Claw's Story

*You pad into the undergrowth, alabaster snow covering your mitts. Your tail quivered, as the freezing winds picked up. A scent of elk mingled in your rhinarium, and you scurried downwind. You stalked forward until your visionaries focused on a dark burnt sienna pelage. Monumental antlers towered you, as you winced. Two females were nearby, burying their muzzle into the snow in search of grass.*

*As you study the monumental animal, you realize that it's left leg has a deep gash in it. Your visionaries blinked in triumph. Finally, you escalated onto the creatures' shoulder, pinning it. You gashed your unguis's into it's open abdomen, and slit your crimson-stained dentures entwining around it's larynx. Looking around, you noticed that the two females sprinted away. Swiftly killing it, you straighten your stance. Parting your mandible from your maxilla, you taste the air.*

*You realize that the air dramatically changed. Your visionaries oscillating, you bent your cranium into the burnt sienna carcass, sanguine fluid cascading from it's abdomen. Scoring through the soft tissue, you dug your dentures into a bone, pulling it out. Chewing down, you bite off the fatty meat.*

*As you amble around your surroundings, you turn your cranium at the slightest move. A rustle in the undergrowth made you jump. You bellow in a low voice, cautious. Suddenly, a corrupt voice sounded behind you.*

*"And who might you be?" A dark figure stepped out from the shadows. You shrunk in the icy azure gaze, her daunting stance making you back up.*

"*I-I come in p-peace," you stutter.*

*The feminine ebony canis lupus snarled, her alabaster dentures unsheathed corruptly. "I would rather you come in confidence if you're going to amble around the territory like you own it," she retorted. She turned around, flicking her floccose ebony appendage. "Follow me."*

*Without given a choice, you follow her. "What is your name?" you ask quietly. She replied with a grunt, "Claw." Nodding, you amble after her, until an overwhelming scent of wolves invaded your rhinarium. You could hear snarls and bellows, and also the whimpering of pups.*

*An all alabaster canis lupus stepped in front of Claw, giving her a curt nod. He turned his brilliant gaze on you, and you shrank under his daunting gaze. "Who have you brought with you, Claw?" he bellowed, his alabaster dentures unsheathed. "An intruder," Claw inquired.*

*"No! I-I come in p-peace, I promise!" you whine.*

*"Unwanted wolves aren't welcomed in my Pack," he snarled corruptly.*

*"This is a Pack?" you ask, turning around to Claw. "Yes, The Pack of Broken Silence," she replied calmly.*

   The ebony feminine pup opened her brilliant icy azure visionaries for the first time into a glowing light above. The undergrowth rustled, as more and more monumental wolves came into the den. A monumental alabaster wolf ambled in last, his eyes glinting lovingly. "She's lovely," a somewhat diminutive ivory colored male inquired quietly.
Blinking, the young pup looked up. An ebony feminine wolf's amber orbs were focused on her. "She looks just like you, Aura," the alabaster male whispered approvingly. His tail flicked. "What a lovely eye color!" a dark colored feminine whispered. "Aura, she's beautiful," a diminutive feminine tundra repeated, her blind gaze on the whimpering body.

"What will you name her?" an alabaster and burnt sienna male asked. There was silence for a moment, until one of the wolves spoke up. "Her claws are out already?" she rasped, nodding to the monumental alabaster male. "She's strong," the diminutive male nodded.

The ebony feminine, known as Aura, stared at the alabaster wolf. "What about..." she started. "...Claw."

"You mousebrain," Blank spat, her alabaster dentures unsheathed belligerently. "You should have never been made monarch," she sneered. "You don't even know how to raise a pup, let alone lead a Pack," she went on. "Oh, don't talk about pups now, Blank," Apollo retorted. "Acacia and Claw will be stronger than you would ever be, and when they become monarch, you better watch out."

*Monarch? I would love to be a monarch!* Claw thought excitedly.

