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A lone Gray Wolf dragged her back left paw in the snow. She was tired. Very tired. She was looking for a safe place to stay and have her pups. She could feel them moving, ready to see the world. she had passed many caves, but none were right. They were either too far from feeding grounds, or too close to water, or the cave held nasty when awaken hibernating bears. She had to keep telling herself, Just one more step, just one more step just to keep going. A small cave came into veiw. Uina sighed with releif, and hurried in. Her pups were going to live. That night was a terrible birthing night. With one final push, all four of her pups were wobbling with unsteady legs. But........there was this one............that didn't try to get her warm milk. In fact, the little pup didn't even move. Uina nudged the pup carefully. The little white wolf whined, then came to eat at her mother's belly. Uina smiled. She would call this little one Aniu. The pup next to Aniu was a large, brown male with a black eyepatch that covered the whole of his right eye. He looked like a pirate, so Uina called him 'Pirate'. Next to Pirate was a smaller black feamale, with small white specks littered all over her body. Uina would call this one 'Snowflake'. The last pup, next to Snowflake, was a huge male, with the same markings of his father: A gray body and face, with black socks on his feet, and a black tail. Uina knew right away that he would have deep, blue eyes, like his father. She knew she had to name him Ratook, his father's name. Each pup was special in his or her own way. Uina loved them all, especially Aniu.
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Six weeks later
"Come on, Pirate, hurry up!" Aniu called to her brother, who had grown to be a rather slow wolf. Aniu, on the other hand, was faster than a full, grown cheetah, and was more clever than the 'cunning tricksters' she called them, which were foxes. The young pups were playing in an open field, far away from the wolf pack. Ratook tackled Aniu, who kicked his belly to get him off. Ratook was stunned only for a minute, then jumped to catch Aniu again. However, Aniu ducked just in time, and Ratook went sailing over her, landing in the thick part of the woods. The three pups enjoyed a good laugh, then waited for Ratook to emerge. The field grew very quiet.
"Ratook?" Snowflake cried out.
A yelping noise was heard from the forest, then a shot rang out, sending all three pups screaming into the nearby bushes. Pirate, the brave one, looked out from behind a blackberry bush. The three pups left the bush, and started twoards the forest where Ratook had dissapeared. Pirate led the way in. A small lump was visible, not far away. Aniu wenr over to the lump cautiosly. It was a wolf pup, blood gushing out of his chest. He was dead. He was a huge, gray pup, with black socks and a black tail. Aniu had lost one of her brothers.
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A year later
Aniu was a thing of beauty, now. Her warm eyes were comforting, as was her voice. She loved to explore the nearby town, called Nome. Although her mother scolded her about this, she couldn't help but like it. One day, Aniu was out in the town, taking in the rich smell of tobacco, and seeing all she could see. She began running, then jumped, and slid on the slushy snow, a favorite past-time of hers. She slid all day, until the afternoon sun was beating down on her. One more slide, she thought, And I'll head home! She took the biggest leap she had ever made, and slid as far as she could slide. She began slowing down soon, and was going down an alleyway. A Brown-and-Black husky stepped in front of the end of the alley. Oh, no!, she thought, I'm going to crash into Togo!. Togo was the dog's name. Aniu braced herself, as she slid nearer and nearer. Togo stopped to look at the sliding wolf. Aniu stopped so that her nose was touching Togo's nose. There was a look of shock on both animal's faces. Aniu sat up and said, "Togo!" she then giggled goofily.
And the rest, they say, is History!
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