The Finding

By Baltorev29

I dedicate this fanfic to my good buddy, Balto5670. Your stories and fanfics make me want to become more of a writer.

Chapter 1 The Pups are Born

Spring come late to the cold forests of Alaska. Geese soar in from the south, they stand on the hard frozen lake complaining loudly to one another. The great black bear awakens from it's long sleep only to find the cubs wrestling and piling on each other. The new wolf pups are welcomed into this new, graceful world. They wander from the frozen lakes to the melting piles of snow. They wander through this new world that they know as home. Their mother, Star, watches as they play with their loving father, She keeps a watchful eye as the pups wrestle with their old man. Steadily, the sun groves into the mountains, the day is over and the pups are tired. They suckle on Star's warm milk. When done, she cleans the pups with her soft tounge. They cuddle up with their loving mother while their father, Kaso, watches as they falls asleep, their little stomachs full with milk, and the yearling, Kulaj keeps a steady eye out for any wandering pups. "They sure are a handful," Says Kaso. "Yes, they are. But they are all wonderful pups aren't they, all four of them?" Star replies. "Yeah, wait,one,two,three, where is the fourth," asked Kaso in cunfusion. They heard a little bark at the entrance of the den. A little pup was nipping at Kulaj's muzzle. "Come on Hiro, you have to go to sleep or tomorrow you will be too tired to go out and play," Kulaj said softly. The little pup obediantly stopped and cuddled up with Kulaj. "Mommy, daddy, can I sleep with Kulaj tonight?" asked Hiro. Star and Kaso gave a warm smile. "Of course," said Star. Hiro smiled as gave a small yawn. His small blue eyes closed and he was asleep. Kulaj curled up around the small pup keeping him warm from the still cold night. All was silent, the night seemed to stand still with only the moon in motion. The pups slept by their mother, and Hiro slept by his brother. The world seemed perfect for the pups.

Chapter 2 Steady Footsteps

The months passed and the pups grew rapidly. They were now ten months old, their baby blue eyes steadily turned a bright yellow, their fur became thicker, winter was moving in fast. Hiro and the rest of the pups had their new teeth. They aquired the taste for meat. Hunters from the pack, including Kulaj, brought back meat from the hunt for the pups. They coughed up the meat from their bellies for the pups to eat. Order seemed to go along pretty smoothly.

The next morning came slowly. Hiro and the rest of his brothers and sisters anxiously awaited for their first day of hunting. Their father awakened and sgnaled them to go out of the den. They grouped together at the entrance of the den. Their father came out and stood in front of them. He cleard his throat before speaking. "Today we will be hunting some simple prey, spotted deer. They are very fragile creatures and usually do not fight back. When hunting these creatures, you want to aim at the legs first, then you have to grab on to the neck. Thats when we take it down. Their is a small family of deer down by the lake. Be sure to keep your stealth and hide behind the bushes, not the shrubs. Let's go," Hiro's father explained. With their instruction finished, they headed off toward the river. It did not take them long to come to the river, the deer were silently stalking amongst the river. The young wolves and their father hid in the bushes waiting for the chance to strike. Kaso jumped and laned on the largest deer, the others leaped at the legs. The deer was down and Kulaj delivered the final blow to the throat. Hiro felt the deer stop struggling, they had succesfully caught a deer. Then from a far off distance could be heard clumsy footsteps. "Humans," said Kaso. He signaled for three of the young ones to carry the deer back to the territory. Kaso stood fiercly with his ears pricked up, listening to the steady footsteps. They were approaching. "Hiro, I want you to run back and get the hunters ok," said Kaso. Hiro nodded, but it was too late. A gun was fired, and Hiro was hit on the side with a bullet. He collapsed on the ground, his vision blurred. The world went dark, more gunshots were fired. That was the last thing he heard before all was completely black.

Chapter 3 Recovering

Hiro was awakened by a soft tounge licking away at his wounds. He was unable to move, his side ached furiously. Hiro wimpered slightly his mother rushed to his side. "Oh my god, he's awake!" she said frantically. "Mom.....what....happened," he said faintly. "You were shot, with a gun, by horrible creatures called hunters," she explained. Hiro strained words from his energy. "Gun....hunters?" he asked weakly. "Shhhhh, save your energy, I'll tell you later, just rest," Star said nuzzling him softly. Hiro groaned as Kulaj picked at the bullet with his teeth. "Sorry brother, I couldn't do anything for you except this, don't worry I'll get this bullet out in no time," Kulaj explained. Hiro closed his eyes, he immediatly fell asleep.

