Ending: Chapter Thirteen

Sparrow and Hurricane try not to kill each other as they go out for an early morning hunt.

Why we don't realize
Why we're too blind to see the one
Who's always on our side
I'm asking why
I'm asking why
Nobody gives an answer
I'm just asking why
- Why by Enigma

It wasn't like they had never been to the mountain, but the North Pack didn't know something about it.  They had never been around the entire mountain, mostly because they didn't have to.  In fact, the furthest they had been towards it was when they would hunt there and wait down by the lower part of the mountain, towards the front of it.  They had never gone around the side of it, or to the back of it.  Usually, the dall sheep weren't even on the mountain.  Most of the time, they just stayed down in the valley by the lake or grazed calmly in the grass.  That was why the wolves didn't know something about the mountain.  It was too rocky for a wolf to explore or climb anyway, so it wasn't like they had a choice.  But not knowing this about the mountain would later effect some things in their life.

The mountain was permafrost. 

A thick layer of snow and ice rested atop the mountain at all times, and especially at the back.  The mountain was always cold and frozen, no matter what month it was.  The wolves had never hunted dall sheep that were by the mountain in the spring or summer, so it wasn't as if they would know.  The valley was fairly close to the mountain, not even half a mile away, so they could easily go down to the valley or lake for food and water.  The wolf pack had not hunted dall sheep in months, which wasn't actually all that odd.  Not many packs favored dall sheep, since they lived in rocky terrain and had large curved horns. 

There was something odd about that mountain.  Something unsafe.  And the wolves would later figure that out.

~ ~ ~

As soon as Sparrow woke up that morning, something didn't feel right.  He quickly realized that he had fallen asleep outside in the clearing, a few yards from his den.  After figuring that out, he leaped up in surprise and looked around three-sixty to make sure that no one was out there with him or had noticed he was alone.  Sighing in relief, Sparrow hurried into his den and remained standing as he looked around again.  If someone like Moon, who was one of few who was actually concerned about Sparrow's health and safety, figured that he had been out there in the dark with potential danger, they would lecture him about the importance of making it into your den before passing out - alone - for eight hours.  But since he was lucky like that, it was incredibly early and the sun hadn't even started rising yet.

Sparrow was bored.  He knew that he was fortunate that no one had seen him out in the clearing, but waking up before everyone else was never fun.  If he had no one to talk to, how was it fun?  Well, no.  It wasn't the "talking" that had Sparrow bored.  He was naturally unsocial, so he stayed alone for most of the time.  But he could hear the voices of the others outside, growls and barks and whines.  He could hear the eternal whisper of the wind, and the swaying of the trees.  He could hear the frequent cries of other animals, from birds to bison, and the other sounds of nature.  That made Sparrow feel safe, because he knew he wasn't alone. 

Because if he was alone, he would go insane. 

And he'd start to see things.

And then he would think of Isis.

Silence.

Death.

Dreams.

Darkness.

...Silence.

"Sparrow?"

Sparrow reared his head up as he heard Opaque's voice, turning around cautiously and wondering why she had suddenly decided to come in and bother him. 

"Hurricane stayed with me in the nursery last night," she told him, "and he told me he wants to go hunting..."

"Good."  Sparrow gave her a fake smile and stood up.  "Let's go.  It's about time I get to see his apparent 'skills...' "

Opaque looked at him quizzically.  "No one's awake."

"So?!" came the confident response.  "We'll go together!  Just the three of us!"

"...Three of us?  I have pups.  I can't hunt."

"Ha!  Does it matter?  You can leave them alone for like an hour."

"No, I can't!"

"Give them to Sunset."

"But -"

"Just for today, smart one."

"I know.  But... what will we...?"

"Something."  Sparrow glanced at the entrance to his den quickly.  "Um, you're probably right about the whole 'waiting' thing.  That's a better idea."

"Really?" Opaque asked sarcastically.

"Hey, you can't use sarcasm!" Sparrow protested.  "That's my thing."

