The War

A Mistake

"No!" Crest firmly stated, her arms crossed and her face unbudging. "I don't care who's child you are Amber, when the Luna tells me to stay I am going to stay" her finger waving in a "Z" formation. 

Amber rolled her eyes, it had been fifteen minutes since the pack had left to go on their run and she and Wave and exhausted all possibilities in this tent. They went from chasing bugs on the dirt floor, to drawing in the dirt, to collecting rocks and it was all becoming very old. At one point they tried to play "eye-spy" but there was only so many items in this tent, not to mention Wave was colorblind.  Wave fell backwards onto his back dramatically, flinging his arms and legs out. He sighed heavily. 

"I'm SO BORED." He closed his eyes. 

Amber looked around the small tent and saw that the adults were still very much busy talking to themselves. The elderly woman was now feeling the belly of one of the pregnant women, lovingly, cooing at her unborn child. 

Amber instantly shot up, a light bulb going off in her head. When she stood up she startled Wave who had just now opened his eyes. "That's it!" She excitedly glanced at Crest, "I have an idea!" Quickly she approached the group of adults with her legs crossed. An anxious and worried expression on her face. As she approached the group, she walked sideways, her hands near her lower abdomen. 

"Excuse me ma'am." She addressed the Elderly woman who now stopped talking to the pregnant lady. 

"Yes, Alpha?" She addressed Amber lovingly.   

Amber pinched up her face and tried to fake tears coming down her cheeks, she sniffled quietly as she bounced from foot to foot. Hopefully this elderly woman would buy her act if it were to all work. "Ma'am, I REALLY need to use the restroom, but I don't want to leave by myself. I am too afraid." 

The elderly woman suddenly shocked at the young Alpha's request. She looked around quickly and her eyes caught on Wave who was now sitting up and watching the whole ordeal intently. "Young man!" She called, her face sturn. Wave quickly got up from where he was sitting, a dumbfounded look on his face as he quietly approached the two of them, a questioning look on his face as he wondered what Amber was up to. "Will you escort the young Alpha to the bathroom?" Her voice shaky and croaky with old age.  

Wave nodded his head quietly, "Yes ma'am" he stated, before following Amber outside of the tent and into the clearing. 

Wave looked at Amber as they rounded a corner and the tent that they were in was out of sight. Amber looked over her shoulder curiously. Wave sighed, "I hope you know that acting as your babysitter is getting old." 

Amber turned to look at him, questioning him, "What do you mean babysit?" She stopped walking and turned to Wave, grabbing his shoulders and shaking him gently. "I don't actually need to go to the bathroom! THIS-" Amber waved in front of herself, "-is our way out. We have ten minutes before we should head back to the tent before they start wondering whats taking so long, and before the pack comes back from their run." 

"oooooooooh" Wave suddenly became excited and he ran after Amber into the woods. "Wait up!" He called after her as they jumped over logs and raised roots as they dove further into the forest. 

After chasing frogs, and squirrels in the forest the two had resorting to playing 'hide n' go seek.' It was Amber's turn to hide, as Wave stood in the clearing of trees counting to sixty. When Wave turned his back to Amber, and began counting she took off further into the woods. She ran through the woods quickly, being careful not to slip on the moss covering some rocks and fallen trees. She began to giggle to herself, the feeling of the wind blowing through her hair made a large smile appear on her face. A small stream cut through her path. The stream was sparkling, caused by the canopy of the trees creating small glimpses of light shining down on the water. The water ran through the rocks clean and clear, and the stones that broke up the stream were covered in fresh green algae. Amber cautiously jumped over each stone, and made it delicately to the other side of the bank. 

Meanwhile, Wave had just finished counting, and opened his eyes turning around. He took a huge inhale trying to catch Amber's scent, only to come up with nothing since he hadn't connected with his wolf yet. He sighed, and thought to himself how difficult it would be to find her. He began looking down at the ground and followed her footprints that she left in the soil. A wide grin erupted from his face when he knew that this was the key to finding Amber. 

Amber quietly jumped over a fallen log, and sat behind it breathing heavy from all the running she had been doing. She sat down with her legs drawn up under her, and looked around at where she was at. She was certain that with Wave seeking it would take him a great deal to find her, so she had some time to relax before she had to start listening out for him. 

