed her shoulders, rolling about in the snow to try and reverse their situation, but Krystal rolled as well, the two wolves tumbling down yet another hill. They laughed as they rolled down the side of the hill and crashed into a thick pile of snow. As they went to get up, Krystal placed her paw on Rallan’s chest. Rallan gave her a look that said ‘uh-oh’ and she pushed him back down into the white substance.

“Darn you, Krystal!” Rallan said playfully and got up just as Krystal shook off her pelt, covering him in even more snow.

Rallan laughed softly and shook all the snow off of him. He glanced up just in time to see Krystal flash him a playful smile and dash off. Grinning, Rallan gave chase, catching up to her in a matter of seconds. He leapt at Krystal and grabbed her back, causing both of them to fall to the snowy ground. They laughed and both got up simultaneously.

“RALLAN!!!” came the loud, agitated call of Captain, “IT’S TIME TO CONTINUE TRAINING!!! LET’S GO!!!”

Rallan sighed and shook his pelt off again. He turned and looked at Krystal in her amber eyes.

“Sorry Krystal, but I’ve gotta go now…” Rallan muttered disheartened, “I’ll see you some other time…”

“Alright then… Take care, Ral…” Krystal said softly.

Rallan gave her a warm smile before turning and running off, following Captain’s voice and scent to locate her. Krystal watched as he ran off and out of sight, sighing before heading off back to her home.

            After close to two months of vigorous training under the guidance of Captain, Rallan’s reflexes, mind, and body moved faster than any other wolf could possibly hope to move. He’d become so quick and agile he was often used to relay messages back and forth to members in the Lylrite Pack. He had truly turned into what his father had wanted. Now, at long last, on his first birthday, Rallan would be tested to pass as a perfect wolf, or fail.

Out in a large clearing near the river Rallan used to play by as a pup, a fully grown gray wolf sat in wait. His white chest drifted in the gentle breeze as he gazed out into the forest, waiting for someone important. Finally, Captain ran up to the male, panting heavily.

“Sorry I’m late Ral…” she said breathlessly, “But not all of us can run as fast as you can!... Just let me… catch my breath… and we’ll begin… your final test…”

“Fine by me,” Rallan said coolly, “I have all the time in the world…”

Captain chuckled softly and continued to pant, trying to regain her lost breath. After a few minutes, she stood up, her panting ceased. She smirked at Rallan and began to circle him.

“Let’s see if you have the ability to learn from your previous mistakes…” she said coldly.

“I’m a fast learner…” Rallan retorted, keeping his eyes on her at all times.

“Heh, we’ll see if your words ring true…”

Without a moment’s notice, Captain swung at Rallan’s muzzle. Rallan ducked, easily avoiding her blow with his improved reflexes. He returned to his standing state and gave Captain a satisfactory look.

“Good… At least you didn’t fall for that same trick twice… Now let’s try this…”

Captain leaped at Rallan, an attack most would be unable to avoid. Rallan dropped to