Author's note:

You must read the two other stories to get this one, if you havn't read the first or second, then there is no point in reading this. If you have read them, I'm not going to give away too much: Siku and Nicole are relieved that the pup's are going to live after all. This part is all about the pups growing up and Siku telling them about their mother's death. Enjoy!

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It had been a couple of days since Siku's mother in law, Angel agreed to take care of the cubs untill they were eight weeks old. Angel was already nursing three other pups of her own, so at least they would have two uncles and an aunt to grow up with. Siku and his sister in law have kept their promise; Nicole and Siku came up every day to help Angel care for the cubs. Once the cubs reached two months old, they were ready to go home with their father, Siku.

2 months later...

It was early in the morning. Tikanni, a she - cub was waking up after a good nights rest. She, who was the first to wake, did. But she never woke up this early before. So she yawned, stood up and stretched. Tikanni liked to put pranks on Suka while he was sleeping. She saw Suka still snoring, and her face suddenly lit up with pleasure. 

She snuck up on Suka and pounced. Suka woke up with a fright, and ran around the cave wimpering and to Tikanni, it was funny to watch. Tikanni layed on the cave floor and laughed. Once Suka realised what happened, he sat down and frowned at his sister.

"Did you see the look on your face? It was PRICELESS!" said Tikanni, still laughing.

She sat up, but her hysterical laugh turned to guilt. It was her father Siku, his name in Alaskan mean't 'ice' due to his white, furry coat.

"Sorry papa," said Tikanni in a low voice.

"Tikanni, you know you're not allowed to scare your brother while his sleeping." Siku said in his loud, (but warm) voice.

"Now, say sorry to your brother." Tikanni let out a sigh of frustration. It was only a prank afterall, I mean, Suka should just get over it. Tikanni looked at her brother.

"Sorry Suka." she replied with another sigh.

"Good. Now run along and play" said Siku.

He walked off, deep in thought. He was thinking about his mate Raven, who, died about two months ago. Who gave birth to two beautiful cubs and couldn't watch them grow up to be the wolves they would become. Siku stopped, looked back at his children and sighed. Those thoughts raced through his mind, and to make it worse, the cubs would grow up without a mother. When the time is right, he will have to tell them the horrible truth.

"If only, you were here Raven." He said to himself.

He felt like crying, but held it in. If the cubs saw him, what would he tell them? That their mother died at birth? No, its too early. Siku thought about it more.

 "Suka, Tikanni can you two come here? Its really important." Suka bellowed out.

"Coming papa!" Shouted the pups in unison.

"Now what i'm going to tell you is important. If it does happen, it should be taken seriously," Siku replied.

"OK" Replied the pups in unison again.

"Are you going to tell us how we were made?" Suka joked. Tikanni nudged him.

"Shut up Suka, it sounds really important," Tikanni whispered.

Tikanni may have been playful on the outside, but on the inside she liked to listen and concerntrate. Siku liked the serious quality that Tikanni had, 'It pays off later' he thought. Suka, on the other hand, his thoughts went everywhere.

"At some point in our lives we...die," Replied Siku in a low tone.

"What does that mean papa?" Asked Tikanni.

"Is it bad?" Added Suka.

"Yes, it is very bad. Its when we grow too old, or when we get too sick, or when we have scars that cannot be mended, we fall asleep and never wake up, and we go to a place called 'heaven," Siku explained.

"Thats terrible, and we never see them again?" Asked Tikanni.

"Thats right. But you will understand it more when you're older," Replied Siku.

Both cubs nodded.

Suka ran off to play (as usual), but Tikanni was glued to the floor. Something wasn't quite right. 'If papa said mother won't be back from her trip for a few months, how come she hasn't come back?' Tikanni looked at her father and thought 'Maybe now isn't the time.'

4 months later...

The cubs were now half a year old. They were both more mature, but they still had their playful side. When they were four months old, they met their grandmother, Angel and their uncles and aunt (her cubs), for the first time since Angel had nursed them. To Tikanni, her father looked more sad then ever.

"Whats wrong papa?" Tikanni asked.

"Oh nothing, I-Im fine" He replied sadly.

Tikanni knew something wasn't right. Papa said mother would be back from her trip, wouldn't she be back by now? Tikanni wanted answers.

"Papa, what happened to mother?" Tikanni asked nervously.

"I told you, she went on a trip." Siku answered.

"If mother went on a trip a few months ago, she would be back by now. Papa, what really happened?" She asked sternly. Siku sighed.

"Ok, Suka come here," Siku bellowed. Suka trotted out.

"Yes dad?" he answered.

"This is something I've kept from you since you could walk, I didn't tell you this because you were too young and wouldn't understand." Siku explained. Tikanni had a bad feeling about this.

"As you two know, I've told you that your mother, Raven went on a trip..." Siku paused.

"...Well, thats not all true," Siku explained, then he started to cry.

"What happened to her dad?" Suka asked, puzzled.

"She died after giving birth to Tikanni." Replied Siku.

Suka started to cry and he buried his muzzle into Siku's warm, white fur. Tikanni started to cry but she ran further into the den.

1 hour later...

About an hour or so passed, and Tikanni walked out, wiping her wet face. She ran over to Siku and buried her muzzle in his fur.

"Im so sorry Tikanni," said Siku, starting off the conversation.

"I-Its all my f-fault that mother d-died," sobbed Tikanni.

"No, don't you ever think that its your fault! Your mother died of a natrual cause!" explained Siku. Tikanni nodded.

Over the past few days, it was hard and quiet. Siku having to tell the cubs what happened, and then having to take it in. Nicole also made an unexpected visit.

"Hi Nicole," said Siku sadly.

"Hi Siku. What happened to you? Looks like you haven't slept for days!" Exclaimed Nicole, Siku chuckled and explained everything.

"Oh I guess it didn't go so well, huh?" asked Nicole, Siku shook his head. Nicole had an idea.

"Maybe I could tell them stories when me and Raven were young, it would make them laugh a bit," explained Nicole. Siku nodded.

Nicole called out Suka and Tikanni, they walked out looking sad, but once they saw who it was they smiled.

"Hi aunty Nic," said the pups in unison, Nicole greeted them back.

"I got some stories to tell," said Nicole.

"What kind of stories?" asked Suka, looking puzzled.

"Stories of when your mother and I were young," explained Nicole.

Suka and Tikanni's smiles turned into a frown. They nodded and decided to listen anyway.

Nicole told loads of stories. The cubs listened to every word and they got an idea of what their mother was like.

'...your mother always got us into trouble, she was also very flirty...' said Nicole sheepishly.

"Is that one of the reasons why you got in trouble?" asked Tikanni. Nicole chuckled.

"Yeah, we used to sneak off looking for cute boys. I told Raven it was a bad idea but she didn't listen...untill we got in trouble, anyway." Nicole laughed at the thought.

The cubs looked happier, even Siku chucked a few times during the stories.

"I guess you were the quiet one, while mother was reb-rebellious?" asked Tikanni, trying to pronounce the word.

"Yeah. We may have got into trouble alot, but we were really close, and thats what made life interesting," explained Nicole.

All wolves remained silent, thinking over the stories that Nicole had told them.

Finished: 28th May 2009

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