The Living Wind in the Forest

Chapter 4

Snow listened to the rain patter on the cave's roof. It's time to vote,"Attention all wolves, dusk has arrived. Does everyone feel ready to vote?" Snow asked. As the wolves agreed, Snow explained, "I collected 11 pebbles; one for each of us. The tuft of grass will be the vote for the meadow, the bush outside will be for the forest, and the rock over here will be the valley," Snow pointed,"Everyone grab a rock and vote."

Weaving through the chaos, Snow clamped her mouth on a pebble and slowly walked to the tuft of grass; the meadow. Dropping her rock, Snow retreated to a corner of the cave. As the crowd thinned out, Snow dipped her head as the last rock was dropped,"It is time to count them."

Snow padded to each section, one by one. The cave seemed to hold its breath as Snow counted the rocks. At last, she lifted her head and took a breath,"The meadow wins."

Cheers erupted from the crowd. Even though some wolves chose other places, the group seemed to cheer each other on. With her chest swelling with pride, Snow called out,"I will send patrols to search for possible meadows," thinking, Snow added, "Patrols will be in groups of 4 or 5 and you must come back within two days."

Excited murmurs and discussions erupted,"Think of the sunshine!"

"Now if we need water, we can go to the river nearby instead of having to run to the lake!"

"Think of hunting in the open! How different will it be?"

"Think of starting over! How fun will it be to design our own cave together!"

"Do you think that there might be some new foods? How about the fish that the elders are always talking about? Do you think that it'll taste good?"

Snow's heart burst with joy and was eager to get started, "Does anyone want to go on the first patrol?"

A babble of shouting came as a reply and Snow let out a woof of laughter,"It's ok, you all will get a chance eventually. We can choose tomorrow, to see if you are up to it."

Snow nosed the pebbles out of the cave and padded back to her nest,"It's getting late, would everyone like a good night's rest?" Snow asked. Settling down, Snow closed her eyes. I think we might survive.

***

"Snow, are you awake?" A voice inquired, prodding Snow.

"Mhm," Snow said sleepily,"Moon, is that you?"

"Yes, but you have to come, I have some really important news!" Moon bounced excitedly.

Snow rolled her eyes,"Ok, what is it?"

"I found a herb that could help fevers!" Moon squealed, "It's called feverfew."

"Great," Snow muttered,"Why did you wake me up just for that?" Snow added,"It's not even dawn!"

"Oh no, there's more to it. Come on, I'll show you!" Moon woofed.

Hauling herself up, Snow stumbled as she narrowly avoided stepping on Daisy's tail. She was a nice elder, but she did not enjoy being woken up,"Woah, this cave is way too small," Snow whispered.

"I might have a solution for that!" Moon said smugly.

"D-did you find a place that we can live in?" Snow asked, fully awake now.

Moon nodded,"Come on, I'll show you."

Bounding out of the cave, Snow followed Moon as he led her farther and farther from the cave,"Uhh, don't you think this is a little bit too far? What if the pack wakes up to see that I'm gone?" Snow worried.

"It's ok, I already told Pine to keep an eye," Moon reassured.

Snow rolled her eyes, "I can see why you chose Pine," Snow laughed.