calmly.

“Rallan, huh? Nice name…” Serenity replied, still continuing to smooth her pelt, “So, Rallan, do you have any family nearby?” Rallan’s face went pale and his eyes darkened slightly at the mention of his family. His ears pressed against his forehead as he spoke.

“That’s… not a very happy topic for me…” Rallan replied softly and sadly, “I’m sorry, but I don’t feel comfortable speaking about them right now…” Serenity made a mental note of this and moved onward with the conversation.

“Oh, I’m so sorry… I didn’t mean to hurt you…” Serenity whispered, nuzzling underneath Rallan’s chin gently, “The last thing I’d want to do is any harm to you…”

Rallan stared neutrally at Serenity as she nuzzled him. He wasn’t sure if she was coming onto him or if it was just a reassuring nuzzle, but he didn’t read too much into it. He sighed softly and lay down next to her, glancing back at the entrance. Something about Serenity felt… off, almost ominous… And with that black-pelted male back out in the forest. Rallan had this gut feeling that something was up.

“What is it Rallan?” Serenity asked, looking toward the entrance of the den, following his gaze, “Someone out there?” Rallan sighed and shook his head, looking back into her green eyes.

“No, it’s nothing… No one’s out there…” he answered softly, “I was just… thinking to myself, is all…” Serenity gingerly placed a paw on Rallan’s forehead and began to slowly stroke his head and down the back of his neck. Rallan murred softly and lay his head on his paws, closing his brown eyes slowly.

“You seem tired, Rallan… Traveling all day?” Serenity asked, not really looking for an answer to that question, “Shh, just relax… Sleep…”

Rallan didn’t need to be told twice. With one final, soft moan, Rallan’s mind blanked and he fell into a deep sleep. His breathing became somewhat heavier and he began to lightly snore as he slept onward. Serenity continued to stroke his head slowly for a few more minutes before she was certain Rallan was asleep. Silently, she stood up and snuck outside, walking a short distance until she came to another den. Slowly, she began to walk inside.

“So, where do you think Serenity is right now?” SwiftDeath asked, gnawing on a tree branch he’d picked up on the way to the spare den.

“Try right behind you…” Serenity said, walking into the den and grinning slyly, “I’m here… Don’t worry about the other guy; he’s fast asleep…”

“Excellent work Serenity. What have you found out about him thus far?” NightPelt asked seriously, getting straight to business.

“Not much… He keeps to himself mainly… He’s probably been pretty hurt in the past, so it’ll take some time and work to get him to open up to me…” Serenity explained calmly. NightPelt growled softly.

“How much time are we looking at for a requirement?” he asked, obviously a little irritated by this. Serenity sighed and shrugged.

“Well, if everything goes as I’ve planned it to… We’re looking at about two months before he even starts to reveal anything really personal or anything to get his guard down…”

“God damn it! Damn son of a bitch!” NightPelt swore loudly. He never liked long-term murders, but he was never one to back down from a challenge. “Fine… Do whatever you have to… In the meantime, SwiftDeath and I’ll do whatever we can to occupy our time… Just get that wolf’s guard down… What have you managed to find out so far?”

“Well, I found out his name is Rallan, he doesn’t like to talk about his family or his past, and he’s a rather mellow guy, but he seems badly hurt and betrayed, as well as protective…” Serenity explained, relaying her report to NightPelt.

“Alright… Then for the next two months, Rallan is our main target… I’ve never backed down from a challenge and I’ll be damned if I do so now!” NightPelt said, nodding to Serenity, “Get back to him before he wakes up and notices something…”

Serenity nodded to NightPelt and turned, quickly walking back to the den Rallan was sleeping in. She arrived shortly later and smiled, glad to see he was still asleep. She lay back down beside the young wolf and closed her eyes, wondering what it would be like to be with him for six moths before slowly drifting off to sleep. Back at the other den, NightPelt growled softly to himself and looked at SwiftDeath, sighing heavily as he did so.

“This is gonna be a loooong mission…” NightPelt said, closing his eyes and forgetting about everything for one night.

            The next morning, Rallan’s brown eyes slowly fluttered open to receive the bright morning sunshine. He winced at the bright light and blinked several times to allow his eyes to adjust to the new light surrounding him. After a couple of minutes, everything began to settle into proportions and Rallan could see clearly once again. He raised his head and looked about, feeling someone stirring beside him.