"Is it?" the black she-wolf asked flatly.  "Look, I'd love to stay and argue with you about sarcasm for two days, but we'd might as well wake up everyone else."

"What?!  That's a horrible idea."

"How?"

"They might kill us!" Sparrow said.  "More importantly, they might kill me.  Not many are entirely pleasant when they first wake up."

"...You're stranger than usual this morning."

"Can I be in a good mood for once?!"

"Well..."

Sparrow glared at her.  "It's not my fault I fell asleep in the clearing," he said, and continued before Opaque could respond.  "You can wake them if you want, but..."  He yawned lazily.  "...I'm going back to sleep."

"Oh, no, you're not," Opaque snarled.  "You are going to be the strong and fearless leader that I know you are and wake them up."

"But I'm tired!" Sparrow whined.

"Oh well," Opaque said, and she grabbed Sparrow by the scruff of his neck and dragged him out of his den.

"Well?" she asked flatly, looking at his uncomfortable expression with amusement.  "Wake them."

"No..." Sparrow yawned again.  "Can't you let me sleep?"

"You can sleep after the pack hunts."

"Great idea!  They hunt, I stay here.  That's what Dawn and Leader did!"

Opaque didn't respond.  Instead, she cuffed him straight across the face.

Sparrow growled at her and cuffed her back, and she snarled and cuffed him again.  He ended their little fight by giving her the evilest look that was possible, where she flattened her ears and tucked her tail between her legs as an apology.  Even Opaque had enough sense to know not to mess with the leader, even though he was her brother.

"Fine!" Sparrow muttered.  "I'll go with them."

Hurricane suddenly appeared and was standing right in front of him when he turned around, so Sparrow naturally yelped and shielded himself with his sister.  She groaned and shoved him off of her.  Hurricane gave them an odd look, and eventually spoke.  "Are we going, or not?"

Sparrow frowned.  "Hm," he said.  "The sun hadn't even risen yet.  Do you think we could sneak out, and then come back?  And if we don't get anything, we'll go out again later with the rest of the pack."

Opaque looked at her mate quizzically.  "Hurricane, that means it would only be you and Sparrow.  I can't hunt right now - there could be a chance that my pups would wake."

Answering for him, Sparrow shrugged.  "We'll go together, I guess."

"Is that supposed to make more sense?" Opaque asked him flatly.  "What's the point of going twice in a day?"

"Well, I highly doubt that we'll be able to take down something if it's just Hurricane and I," Sparrow told her.  "But, there's a possibility that we could injure it, leave, and then come back for revenge with the entire pack."

Hurricane nodded.  "That's fine with me," he said coolly.  "After all, it's early and we're hungry.  The only food we have left isn't very fresh anymore."

"Good point," his mate replied hastily.  "But... what if one of you ends up getting injured?"

"Oh, trust me, Opaque," Sparrow told her.  "I will not get hurt.  Hurricane, if he has any coordination at all, most likely won't either."

Hurricane frowned at him, and Opaque looked uncertain.  "...Can you hunt well?" she asked her mate nervously.

"...How do you think Bloom and I survived?  Scavenging?"

Opaque finally shook her head.  "Well, no," she admitted.  "But... just be careful, okay?"

"We'll be fine," Sparrow told her quickly.  He then turned to Hurricane.  "If we're going, we should go now.  The sun might rise soon..."

Hurricane responded with a short nod, and he and Sparrow began to head off towards the valley.  Once they got to the river, they turned to the right and headed off into an area of trees.

The trees were spread out mostly to the sides of the forest, tall and evergreen.  The two hills they positioned on caved down in the middle, as if forming a path for them.  They could see the moon high up above the threes - it was full and gleamed down towards the forest.  A wide, thick log was blocking their path up from the hill they were currently standing on, which was going to make getting down hard.

Hurricane growled in frustration.  "What do we do about the log?  It's so dark out here that I can't see anything."

