Little Wolf

Chapter One

The snowy white wolf lay in the den, her stomach raising up and down with each breath. Three wolf pups curled around her, snuggling into her warmth. Many other wolfs surrounded the sleeping she-wolf. A large golden wolf, larger and obviously more powerful than all the others in the cave was curled around the snowy she-wolf, peacefully resting. The entire scene appeared normal. A wolf pack, and quite a large one too, sleeping in a cave. Then the one thing out of place is noticed. A small human girl, perhaps eight, lays on the other side of the golden wolf, snuggling into his side.

The girl had messy red hair. She slept soundly against the large golden wolf, clearly not afraid. The girl's clothes were teared and ripped, fur pelts of slain animals covered her though. Her feet were bare, but she did not seem to mind. Her nails were unlike normal human nails. Her nails had been sharpened and curved to look more like claws than nails.

The large golden wolf shifted, his eyes slowly opening. The gentle light of dawn crept into the cave, signaling that it was time to awaken. The huge wolf opened his mouth, a loud yawn similar to a lion's emerging. He stood and shook his thick pelt, sensing dust flying. The snowy wolf awoke at this and nudged the three pups by her awake. The golden wolf swung his head over to the sleeping girl. He nudged her with his nose. The girl's eyes flickered open, a smile appearing on her face.

"Good morning Lionheart." She said, speaking in the wolf's native tongue.

"Good morning, young Fire-Flower, did you sleep well?" The girl nodded, slowly standing to her feet and stretching. The top of her head barely reached the top of his leg. The Alpha of the pack, Lionheart, was the largest of all the wolfs. He stood at nearly four times the size of a normal wolf, the rest of his pack standing at about twice the size of a normal wolf.

"That's good. Come along now, you don't want to miss training."

Fire-flower's eyes brightened when she heard training. Lionheart lowered himself down, allowing the girl to climb onto his back. She held tightly onto his fur as he lifted himself up. With that Lionheart stepped forward, heading towards the entrance of the cave. Wolfs stepped aside to allow the Alpha to pass, and young pups quickly followed behind the Alpha, excited to begin training.

Fireflower sat with the other pups, waiting for training to begin. Compared to other pups, she was behind, but the Alpha and Luna had expected that. She was a human, so naturally she'd take longer to be trained. It took Fire-Flower much longer to learn a battle move and she was only just managing to be able to detect her pack members by scent. Lionheart figured at that rate she was currently learning though, that she would be just like any other wolf by the time she was full grown. It was worth the extra training for her though. She was brilliant at the battle moves once she learned them and added her own abilities to them as well. Her body structure was naturally different from the other wolfs, so Lionheart made sure to take advantage of her abilities. It was also helpful for the wolf pack to be able to study how a human works, so they could fight the hunters better.

"Alright pups, pair up and practice!" The young wolf pups quickly ran towards one another, figuring out who would be partners with who before beginning to practice.

Fire-flower paired up with a pup by the name of Mountain-Tooth. She as the pup had become friends lately and so they had instantly partnered up to practice. 

"Ready?" He asked, looked at her.

"Yeah, one moment." Fire-Flower took out the pair of twin daggers made from mountain cat fangs and oak wood. She had made them from the pair of fangs from a mountain cat some pack members had brought home to the pack once. She had carved handles out of some wood from an oak tree and had attached the two. Lionheart had been unsure about he using them, but she pointed  out that she could fight better with them. After that he had agreed. Along with the mountain cat fang daggers, she along had made a cloak from the mountain cat pelt. The part of it covering her head had the ears on it so when she wore it she looked like a mountain cat.

"Okay, ready." She said, looking at Mountain-Tooth. Without a warning he lunged at her. She swiftly stepped aside, her human structure while living amongst wolfs had caused her to become very swift and agile. Mountain-Tooth slid on the dusty ground and quickly leapt up to his paws. He charged forward and

Fire-Flower did as well, planning to meet his attack head on.

Fire-Flower walked on all fours alongside Lionheart. The Alpha had decided to work on the girl's sense of smell, as that was important for her to learn as soon as possible. She was young, fighting could wait if necessary. His ears perked at the cry of a bird, he tasted the air. A woodpecker, and it was close by.

"Can you tell me what that scent is?" Lionheart asked her, his head turning to he could watch her. He slowed to a stop, waiting for her to answer. She sniffed the air, trying to detect the scent.

"A bird, right?" Lionheart nodded. "Correct, but what type?" She sniffed again.

"A rav-" she cut herself off, sniffing again. "No! A woodpecker!" Lionheart chuckled.

"Very good Fire-Flower. You'll make a wonderful wolf one day." She smiled, clearly happy from his praise, but the smile soon faded.

"Is something wrong?"

"Well, I'm a wolf on the inside, but not the outside." The young girl's voice was filled with sadness. Lionheart looked at the girl as they walked.

"Just because you do not look like a wolf does not mean you are a wolf. Physically, you are not a wolf, but that does not matter, little Flame. What matters is what in your heart. Are you a wolf at heart?"

"Y-yes. I am a wolf at h-heart." She sniffed, wiping away a stray tear and putting a smile on her face. Lionheart chuckled.

"Then what more is there to discuss? If you say you are a wolf, then we will teach you our ways, and so we are. Yes Fire-Flower, you are different, but who said that was bad? What is in your heart truly is was matters, not what is outside." The young girl smiled, looking up at the Alpha.

"We should get back to the pack. It is late." Lionheart murmured, turning around and crouching down for the girl to get on his back. She climbed up and Lionheart broke into a run, heading back to his pack.

Lionheart padded into the cave. Many other wolfs of the pack were already asleep, living in dreams. Lionheart padded over to where his mate was laying down, their three pups already asleep. Lionheart lay next to her and carefully placed the young human girl next to him. He reached over and carefully grabbed the mountain cat for cloak in his jaws. He placed it over the girl, covering her as best he could, as he did not have the ability to put it on her. He placed his head on his paws and closed his eyes, curling himself around his mate. He felt the little red headed girl snuggle into his fur and he smiled a wolfishly.