Ladybird

Written by- Glorified Freezer #46776

The pack had lived in the wide open plains for as long as Ladybird could remember, most of his life in fact, but that's not saying much as he was still in the awkward, unsure, stages of his youth. The backdrop of the rustling grass had always been there, the constant white noise soothing him as his gaze was filled by the endless green sea. It was home.
And like any home, it has to have rules I guess; rules ready to be broken by unruly young pups. One of these being pondered by Ladybird as he sat outside, watching the sun slowly set over the fields of grass. The constant motion of the plains in the wind providing a background hum to his spinning thoughts; thoughts that were shortly broken when he heard paw steps coming up behind him. He didn't need to turn to look at the newcomer, or even give the air a testing sniff. He could tell it was Thatch. They had spent most of their short lives together, almost inseparable. He watched out of the corner of his eye as Thatch trudged up next to him before giving a rather dramatic flop to the ground and an even more dramatic groan of exhaustion and exasperation.
"Pups are so annoying!" He huffed.
"Asmodeus had me help with them today. they can't stop talking, and when they finally shut up, they just bite everything! my tails killing me."
He sulked sourly as he turned onto his back, one cream paw stretched upward.
"I just hope this isn't a regular thing."He grumbled. Ladybird, Bird as Thatch nicknamed him, just gave an amused chuckle before resuming his quiet reverie. there was a short while of silence before Thatch, still on his back, turned to look at Bird, "Whats going on? I don't like that face your making."
Bird just grinned at how quickly Thatch had read his expression.
"Well actually, I was thinking, why aren't we allowed to go outside the grassland? I heard the scouts talking, and they've seen so many different places. places where its always winter, and places so green and thick with plants, sometimes it looks like its night time in the middle of the day. They've seen everything! but we aren't even allowed beyond the grass. It was only a short while ago before we were even allowed to explore away from the pack as pups." Ladybird stood up, his smile falling away to an indignant frown. "I mean i'm going to be leader of this pack some day, and I've never even been in the neighboring forest or anything! How am I supposed to lead this pack when i'm being restricted like a careless pup?" Thatch rolled over and pushed himself up into a sitting position, following Birds gaze. They both looked at the dark green hill rising in the distance, the tops of the trees peeking out beyond the soft green hills of grass. He knew what bird was planning, and was suddenly alarmed.
"Let me guess, you wanna go to the woodlands." Thatch sighed, being as straightforward as he could, hoping as much as possible that he at least had some other destination in mind. However, Bird just gave a sly grin. "Yup! and guess who's coming with me." Bird stated as his tail raised in excitement.
"Come on, you know we aren't allowed off the territory, let alone going into the woods, that's strictly against the rules! especially at night. The adults would have our tails! Not to even mention.. you know.. what might be out there."
Bird just listened, rolling his eyes in amused exasperation. "Thatch quit being a pup! Theres nothing out there for crying out loud. And none of the rules even mention the woods, let alone forbidding us from going there during the night." Bird chuckled..
"You don't need the rules to spell it out for you!" Thatch exclaimed. His voice raising close to a yip of fear. Thatch suddenly finding himself standing up and pacing. "When they all avoid even talking about it, when the scouts take detours of even days to avoid it, and the hunters don't hunt there, you get the hint. Have you see their looks of fear just by mentioning it? Please, i'll gladly follow your crazy reckless rump anywhere, just not there. Pick another place." Thatch growled in finality.
Ladybird however, only got tired of listening to his chatter; they were wasting precious daylight talking. He tackled his friend to the ground, forcing him to stop pacing and listen. "Someones been listening too closely to the scary stories the pupsitters tell." Bird laughed. "If it was dangerous, why would the pack be so close to it? and why won't the adults warn us about potential danger there if there was any? I'm going either way. You can stay home, and be boring, and it'll be your fault if I get lost and never come back. You just let me wander off to strange, dangerous, places all by my lonesome self." Bird lamented sadly, shaking his head in mock sorrow. "Or you can come with me, we watch each others backs, find something interesting to get into, or find nothing at all, and hurry back home while everyones still asleep, nobody the wiser. Worst case scenario, we just go up to the edge of the grasslands before turning back if it seems off. If i'm going to break the rules, I want to take the chance to do something interesting at least."
Bird gave him a moment to ponder the choices, before jumping off his dark grey back, awaiting the decision. There was a little while of huffing and grumbling from Thatch, before he finally relented with an appropriate eye roll and sigh. "Just promise me we'll turn back if I say it doesn't seem safe, ok?" His mismatched gaze pleading silently with Bird.
Bird simply gave a satisfied smirk before turning and trotting down the hill, his head held high as he looked out at the tops of the faraway trees. "One word from you and we both turn right back around and head for home! Now lets go, while there's still some light." he barked eagerly, his speckled red and black fur heading off into the grass. Thatch followed behind him a little ways, worried about the circumstances unfolding, but knowing it was too late to back out now. He knew there was no changing Birds mind about this, better to just follow along and watch his back. It never occurred to him to just stay home and tell one of the adults of what Ladybird was planning. It would mean betrayal between them and bird would never forgive him.
As they started their little escapade, they took note of a sudden bank of fog slowly rising from the ground they walked on. Every step closer to the woods seemed to summon thicker and denser fog, but the young ones would not be deterred now, before their journey truly began.
The young wolves both headed for the unknown lands at a brisk trot, hoping to make good time and keep their disappearance unnoticed by their pack.But then again, maybe that wouldn't be a bad thing. Soon the young pups will learn, learn all to well about the secrets held in that dark and strange place, and just why nobody is allowed in the forest after dark...