A quick glance to his side and the memories flooded back to him. Where he was, what had happened, and who was starting to wake up beside him. His final realization came as the brown-gray female lifted her head up, yawned slightly, and smiled at him.

“Good morning, Serenity…” Rallan said softly, “Sleep well last night?”

“Good morning Rallan… And yes, I did, thank you…” Serenity replied with a warm smile.

“So, how about breakfast?” Rallan asked, rising up to his paws and stretching his lean body out, “I can do all the hunting… You can just rest here… After last night, I think you could use all the rest and relaxation you can get…”

“Thanks Rallan… Sounds great… If you’re sure you can do the hunting part, then be my guest…” Serenity said, laying her head back down on her paws.

“Alright, I’ll be back soon…” Rallan stated, walking out of the den and into the forest, taking a deep breath of fresh air.

Rallan wandered off into the forest, his mind racing as he walked onward, letting his senses and instincts take over his body while he focused on his thoughts. He still was unsure of what to do with his life now. He was a couple months older than a year, so he was still young, but already he felt like he was two or three. He also was unsure of Serenity’s motives or if she was even telling him the truth at all.

However, all these thoughts seemed to melt away as he nose perked up and twitched slightly. He recognized that scent well: a deer, about a dozen meters southward. His training and natural instincts kicked in and he dashed, reaching the unsuspecting animal in a matter of minutes, latching onto its neck, and bringing it down to the ground. With a sickening crunch, he ended the creature’s life and began to drag it back to Serenity’s den.

Ten minutes later, Serenity heard someone approaching. Glancing toward the entrance, she saw Rallan dragging his kill back and tossing it in front of her. He licked the blood off of his muzzle and smiled at her.

“Breakfast is served, milady…” Rallan said casually, walking up and laying beside her again. Serenity smiled at him and tore off a piece of meat and began eating hungrily. Rallan did the same, both munching on their meal for a while before Serenity finally broke the silence.

“Um, Rallan… Do you- have a home?” she asked, pretending to act a little shy. Fortunately for her, it worked.

“No… No I don’t…” Rallan answered with a soft sigh, “I was in the process of looking for one… I should probably keep looking and get going as soon as we’re finished…”

“No, please stay…” Serenity said quickly, staring into his brown eyes, “That’s just what I was about to offer you… Rallan, would… would you mind staying with me? You need a home and I need someone to be with since… well, let’s just say that I don’t think I would have slept last night if you weren’t here… Please stay… I feel much better if someone stayed with me; someone who wouldn’t hurt me…”

Rallan choked a little on his meal. He hadn’t expected this offer to arise for him. He gave Serenity a surprised look, his mind still grappling the fact that he’d been offered a place to stay. He opened his mouth to say something, but closed it again, unsure of how to answer exactly. What do I do? What do I say to something like that? He thought to himself, before deciding upon an acceptable answer.

“Serenity, you’re very generous to offer me something like that…” he started, brown eyes still locked on her green ones, “No one else I know would give me such a proposal like that… Yes Serenity, I’ll stay- for both our benefits…” Serenity smiled widely and gave Rallan’s cheek an appreciative lick.

“Thank you Rallan! Thank you so much! You have no idea how much this puts me at ease!” Serenity said, true enthusiasm in her voice for once, but not for the reasons she was stating, “You won’t regret accepting my offer… I promise…”

“No Serenity, thank you… I owe you a lot for this, and believe me when I say this…” Rallan began, staring back into her eyes, “I will repay you… someday…”

Serenity smiled widely, then finished up her meat and licked her paws and muzzle clean of any blood, grinning wickedly. He’d fallen for her tricks and now he chose to fall into her trap willingly. Everything was going according to plan so far. Rallan finished up as well and licked himself before looking back to Serenity, a kind smile on his face.

“So Serenity, what would you like to do today?” Rallan asked. Serenity grinned slightly and nuzzled Rallan again.

“How about we go for a walk? I’d like to get to know you a little better- if that’s alright with you…” she said, acting a little sheepish once more and once more, Rallan fell for it, hook, line, and sinker.

“Serenity, how could I refuse that offer? I’d love to