Zira and Ward arrived at a standoff between a large black bear and Neoma. A grey wolf laid on the ground between the pair with its paws covering its eyes.
Seeing how Neoma was visibly shaking, Zira decided to give her the final push.
/I've done it once, I can do it again./
Zira steeled her heart then fell to the ground without any warning. All the heads in the area snapped towards Zira. Meanwhile, BaoBao tried his best to stifle his laughter. Zira acting all weak never got old for him.
Ward moved faster than anyone else. He stood guard in front of Zira, then growled and bared his teeth at the bear. Neoma looked at the pitiful picture of wounded wolves fending for themselves, then felt ridiculous being afraid when she was the only unscathed and healthy one.
The bear took the chance when everyone was distracted to go for the wolf cowering on the ground. A burst of courage filled Neoma and she instantly leapt towards the bear.
BaoBao, who had witnessed it all, suspended his telepathy with Zira so that he could laugh to his heart's content.[Ah… If only you didn't have to stay in character.]Zira repeatedly pushed Ward's face away with her paw and nipped him, but he stubbornly pressed towards her to groom her. After a long struggle, he finally left Zira alone.Zira huffed unhappily and turned her back towards him. On the other hand, Ward's tail swayed side to side. He had ascertained for himself that Zira was untouched by the red wolf and was clearly healthy. He moved further away from her to give her her much needed space. When he settled down, he did not stare at her either.Unbeknownst to him, Zira was quietly missing his closeness. Others simply inferred from her droopy ears that she was in a bad mood because of Ward.[Aha!]Zira's heart jumped at BaoBao's sudden exclamation.
"Quin! Now what?!""Break us out of this!" Quin cried."I'm already trying! It's too slow!""Focus." Ward's calm and steady voice cut through everyone's panic.Neoma stared at Ward for a full second. She took a deep breath and pulled as hard she could. She stared only at the webs. She thought only of snapping the webs. She began to feel a burn within her muscles. More and more fibers split and it gradually got faster and easier. Before she knew it, she disentangled everyone in record time."I did it! I di- Wait, not the time, let's go!"Words flew out of Neoma's mouth.Just before Neoma leapt off the tree, Red shouted, "We're still stuck! Too sticky! Ugh!"Quin's eyes darted everywhere. From the spiders, to the disheveled state of the webs that had twigs, leaves, and more caught in it, to the canopy around them. "Leaves! Stick the leaves on!" He finally shouted.A split second after, a large pile of leaves rain
While the lizard ran, it sometimes screeched in a pitch so high that the wolves almost could not hear it. They shook their head in an effort to deal with the discomfort.“Let’s just fight it! Come on!” Red egged everyone on.“Can’t you see we’re at a huge disadvantage?! Not everyone’s like you, keen to lose your life for some meaningless excitement!”“Oh, come on. What could happen? It’s just a lizard on its home ground. We can make do.”“Right!” While everyone turned right at the same time that Quin shouted, Red continued to run straight ahead.“I knew you’d agree- Guys?!” Red dug in her heels and stopped dead in her tracks.“Red!” Neoma shouted. Her voice travelled down the tunnel the pack had ran into.“Ugh shit!” Red ran after them, thus placing her behind the lizard instead. Just as Red fantasized ab
Within five minutes, the pack found a clear spring within a nook of the mountain. Steam wafted up from the water. Quin and Red dashed straight for it without another word. “Please be careful! Valter apparently fell into the cave somewhere here!” Alma warned. “Got it!” Quin and Red said in unison while they happily dived into the water. The water was so clear that they could see the jagged rocks at the bottom of it. They doggy paddled all around. They shook themselves while they were still inside the water, to clean their thick coats. “Thanks for the warning.” Neoma said while placing Valter down onto the ground. She then jumped into the water with the other two. Alma looked at the three wolves in a daze. /They’re… Nice./ Meanwhile, Ward gently lowered Zira onto the ground near the spring. He slipped into the water, careful not to let any splash onto her. While in the water, he reverted back into his wolf form and he never swam t
Something gently nudged and nuzzled against Zira’s face, pulling her out of her slumber. She opened her eyes and confirmed the identity of the culprit. Ward changed into his human form, ready to carry her. Zira did too, at the same time, then moved away before he could pick her up.“My legs work fine.” She explained.Ward stared pointedly at her chest injury.“I’ll be fine.” She stubbornly said as she ran off with the others. Ward caught up to her and stayed close by her side.Meanwhile, another conversation went on at the front of the pack.“I still don’t get why talking to him will win him over. I mean, if it works, why didn’t we win him over earlier?” Red insisted.“Because you didn’t know his story before I shared it with everyone.” Alma gently explained.“Nope. Don’t get it.”“Now we can show Valter
The dim light of the moon barely illuminated the area while the pack dug in. Although the carcasses did not have much meat on them, there were more than enough dead hyenas to go around. It was like a buffet.Valter quietly studied everyone happily enjoying their meal. Everyone looked so relaxed that he felt ridiculous staying so tense. As time passed, Valter let his guard lower bit by bit. For the first time, he could enjoy his meal in such a simple manner.When they were done, the wolves stretched and lounged under the stars. Quin and Red laid on their backs. Ward, Zira, and Valter took a dip in the pool. Alma and Neoma rested against each other.By the time the three exited the spring, Red and Quin were knocked out cold. Zira reverted into her wolf form and curled up, ready to sleep. So, Ward did the same. Valter went off in a more secluded spot but found that Alma and Neoma were following him."What do you want?" He gruffly asked.
“But why would she?” Neoma whispered back as the pack huddled closer together.Ward looked at the pack then back at Zira. He felt like he should know what was going on, but he did not feel secure about leaving Zira alone at that moment. Understanding his dilemma from the way he behaved, Zira sighed lightly and returned the pack’s side with Ward close by her side."It's either to test our strength or a fight for territory or…" He looked at Ward and Zira huddling in with them. "Something personal."Just as Valter ended his sentence, the rest of the yellow wolves prowled towards Neoma’s pack with their fangs bared. Their leader turned back around and looked down at Neoma’s pack like they were small fry.Neoma and the others stuck close and bared their fangs as well. They stared at each other down, no one willing to back down.All of a sudden, Valter dashed forward and broke the impasse. Red followed clo
When there was no response or sound coming from behind her, she turned around to check if he was still there. He was, but he stood there with a faraway look in his eyes.When the focus returned to his eyes, he turned to look down at the valley and the other wolves. “I don’t understand myself either.” He said softly.Zira sat down and waited. She felt like that was not all he had to say.“Since you asked… I think it’s the way you fight. Desperate and stubborn. But not because you overestimate yourself. More like perseverance. It’s... Strangely enchanting. And inspiring.”Zira found the things he described oddly familiar. She had gotten used to hearing the familiar soul say such things to her, but she still could not understand what about that made her worthy of such devotion and love. “So what?”Ward finally looked back at her. Pink petals danced around her and made