Sparrow shrugged.  "Well, we could try and climb over the log," he suggested.  "But I'm not sure how stable it is... Just because it's big doesn't mean it's stable."

Hurricane agreed with a stiff nod, and he went over to the side of the log, placing his two front paws on it gingerly as if he was afraid it would come to life and attack him.  He balanced on his back legs, wobbling slightly, as he clawed at the pieces of bark which had begun to fall off as he struggled to get a good hold on the log.  Wolves didn't have claws built for climbing, or holding onto anything unstable, really.  So that, and the fact that Hurricane wasn't trying very hard, made it difficult.

Sparrow looked down to the right of him.  Below the log was a steep and slippery-looking ledge with a slick rock bottom.  Thin grass was piled on top of it, and the rock was still visible beneath it.  Sparrow carefully steeped to the right, his eyes on the ground the entire time, and placed a paw on the rock.  Immediately, a chunk of it broke off and tumbled down about fifteen feet towards the ground, shattering as it hit the rough surface.

Sparrow winced.  He couldn't afford a fall like that, especially in the dark.  If he or Hurricane were stupid enough to slip and fall, it could end in a deadly and unfortunate way.  "Be careful over here," he told Hurricane, who was still attempting to climb over the log.  "It's unstable."

Hurricane didn't reply, but nodded eventually, finally getting a good grip on the log.  He shifted his weight so he could pull himself up over it, and Sparrow watched cautiously, wondering if the log was stable enough. 

It was.  Hurricane finally pulled himself up over the log, and jumped off of the top of it calmly, as if nothing had happened.  "You coming?" he asked, not even seconds after getting off.

"Yes," Sparrow replied snappily.  He positioned his front paws on top of the log, gripping it with his claws, and slowly put his other paws on it as well, pulling himself over a bit less gracefully than his dark grey acquaintance had.  He landed hard after jumping, pulling his lip back in a growl as he hit.  "Let's keep going," Sparrow said, panting slightly. 

The two continued along the steep hill, stepping carefully to make sure they weren't inches from falling at any time.  Once they made it to a thicker area of land, Hurricane stopped, and began to sniff the ground.  "Elk," he said quietly.  "It's a herd, and it's not far up ahead."

Sparrow nodded, crouching down as well.  "Do you think we could get one?" he asked softly, and Hurricane shrugged.  "We can try," he responded, raising his head up again.

Sparrow straightened himself up too, and began to follow Hurricane.  They turned right after walking through a huger area of trees, but not too far.  No more than a few hundred feet or so.  About halfway through the trees, Hurricane stopped abruptly and his ears perked up, rotating his head around stiffly.  "Up there," he said in a voice barely above a whisper, and the two said nothing.  They finally heard the heavy breathing of elk, and a few snorts every now and then.  The elk were clearly up ahead.

"Now," Hurricane directed, and Sparrow and him took off out of the trees into a nearby area.  It was a clearing without any trees with a fair supply of grass and even a small stream running through it.  The elk all became increasingly alarmed, raising their heads and straightening themselves up.  When they took sight of the wolves coming straight towards them, they stampeded.

Some of the elk stayed close together and headed to the back, leading into a small area behind groups of trees on opposite sides of the area in the middle.  Sparrow and Hurricane tore after them, and the four they were chasing scattered.  One took off through the trees to the left, and turned to head back to remain with the rest of the herd.  Two of them turned around and headed back as well.  Finally, the last one, a buck, kept on going.  It tore through the trees on the left and turned to the right, Sparrow and Hurricane following it.  The elk's breath came out in puffs as it ran frantically through the forest, keeping its head up and continuing on.  Sparrow and Hurricane forced out growls every now and then to threaten the elk as much as they could.  They chased it around a corner towards the left as it suddenly changed its direction.

Suddenly, the elk slipped.  As it struggled to get up again, Sparrow let out a snarl and attached onto its left flank.  Hurricane clamped his jaws around the elk's front leg, pulling it.  The elk let out a sharp, loud bark into the sky, signifying its great distress.  But there was no help for it, even as it tried to get up.  The battle was over in less than a minute, and neither Sparrow nor Hurricane were hurt.

