☼ Nīkau ☼

    Nikau slunk along the edge of the den, hoping to get away before his sister and her friends spotted him and made him their prey for the day. Ataahua was busy speaking with some hunter or scout or other and it was her last meeting for a long time so this was Nik's only shot. He crept along as silently as a small puppy with no training could and actually made it out into the sunlight before he was dragged backward by a set of sharp little claws.
    "Hey! Let me go, you rotten sister! I just want to be free!" Nik howled as his sister dragged him not back through the den entrance, but off to one side where her friends were gathered. No doubt they wanted him to play with them and they would play lame games and make him be the prey like usual.
    Raea, their cousin smiled sympathetically at him as he was dragged over and sat in front of her and several other she-pups who were squabbling over who got to pounce on him first. Nikau slunk behind his cousin and hid while the she-pups pondered his fate for the day. Raea patted him with a paw and whispered for him to hang in there. He wondered what that meant until a green-tinged face popped into view from around the back of the den.
    "Winnie!" Nikau whispered in what everyone told him was a terrible whisper, but what he saw as a perfectly good and quiet tone.
    Big mistake.
    The she-pups all turned on he and Winnie, and the two pups took off around the back of the den, kicking up dust as they ran at the head of a gaggle of squealing sisters, cousins and their sisters' and cousins' friends.

—

    Nikau and Anahera stood in front of the pack, chests puffed out slightly like their mother had told them. They were becoming full members of the pack, and the ceremony would be overseen by Rionach, Syndestar, Hufen... pretty much all of the most important wolves in the pack. Not to mention the entire pack would be present to see them rise from the initiate rank to pack hunters. Nikau trembled slightly at the thought and his sister leaned into him in a reassuring gesture. Though he and his sister still fought and messed with each other from time to time, their relationship had also become one that was much more caring at the same time.
    "What do you think it'll be like?" Anahera whispered to him excitedly.
    "I have no idea," Nik 'whispered' back, feeding off of her excitement despite his earlier nervousness.
    Both young wolves had grins plastered on their faces by the time the ceremony began, and by the time it was over their jaws hurt and they couldn't help but giggle each time someone congratulated them on their new roles within the pack.

—

    Winnie and Nikau padded along the riverbank, frolicking and tussling as if they were still pups with no worries or cares in the world. The two young wolves punctuated their stroll by digging up interesting rocks and shells, stomping in puddles and chasing bugs around, usually falling in a heap of laughter when they collided trying to catch it at the same time. They had each become hunters and were bonafide providers for the pack now, but they still shamelessly took any chance they were given to muck about as if that was their job instead.
    Winnie shook himself off after one such romp and was beginning to tease Nikau about something when he noticed a stranger on the far bank. "Hey, this is our river, right Nik?" He whispered to his cousin without taking his eyes off of the stranger.
    Nikau followed his gaze, catching sight of the stranger as well and replying in a terribly loud non-whisper, "technically I think only half of it is ours. What say we go and say hello? D'you think he bites?"
    "You're ridiculous," Winnie shook his head and made his way as non-threateningly as possible toward the stranger on the far bank. This non-threatening walk ended up as more of an awkward sideways crab movement, so Nikau naturally opted for the less stupid looking regular walk and reached the opposite bank to the stranger's first. Winnie huffed and straightened up to walk normally but somewhat bashfully now to join his cousin.
    "Ho, there! Stranger! I know we're difficult to spot since we're ever so stealthy," Nikau paused his hailing to bump Winnie with his shoulder, "but here we are announcing ourselves now!"
    The stranger just looked at them, puzzled, with brow furrowed and head cocked to one side. "Uh... ho, there? Strangers? Is this a common greeting in your pack?"
    Nikau called out in the same too-loud, expository tone simply, "no!"
    Winnie couldn't help it. He let out a loud guffaw of laughter which set Nikau off and the pair leaped into the river, swimming deftly across to the stranger's side to get a better look. The stranger— Kyne of Gotham, they learned— was apprehensive at first, but clearly he liked making new friends. The trio were walking along again, unearthing shells, stomping in puddles and collapsing in heaps of laughter in no time flat and made a point to come back and do so regularly and often.

—

    Nikau stalked along the riverbank beside his cousin and sister, still shaking his head. He and Anahera had come out of their uncle's den a little while before to find Winnie waiting excitedly by the entrance. Nikau had told him, bewildered, the pack's decision, and just kept walking. Winnie and Anahera seemed to understand that he was simply overwhelmed and would come back around eventually, so they walked with him. Eventually they came to the shallow ford about a half an hour's travel away from the hollow and Nikau stopped with his forepaws in the cool river.
    "I'm gonna be the next alpha." Nikau said simply, looking at his face in the river. He wondered what his mother would think. She had been a great alpha, and hopefully he could do her proud. At least he wouldn't have to do it alone. He looked from his sister on his right to his cousin on his left and smiled. They would be a power team eventually... once the reality and their training sunk in.

—

[609 Starting]
[1246 @ Lvl20!]