brother's voices, Una finally woke up and opened her eyes.

"What's going on?" she asked, annoyed.

 

The yellow eyes in the dark dipped down, and then rose upward again in a nod. "I have. I will travel with you, if the others of your group will allow it." he said, his gaze moving in particular to Una, who was now on her feet. He could just tell by the way she carried herself that she believed she was the one in charge. 

 

Yuma looked back at Una and could feel it coming. Rowtag had also woken up by now and stood beside him and Kai. "I can just feel an argument coming on now. Here we go again." he whispered to the two of them.

 

"There is no way he's coming with us!" Una growled, particularly at Tosca. "I can't believe you'd even talk to a complete stranger like that!"

 

Tosca rolled her eyes."He knows where we are and not everyone's out to get you Una." she droned. "Do you even know where we are?"

 

Una's eyes dropped to the ground, but she kept her chin up and chest puffed out.

"It doesn't matter. We don't even have to know where we are, we're not trying to go anywhere."

 

Tosca was usually cool-headed, but Una was simply infuriating!"So what happens if we stumble into a bear's cave, huh? What about another pack's territory? They aren't going to bow down to you like you think we do! Twilight seems to know a lot more then you do so far, and I've only known him for one night! So what do you say to that, your majesty?"

 

The cave was dead silent. Kai held her breath. Una stared at Tosca. Tosca didn't break eye contact with Una.Yuma looked back and forth between the two. He could understand what Una meant. The black wolf didn't seem like someone who would be completely trustworthy, but from what he could tell, Twilight was a little older than they were, and father had always said that the older you get, the more you know, so he was with Tosca on this one. No matter how creepy their guide might be. Twilight, for his part, just stood silently in the shadows watching with one eyebrow cocked in curiosity at the situation.

 

"Fine!" Una finally managed. "He can come with us, but only because I said so!"

Una turned and stormed right out of the cave, and once outside, Una stormed back and forth in the snow, making a small trail with her pacing feet. SHE was the leader of the pack, not Tosca! She was losing her leadership... she had to get it back!

 

Tosca smirked as she watched her sister go."I guess you're staying with us" Tosca said to the black wolf. "Do you know where to go?"

 

Twilight nodded. "Yes, I do." he said. "We are currently just inside the Western pass of a valley called The Gauntlet. My father told me of it when I was a little younger than you are. I am assuming, then, that we are heading east, as that is the way you were traveling before the storm struck. It will take a couple of days to get to the other side of the valley. We should start right away." At last he stepped out of the shadows and revealed his lithe form. He looked to be about 3 years old, and had seen his fair share of fighting. A nasty scar ran down his front right leg from shoulder to elbow, and he seemed to have not eaten much as of late and was somewhat thin, but not enough to be weak from starvation.

 

Tosca winced when she saw the scar but didn't mention it. Kai on the other hand, couldn't help herself."What happened to your leg?!" she chirped innocently, unable to keep from staring at it.

 

Tosca rolled her eyes."Be polite Kai" Tosca interrupted, then turning to Twilight, asked, "Should we hunt something down first?"

 

The black wolf chuckled and nodded. "Yes. That may be a wise idea." he said. "Although it is quite alright. The young one is only curious." His eyes flashed to Kai. "I could spend quite some time explaining what happened, but in the essence of time, I'll make it short. I got into a fight with another wolf and had an unfortunate accident."

 

"Oh" Kai answered, then added cheerfully, "Well if we ever fight, I promise I won't make you have an accident!"

 

Tosca shook her head."Do you know anywhere good to hunt?" the older sister asked Twilight.

 

Finally done cooling off, Una came back in the cave."Well, are we ready to go?"

 

Twilight looked at Una briefly before turning his attention back to Tosca. "The woods not far to the north are full of deer." he said. "We can find food there, but we must be careful." He looked around at them all with a look of utter seriousness on his face. "This valley is practically infested with bear. It's one of the reasons it's so dangerous, and that danger is where it gets its name from. Bears are not creatures one wants to run in to."

 

Tosca nodded, understanding. Una didn't say anything: her determination to prove her leadership kept her from feeling fear or talking.

Kai shivered, but if her older sisters could be brave, so could she!

Tosca stepped aside, no emotion showing on her face.

"Lead the way"

 

Twilight lead the way out into the valley. Yuma and Rowtag were the last two out, following their sisters. "Wow." Yuma said. "Bears, huh? Well we can handle them, right Ro?" His older brother gave him a look that practically screamed, 'Are you crazy?' Yuma sighed and faced forward again. "Yeah, you're right. We don't stand a chance against bears."

 

"I bet we could!" Kai answered, overhearing her brothers and falling back to walk next to him. "Twilight could make him have an accident in a fight!"

 

Tosca could overhear her younger sister and just shook her head, but couldn't help but to let a smile slip across her face. After a few more minutes of silently walking, she turned to Twilight."How can you tell when a bear is coming? Is there some kind of tell-tale sign or something?"

 

Una bit her lip."How about we concentrate on the food? How much longer until we're there?"

 

Twilight nodded "We're almost there. Have some patience." He said. The line of trees that was the Northern forest of the valley was steadily growing closer. The black wolf slowed his pace ever so slightly to walk alongside Tosca. "To answer your question, yes. There are signs the let you know when a bear is nearby. I will give warning if I see any."

 

"Okay" Tosca replied confidently. She'd never seen a bear before but she wasn't to keen to run into one. Both of her parents had seen one before and from the way they sounded, she never wanted to come face to face with one.

 

The group picked up the pace upon seeing the tree line. Kai's stomach rumbled. How long had it been since they'd eaten?! She had no idea, but the thought of going on her first hunt without her parents sparked a bit of pride inside her.

 

Twilight's eyes searched back and forth along the tree line for any sign of danger. "It seems safe enough, for now." he said. "Come on." He disappeared into the trees weaving between them almost as a snake between the desert rocks. Yuma looked about as they made their way through the forest. It was amazing. But he couldn't think about the sights now. It was time to hunt. Only Tosca, Una and Rowtag had been on hunts before, so like Kai, this was his first time, and he was excited. Yuma kept his eyes pealed for anything that could be a potential meal.

 

Tosca lowered herself to the ground. Back at home, she had been one of the better hunters, at least better then Una. But now she had her eyes and ears on Twilight. He was far more experienced then she was and he seemed to know the area better. As she followed Twilight through the brush and trees, the scent of food grew stronger. When Twilight paused up ahead, she stopped. A few deer were straight ahead... just sitting ducks!

 

Yuma smelled them too. He crouched down, ready to strike at a moments notice. He also had his eyes on the older black wolf, waiting for the signal to take them down. Suddenly, Twilight sprang forward, racing forward and jumping onto the nearest deer, sinking his claws in deep. Yuma ran along side Rowtag and they jumped on a second deer, clinging to it and trying to bring it down.

 

Tosca wasn't a step behind the black wolf. She knew he could bring the deer down himself, but two deer was more then enough for a pack of six.

 

The hunt was much quicker then Kai had expected. She hadn't really been in a hunt before, but she had always thought they had looked quicker from far away. She plopped down next to her brothers. It wasn't that she didn't like Twilight... but there was still something about him that kind of scared her. 

 

Tosca and Una on the other hand, both ate with Twilight on the first deer. Una felt the same way Kai did, but she was desperate to prove to this newcomer that she was the only leader of the pack. Tosca didn't care... she was just hungry. Once all were finished eating, the younger wolves turned to the older.

 

"Should we stake out a territory?" Tosca asked.

 

Yuma thought about

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