"...Are we taking it back?" Hurricane asked quickly, sitting down next to the elk.

Sparrow, who was panting from the long run, nodded.  "Yes," he said.  "It'll take a while, since it ran so far..."

Hurricane nodded.  "Let's just get back before the sun rises too much..."

Sparrow took a quick glance at the sky.  It looked as if the sun was just about to rise.  "We should go now," he said quickly, and he grabbed onto the elk's back leg.

"Yes, let's go," Hurricane said, and he grabbed the elk's other leg. 

After what seemed like hours of dragging the elk, the sun had thankfully just begun to rise as Sparrow and Hurricane finally made it to the clearing.  Exhausted, Sparrow collapsed next to the elk as soon as the two were in the center of the clearing.  Hearing them, Opaque walked out of her den.  "Wow, you caught something," she said, surprised.

Hurricane nodded.  "We did," he said.  "It was weaker than a normal bull elk, so that's probably why."

"True," Sparrow panted, sitting up.  "Has anyone woken up yet?"

"Besides me and two of my pups, no," Opaque said, and the two others sighed in relief simultaneously.  "But I heard someone moving, so... I'm not sure."

As if on cue, Sunset appeared from her den, yawning.  She looked surprised when she saw Sparrow, Hurricane, and Opaque out in the clearing with a dead bull elk.  "Uh...?" she asked simply, her eyes on the elk.

"We just went hunting," Sparrow told her quickly, glancing down at the elk as well.  "Well, Hurricane and I did."

"...Oh," Sunset said blankly.  "Well... why?"

"They were hungry," Opaque said flatly.  "They didn't feel like waiting for everyone else to wake up, so they just left and succeeded, surprisingly."

"Wow," the ginger she-wolf said.  "Well... I'm glad that I wasn't awake.  Because you would have probably made me come with you."

"I would have made Opaque come if you were awake," Sparrow told her.  "I would have made you look after her pups."

"...Oh," Sunset replied.  "Well... that's good, I guess."

As the sun finally rose, many of the other wolves headed outside of their dens and into the clearing, shocked that Sparrow and Hurricane had hunted so early in the morning just because they were hungry.  The sky turned pink with the early morning sun rising, and the sun was bright orange as it rose.  Not long after the sun rose, it disappeared behind several clouds. 

Sighing, Sparrow glanced up at the sky every now and then.  Today was going to be a dreary day, but he was currently exhausted and still wanted to sleep.  More.  The hunt hadn't made that better at all, just worse.  He dragged himself into his den, deciding not to sleep yet, but apparently his body disagreed with him.  Within minutes, he had passed out again.

~ ~ ~

I don't understand why he doesn't trust him...

There's no reason not to.

But all the things he said...

About her...

I don't understand.

Perhaps one day I will.

Author's Note

NOTE: Pleaaase tell me if I wrote "elf" instead of "elk." I've done it before. xD Anyway, tips/suggestions and comments...! Even though this chapter sucked. xD

Reviews

[Rayne~Drop.]

...Elf? ... Elf? Really? ...They're, like, on OPOSITE ends of the fucknig keyboard! ....Fail. lol XD But, yeah. I didn't see any mistakes...Well, wilth Elf and Elk anyway.