"I'm not talking about this here, you'll scare all the prey from the Great Oak and back," Blank bellowed. "Fine." Apollo ambled out of the nest, Blank following close behind him. Claw's ears flicked worriedly. While Apollo wasn't looking, she nodded to her brother, Acacia. Looking around, Acacia slowly followed the pair, Apollo not noticing. *Acacia? What is he doing?*

Deciding to follow, she stalked after the group, gracefully stepping each paw in front of the other. Her icy azure visionaries grew wider as they headed towards a burnt sienna and amber rock that formed into a bridge. It was the most beautiful landscape she has ever seen. The sunset set into the milky sky slowly.

"Acacia, what are you doing here?" Apollo bellowed. Acacia's ears perked up, as he slowly ambled towards Apollo. "I always knew you wanted to be like your father, Apollo," Blank snarled quietly. "What? Blank, you're going mad!" Blank shook her head, her blank visionaries emotionless.

Acacia was herding Apollo onto the rocky, amber-burnt sienna bridge type rock, until Claw flew out of the undergrowth, her icy azure visionaries wide. "Apollo, no!" Sprinting onto the bridge-rock, her twin zeniths twitched as she heard a *crack!* from the rock. Suddenly, the rock broke underneath her. "Claw, no!" Apollo yowled. As Claw fell, Apollo tried flinging her up, to save her; but Claw's weight held her down, and they crashed down on the rocky outcrop below.

Pain shot through her like she has never felt before. Yowling in agony, she struggled to look over her shoulder. Wincing, she spotted Apollo's crimson stained pelage. His back legs were dragged behind him, unmoving. His flank struggled to rise. "A-Apollo..." Claw whispered, trying to stand. As she tried to rise up, she was dramatically surprised by the shot of pain that went through her left leg.

"It's all my fault!" Acacia cried, his visionaries filling with sorrow and hatred. Claw spotted her mother's similar ebony pelt through the darkness, a pile of leaves and herbs in her jaws. "Apollo... Claw..." she started, taking a deep breath. "Claw, your leg..."

"What?" Claw stared at Aura in horror. *What is wrong with my leg?* Twisting her neck, she looked at her leg, where patches of fur was missing. She tried to move it, but it was like it was frozen. "Mom, what is wrong with my leg?" she repeated, a bellow rising from her larynx.

"Claw, you... your leg is..." she started. "I can't say it, I'm sorry," she started crying, spreading a wide rang of herbs onto her left leg. "Why can't I move it?" she repeated for a third time.

"It is paralyzed, you hard-headed mouse brain," Blank sneered. Ignoring Blank's smart remark, she stared at Aura. "I will never be a delta," she whispered.

"Claw, yes you will," she assured quietly. As soon as Aura stopped talking, Echo yowled in surprise and sorrow. "Apollo is *dead!"* the healer cried. Looking back at her father's alabaster pelage, she shrunk. Aura ran to his monumental body, a tear falling from her amber visionaries in shock and sorrow. "Apollo, please... No... Don't leave your pups," she whispered, licking his cheek.

 "I summon Claw as the newest War Commander," Tavia barked, her visionaries glinting. Looking over to Blank, she stared into her blind gaze. It was emotionless, and she stared into the invisible distance. *This is a dream come true,* Claw thought in pride. *I can follow in Apollo's paw steps, and maybe I will become a monarch.* Looking at the milky blue sky, she whispered to herself, *father, are you watching? Are you proud?* Ambling to her den, she caught herself staring at Kodiak.

*I have such a big crush on Kodiak, but I don't want to say it. I will probably never have a mate, because of this stupid leg,* she bellowed. "Hey, Claw!" she heard a voice in front of her, yowling her name. Looking up, she could see Kodiak's dark gray pelage in the distance, his yellow gaze focused on Claw. "Coming!" she barked back.

"Do you want to go on a walk with me, in the forest?" he asked awkwardly. Nodding in reply, she ambled after him. Her diminutive mitts were tingling in excitement.

"Ok, I have been wanting to tell you something for a while," he started awkwardly, his monumental frame twitching. "Last time we were... on a hunting patrol, I was looking at you a lot. I... uhm... I was wondering if you wanted to be mates." He stared into Claw's icy azure visionaries.

"Kodiak, I have the same feelings. Yes," she decided easily, licking his shoulder.