Hiro was awakened by footsteps slowly approaching him. "Hey son, how are you holding up?" asked a gruff voice. He opened up his eyes, only to be staring at his father's muzzle. Kaso licked him on the nose, Hiro chuckled lightly. "Fine dad," he said. The pain had not fully gone away, but he did not feel weak anymore. He noticed that the sun was setting and that there was no activity going on. "How long have I been out?" Hiro asked."'Bout a day, we thought you were dead, but you were still breathing so we waited," Kaso explained. "Where is everybody?" Hiro asked. "They went hunting, we needed to store more food for the winter," Kaso said. Hiro looked at his father and smiled. Kaso bent down and nuzzled Hiro. "Get your sleep, don't think you'll be active for another day," Kaso said yawning. Hiro curled up, he found himself sleeping once again. His dreams swirled around two questions, what kind of creatures were humans and what was a gun?

The morning came to quickly, Hiro awakened early, the pain in his side was still as fierce as the day before. The den was filled with his brothers. His mother slept soundfully next to his father in a corner. Hiro did not attempt to stand up, he knew that he should not push his limits. The den was silent, the sun had barely peeked out of the mountains. It was still a bit dark outside. Hiro decided to try and stand, his attempt eneded up pounding on the hard rock floor. He had known that it was wrong to push his limits. But he would never find out if he never tried. The sound of his fall did not seem to disturb anyone, except his father. Kaso yawned and stretched, "Hiro, you up already? Jeeze boy, you got to get your rest if you want to recover quickly," said his father quietly. He walked over to Hiro and sat down. "So, how are you feeling?" asked Kaso. "I'm doing ok, thanks for asking dad," said Hiro. Kaso nodded and walked out of the den. He sat on top of his den, the usual spot where he spent most of his time. Slowly the sun crept into the sky. One by one, Hiro's brothers smiled at him before leaving the den. Outside, snow was begining to snow. White specks fell from the sky and quilted together to make a blanket of snow. Hiro watched as the white specks fell from the sky. He watched as his brothers tumbled and wrestled with each other in the piles of snow. He smiled at the warm sight. Hiro wished that he could be outside with his brothers, playing and frolicking in the soft white snow. He crawled over to the entrance of the den. Hiro could feel the cold,frosty air biting at his wet nose. He stuck out his tounge and caught oone of the little flakes falling from the sky, it melted in his mouth, he felt a cool little drop of water running down his throat. The cool sensation made him shiver a little bit. He peered out into the vast snow covered clearing and watched his brothers play. From out of the corner of his eye he could see a silver and white female approaching him. It was his friend, Sila. She was a sweet young female and they had known each other since they were pups. She entered the den and sat down next to Hiro. "Hey, how are you feeling?" she asked with a soft, gentle voice. Hiro smiled and turned his head to face her. "I'm doing fine," he said softly. Sila nuzzled him and smiled. She walked out of the den, trotting of toward her own. Hiro's grey fur bristled in the cold wind. He shivered slightly, Hiro moved back into the warm den. He felt sleepy and bored. He closed his eyes and fell asleep.

Chapter 4 Lies

Hiro was awakened by the sound of footsteps leaving the den. He opened his eyes and watched as his brothers left the den. The pain in his side was reduced to a mere throb. He was able to stand, Hiro walked out into the snow covered clearing, he watched as his father and his brothers left the clearing to go hunt. Kulaj stayed behind with Hiro. "You feeling better Hiro?" he asked. "Yeah," Hiro replied. Kulaj smiled, he walked around the clearing, scratching the trees that surrounded them. Hiro was bored out of his mind, he wished that he could be out with his brothers and father. But here he was, waiting for them to come back. Hiro stood up and began to run in circles. He stoped and stumbled dizzley. He watched as his brother scratched the trees, leaving four deep marks with every slash. Hiro decided to challenge his brother to spar. "Hey Kulaj, you want to go one on one?" Hiro asked confidently. Kulaj nodded and smirked. He asumed an attack stance, ready to strike. They circled