~Somewhere in the middle of a forest~
"Kar! KAR!" A voice snarled. The young red wolf whipped around to find a much larger, musculer wolf with menacing black fur walking toward him. "Kar, how many times must i tell you. I don't want you wandering off."
"But father, i can still see the den site." Kar protested. "And i like coming up to this hill. It helps me think. Oh, look father! The fireflys are coming out! I just love to see them fly around and light up the sky!" Kar laughed and ran to chase some of the flying lightning bugs. The larger wolf stopped him.
"Kar, you are my son. You will be alpha of this pack one day. Does that mean nothing? You must learn to stop these childesh games. For our sake, please stop running off! Just try to be.....normal." The wolf glared down at his son.
"Normal is boring!" Kar cried.
"Then at least play with some of the other pups!"
"No! Their boring to! Nike's pup is always talking and Lupa's pup thinks i'm a freak!" Kar shouted at his father. "I like playing with the fireflys better. They dance with me! And i get to run around with them!" Kar, as if to show his father, turned and sprinted toward a small grouping of the bugs, who scattered and flew around Kar as he laughed.
"Shadow!" a voice called. "Shadow, your needed."
"Kar, come now." Shadow said. "We must go."
"Father, can't i play a little more?"
"No! And i don't want to see you on this hill any longer!" Shadow turned and stomped off. Kar was much slower.
"Good bye friends." He whispered. Then he sped off after his father.
********************************************************************************************************************************
~MANY MOONS LATER~
"Kar! KAR!" The red wolf sighed as once again, he saw his father running toward him.
"How many times must i call you son?" Shadow said. "It is time for alpha training."
"Coming father." Kar said, turning back toward the hill. He had been walking toward it when his father had called. Turning around, he sprinted after his father and into the den site. His entire pack was there. It was mid-day and the hunts and border checks were finished. Now was the time to relax. Kar's pack consisted of seven wolves, not including him and his father.
Nike and Lupe and their now grown pups, Fang and Midnight. Nike's mate, Rune, had been killed by a hunter and had left his brother, Lupus to watch his family. Lupe's mate had died in a fire that had also wipped out three more of their pack. Two loners were also part of the pack, having joined last spring. Tike was the beta of the pack after Rune had died and Nico was Kar's one and only friend. He was also the omega.
So all in all, the pack consisted of Shadow, Tike, Kar, Nike, Fang, Lupe, Midnight, Lupus, and Nico.
"Hey Kar!" Nico called out, running to his friend. The other wolves turned away when Nico passed. The omega was not worth their time. Even Shadow growled as Nico approached.
"Come Kar!" Shadow stalked off. Kar threw a look of apology at Nico before running after his father.
"Father, might i skip alpha training? I have been training since i was a pup. I'm pretty sure i know all there is to know about how to run a pack." Kar said, trailing behind his father.
"No!" Shadow snarled. "Kar, you do not know everything, otherwise you wouldn't be asking me to skip! You must..."
"Shadow, what more is there to teach me? I know fights, hunts, i know how to adress the pack, how to gain respect, how to be a leader, i know much! You just don't think i'm ready because i still run with the fireflies!" Kar shouted.
Shadow was surprised by his son's outburst. He was not the wolf to yell out and Kar was his son after all. He sighed.
"Okay Kar." He turned. "You can go. I'm sorry. Your right. I take you for granted, but you just showed me you are not to be pushed around." He laughed. "Good job son." Kar smiled and went back to the den site. There, Fand and Midnight ran up to him after Shadow had gone to talk to Tike.
"What do you two want?" Kar growled. The two had always been known to tease and bully Kar when Shadow wasn't watching. Kar was just to different for their taste.
"You done with alpha training already?" Fang acted shocked as Midnight laughed.
"You gonna go back to the hill? Back to the hill to watch bugs zoom around?" Midnight and Fang laughed again.
"Back off!" Kar fell into a fighting position.
"Bring it Freak!" Fang stepped up. "By the time your alpha, i'll be out of here, starting my own pack with Midnight. You have nothing over us!"
"He can fight better than you!" Nico stepped forward. "You two just leave him alone."
"Says the omega of the pack." Midnight sneered. "You two arn't worth it." With that, she and Fang walked off.
"Thanks." Kar muttered.
"No problem." Nico said. "You know, mind if i go with you to that hill?"
"Of course not." Kar said. "Come along. It's a great place to think."
The two friends rushed off, speeding through the forest until they came to the clearing where Kar's hill stood as if waiting for Kar. Climbing to the top, Kar sat and closed his eyes. He could hear Nico panting beside him. After a few minutes, Nico muttered something.
"Uh, Kar?"
"You can go back if you want to Nico."
"Thanks." the omega trailed back to camp. By nightfall, Kar was still standing. He watched as the fireflies once again came out.
"Finally, my friends." Kar whispered.
"Yours to?" Kar whipped around, snarling. He had not noticed any smells! How could someone sneak up on him? A small white she-wolf sat below the hill, staring up at him.
"Who are you?" Kar snarled. She stood her ground.
"Merra."
"This is the territory of the Pack of the Moon. Leave now!"
"No."
Kar was taken aback by the she-wolf's comment. Most wolves either left of fought then left. Merra continued to stare at him.
"The fireflies are your friends?" She finally asked. Kar narrowed his eyes then nodded.
"I enjoy watching them fly around. They light up the sky."
"Me too. When i was a pup, i used to try to catch them in my mouth! It was fun." Merra laughed then walked up the hill next to Kar.
"Where are you from?" Kar asked.
"I'm not from anywhere. I'm a loner." Merra answered. "I came here looking for a home."
"No home here." Kar said. "My pack is full. Sorry." Merra's eyes fell.
"She really is quite beautiful." Kar thought.
"That's okay. I didnt' mean HERE for a home. I'm traveling the land just looking for a place to settle down." Merra said. "Oh look! Some of the fireflies are coming toward us."
Both wolves sat in silence, watching the bugs fly around them and light the sky.
"I'm Kar by the way." Kar turned to Merra. "I just reliazed i never told you my name. I'm training to be alpha of my pack."
"Well Kar, it was nice to meet you." Merra said quietly. Kar nodded.
"KAR!" Tike could be seen running toward them.
"Run!" Kar whispered. "If they find you here, you'll get killed!"
"Kar, will you be here tomorrow night?" Merra asked.
"I don't know. I can't get away to come here as much anymore. My father doesn't like this place. It's at the far edge of our territory and it's dangerous out in the open." Kar shook his head. Merra looked away.
"Oh. Well, then. Goodbye."
"Wait! I can try!"
Merra flicked her tail to show she had heard before speeding down the hill and into the bushes right as Tike burst out of the trees.
"Kar! Shadow passed on a message for you." Tike looked upset at being a messanger. "He says if you have nothing more to do than sit around all day and watch bugs, then you will do the hunting tonight. Alone." Kar snarled angerily but followed Tike off the hill and to the den site. Throwing a look back, he saw a flash of white dive into the trees before he lost sight of Merra.
********************************************************************************************************************************
~As time passed, Kar and Merra both got older. Despite her word, Merra stayed in the pack's territory, disguising her scent to keep hidden. Every few nights, she would meet Kar and the two wolves would talk. They soon began to reliaze they were falling in love. Until it all went wrong. Look for Fireflies part 2 coming soon.