One
Subzero winds tore across the valley, whipping up snowflakes and ice particles. Blizzard rested his head on his paws, staring miserably outside the cave at the impenetrable veil of white. The storm was relentless, showing no sign of stopping. A frustrated growl came from deep within his throat. He had been tracking a caribou herd for several days with his packmates Summit and Flutter. The hunt had taken them deep into the mountains, where it was as dangerous as it was beautiful. They had crossed frozen lakes, fog-shrouded pine forests, and treacherous cliffs with their paws at the edge of a dizzying drop. But it had all been for nothing. Scattering the scent trail and covering the hoofprints, the storm had won. They would return to the pack empty-pawed. A silver wolf with white markings limped up to Blizzard’s side. He had ice-blue eyes with a pink scar running down one of them. Staring outside at the raging storm, he sat down, digging his claws into the thin ice that layered the stones. It cracked into shards. “Looks like the storm’s getting worse,” Summit growled in that deep, no-nonsense voice of his. “We should have kept moving… like I suggested.” “So we could have frozen to death?” Blizzard retorted. Screaming wind pushed its way into the cave at the same time, nearly snatching away his words. Snow was thrust onto his pale blue fur, speckling it white. He shied away with a shiver. Summit looked like he was trying hard not to bare his fangs. “So we could have finished our assignment and got the pack fed,” he barked. Despite the bitter cold, Blizzard felt hot with indignation. Although Summit was older and bigger than he was, he was not the leader of this expedition. Blizzard was, to prove himself as the next great hunter of the Sky Pack. It had been his call to retreat into the cave at the first sign of the storm. He hadn’t been willing to let them turn into furry popsicles. He opened his mouth to respond but was interrupted by the excited flapping of wings. “Look! Look!” Flutter exclaimed, spinning around in a circle. “I made fire.” She crouched in front of her creation with her rump in the air. Its orange-yellow-white glow reflected in her round eyes. Flutter was a tall brown wolf with a cream-colored underside. Her wings and optimistic personality reminded Blizzard of his sister, Aurora, but the similarities ended there. Flutter wasn’t the sharpest claw on the wolf. She tended to wander into bramble bushes, getting herself stuck. She wanted to play while the others slept. And she always had something ‘important’ to say, like, “Look at that weird squirrel!” “Do you ever wonder if the moon gets lonely up there?” “Are we there yet? It feels like we’ve been walking forever. Argh! I think my paws are going to fall off!” Blizzard had found her endearing at first, then exhausting, and now just plain annoying. Especially after the incident when she was chasing birds, thought she was sneaking up on a magpie, and ended up pouncing on a skunk. She had slept by herself that night. Summit glared over his shoulder. “Fire?” he grunted. “Skies above. How did you make that?” “Easy,” Flutter said, sounding awfully pleased with herself. “Just drag your claws against a rough surface, like this.” She stuck out her tongue in concentration. “It makes your claws feel all tingly and sore, but if you keep at it, sparks will form. Use some dry tinder, and you’ve got yourself a fire.” “Stop that right now,” Summit demanded, standing up. He harnessed the wind to blow out the fire. Darkness descended upon the cave; the cold returned with a vengeance. Flutter yelped. “My fire!” She crouched in front of the dying embers and blew frantically on them. “Why did you do that?” “Because we’re not a bunch of smoke-sniffing Fire Wolves,” Summit growled. “We’re strong Sky Wolves—one with cold and the storm.” Flutter whimpered unhappily. She gave one last pitiful blow before giving up. Blizzard gave her a friendly-ish nudge with his shoulder. “I thought it was a good idea,” he told her mildly. The brown she-wolf wasn’t listening. She marched up to Summit and, thrusting her muzzle in his face, snapped, “I can’t stand you anymore! You’ve been nothing but a nettle under my pad this entire trip.” Blizzard flattened his ears. Here it was. The inevitable argument that had been brewing for days. “Stop,” he said. Summit pulled back his lips to give Flutter a fang-filled smile. “Oh, that’s rich, coming from you,” he sneered. Flutter flared her wings, making herself look twice as big. “You’re just a boring old grouch,” she practically squawked. “A rock has more personality than you!” “Personality?” Summit rumbled. “Would it be better if I started acting like you?” He raised his voice a few octaves higher. “Look at me, everyone, I’m Flutter! I’ve got my head in the clouds! La la la I’m soooooooo annoying.” Flutter gave an offended gasp. “I’m not annoying.” She looked over her shoulder at Blizzard. “I’m not annoying, right?” He shrugged noncommittally. “And maybe,” Summit continued in a savage tone, “if you hadn’t delayed us so much with your antics, we might have beaten this storm. We could have been feasting by now!” “Um, excuse me,” Flutter said with rising anger. “You were dragging your paws the entire time, remember? Always going on and on about pacing ourselves. Pace on this!” She lunged, snapping her teeth. Surprised, Summit flinched back. He covered his throat with his chin. “Stop,” Blizzard said again, trying his best to sound like a leader, confident and brave. A wolf worth listening to. They went right on ignoring him, shouts and snarls echoing through the cave. Blizzard sat down. He rubbed his paws over his ears with a whine. “Bag of bones!” “Feather brain!” He couldn’t stand this anymore. He pushed past the arguing wolves, knocking into Summit’s shoulder and tromping on Flutter’s tail as he went. “Yowch!” cried Flutter, yanking it to safety. She frowned at him as he headed out into the storm. “Where are you going?” “I’m going to fetch us some dinner,” Blizzard growled without looking back. “I’m sure everyone will feel better after they eat.” His tone warned that they had better stopped fighting by the time he returned. “Want me to come with you?” Flutter called hopefully. Blizzard’s fur spiked with alarm. “No!” he yelped, and dashed into the haze.