Chapter didn't suck. It was funny and entertaining, with LOVELY use of sarcasm. XD

...You said silence twice. :D lol XD Yes...I had to point that out. See things. ...IS SPARROW A GHOST WHISPERER!?!? ...jk. lol ...Maaaaybe. o.o Holy f**k. Hurricane...I had forgotten about him...This is what happens when I wait forever to read stuff. i will never do it again...Possibly. o.o XD When Sparrow said,"We'll go together! Just the three of us!" I questioned his sanity. So very much .And I lauged so hard that my family came in to check on me... o.o Scaaaaaaarrryyyyyyyyyy. XD And for the rest of that conversation, I laughed. It was funny. God, I love Sparrow. XD NO. NO ONE CAN USE SARCASM. ITS MINEEE. :D Yes! ...Kill the poor leader. XD ...Sparrow is strange in a good mood...Make him go back to being sad and depressed. o.o No, seriously. "Happy" Sparrow scares me. XD And...It kinda IS his fault he fell asleep in the clearing. XD God, I just love Opaque more and more with every chapter/day. XD ...Dawn and Leader, huh? ...They're just such LOVELY examples of how you should act. lol XD ...He used his sister...as a shield...Well, I'll be damned. No pun intended XD, I didn't think you could use your sister like that...But, again, Sparrow, you've proved me wrong. XD ...Opaque is surrounded by IDIOTS. lol XD I feel so sorry for her right now. XD And...Revenge? ...They would come back for REVENGE? lol XD ...A fallen log coming to life and attacking? Oh my God...I WOULD LOVE TO SEE THAT HAPPEN IN REAL LIFE! XD

And...Thats the end of i THINK the longest review I've ever written. :D XD

HOLY S**T IT'S LONER THEN CHEETIZT'S! ...Wow. XD Kay. So I'm about done here...WRITE. MORE. OR DIE. :D ...Have NICE DAY. XD

[halflives]

OKAY.

I decided to start reading this again. Because I stopped an' I dunno the flip why. SO. onto the review:

FLIPPING EPIC. This chapter made me laugh hysterically and throw my pillow at the computer. I only do that once in a blue moon -- haha, once in a blue moon, blue moon wolves... okay, my attempt at humor is terrible, I admit it -- so feel honored.

I DO have to mention: ELF?! WTF?!

BACK TO THE REVIEW!!

"Good idea! You go hunt, and I'll stay here!" (orsomethinglikethat) ohmigawd, that just made me crack up. Sparry is brilliant. "That's what Leader did!" grrrrr Leader. That b*****d still makes me mad.

And he's dead. And I still haaate him. But you kind of made us hate him. xD And I jump on the bandwagon, follow the flow, and so on. So I hate Leader, and you brought him up again. Sad faaace.

OH WELLS.

THIS IS NOW OFFICIALLY THE LONGEST REVIEW I'VE EVER WRITTEN. SO FEEL FLIPPING HONORED, DARLING.

ON TO CHAPTER FOURTEEN! *is excited*

[~dr.nugget~]

why???? why does you not write more?!

[נнα&p..]

LOL, THAT WAS FUNNY. XD elf... hehe
Opaque and Sparrow are so retarded together, xD they're just.... total siblings. XD Yesh, like cheezit said, the cuffing-each-other thing was funny heheh. I loved it. And I love how Sunset was like "...." when she saw them. xD YOU MUST WRITE MORE!

[r]

LOLOLOLOLOL!!! ELF INSTEAD OF ELK!?!?! THAT WOULD BE F*****G HILARIOUS!!! but now i didnt see "elf" anywhere. i think you're safe. xDDD

ooohhh!!!!! the beginning was SOSOSOSOSOSO freaking awesome!!!! i luffed the whole omen, permafrost, SOMETHINGSGUNNAHAPPEN foreshadowing!!! :DDDD It was so freaking epicaliousness!!!

This chapter had me laughing out loud because of Opaque and Sparrow. LOLOL. It was so funy when they did the whole cuffing-eachother-in-the-face thing. xDDD I freaking loved it. And how he fell asleep in the clearing stupid, stupid Sparrow. I love how they actually GOT and elk and didnt kill each other. o.o and i love the whole huge log thing, when Hurricane climbed over it better than Sparrow. xDD And when they got back, and Sunset... I love her. xDDD I love how he passes out in the end, and I love the little thought stuff at the very very end. xDDD Awesome chaoter, Maddie. :D I cant wait until Chapter 19. o.o so writttteeeee. xDDD