Some time had passed now, and Amber began to grow worried that the pack was about to be back soon. So she quietly got up from her spot and called out to Wave seeing him nowhere in sight. "We should probably get back Wave! It's getting close to time!" Amber looked around her, and heard her voice echo through the forest. Not a single sound was made in return, and Amber attempted to listen closer to the forest so she could attempt to hear Wave approaching. 

However, what she did hear startled her to the core. A twig broke behind her, making her jump nearly out of her skin. She quickly spun around, her face becoming pale as she panicked. When she caught site of something moving in the forest her breathing picked up and her heart pounded in her ears. She squinted her eyes to catch what was moving and let out a breath of fresh air when a squirrel ran out of the cover of a bush, and up a tree. His bushy tail flinging in either direction, when he caught site of Amber. 

Amber quickly turned around, suddenly concerned that she had been out here for too long, and began to head back in the direction that she thought she came from. Her head spinning from the adrenaline, and vulnerability. 

"AMBERRR!" Wave called with his hands cupping around his lips, attempting to will his voice to reach further. He had lost her tracks after the small stream, and he became increasingly worried with each time he called out her name. "AMBER!!" When Wave heard the sounds of footsteps behind him he spun around to see his twin sister Crest emerge from the woods. Quickly he ran to Crest, a concerned expression on his face. 

Crest approached Wave, her anger rolling off of her in waves. "The pack is back, and Alpha is upset that you guys left. They sent me to-" Her voice broke off when she looked around Wave and took in his worried expression. "Where's Amber?" She asked. 

Wave shook his head widely, tears threatening to spill. "I don't know, we were chasing things, and then we got bored so we started playing hide n' seek. I was tracking her but I lostHerTracksAtTheStreamOverThere." The last bit of his sentence blurred together in panic. 

Crest suddenly feeding off of his panic, looked around more. "AMBERRR!" She called, her eyes wide in fear. She turned to Wave, "we need to go get Dad, and Mom NOW! That's the end of pack territory!" she grabbed her brother's hand and tore him through the woods. "We need to tell the rest of the pack!" The two ran through the woods back to where the pack's headquarters were. 

Amber quickly started to jog through the woods, her head spinning still and her eyes unfocused as panic gripped her. She thought she was heading in the right direction, but she was so caught up in running from Wave she didn't know where her footprints began or ended. She heard the sounds of twigs breaking and feet padding through the woods, and became excited. She turned around quietly, and looked deeper into the woods. "Hello? Is anyone there?" her voice quiet, at the sudden stillness of the scene before her. 

Amber quietly took a step forward, "hello?" she asked again, timidness suddenly creating a lump in her throat. When she caught the flash of something, her breath caught in her throat and a small cry escaped her lips. "I-is anyone there?" she asked, beginning to take steps away from where the flash was. 

Again she heard the sound of padding feet, now joined by heavy breathing as it became louder. She caught another glimpse of the flash, and spun around and began to run as fast as she could from whatever was approaching her. When suddenly the flash appeared in her path, she stopped and took a turn going down a different part of the woods. Her arms and legs becoming tired with a sudden heavyness. Again another flash in front of her, so she turned again only to see yet- another flash in her line of path. At this Amber skidded to a stop, her breath heaving, and her body clammy. She turned back around and saw another flash behind her closing in. When she squinted her eyes and looked closer, a wolf almost the size of her Dad jumped out of the bushes. His muzzle pulled back in a high snarl, his mouth foaming and the hair on his back risen appearing like spikes lodged in his spine. She could smell his breath from hundreds of feet away, and she knew she would never forget that smell. The wolves eyes were bloodshot, and as he galloped toward her Amber's legs began to shake with fear. She started to run in the opposite direction, only to have another wolf all grey except a black marking on his foot also approach her from the woods. His snarl and eyes similar to the black wolf. 

Amber suddenly realizing she was trapped looked in front of her and behind her only to see more wolves slowly circling her, their growls low and the stances low to the ground ready to pounce at any moment. Amber realized she was suddenly holding onto her breath, and let it out in one big last scream. The sound of her scream echoed off the woods, and startled birds out of their nests. The last thing Amber remembers was the sight of all the wolves pouncing on her, and their breath filling her screaming lungs.