Lone Wolf at Luna Peak

The Packing Debacle

Fate always seems to lead people through the complicated back roads of life. It avoids at absolutely all costs the main road even though they all end up at the same destination; death. Now some argue that the twists and turns and bumps in the road shape who they are as a person in the course of their life. Well if that's the case then somewhere along the path of Serena Luppi's life there would be a giant pothole in the road during the summer after she graduated High School. It all started when Serena got a summer job at Luna Peak Grey Wolf Preservation. The job wasn't the problem exactly and the problem wasn't a catastrophe. Of course every story has a beginning, so let's go from there.

Feet pounded up the stairs and down the hallway towards her room, Serena braced herself for the tears and pouting faces. Her younger siblings had just been told of her summer job. Now of course the kids were used to her working but never before had she gotten a job that would take her away from their little crammed house in the forgotten town of Clearshade Lakes. Just as expected Serena's bedroom door flew open and banged against the wall as five extremely upset children flooded the room. Well she couldn't really call all of them children now, could she? Blake, the eldest after her, was thirteen and leaning against the door jam acting as though he wasn't going to miss Serena. The twins, Aleah and Christian, were standing at the end of her bed heads hung low trying to hold back their tears like the big nine year olds that they were. Ashton at age seven and Cierra at five, had situated themselves atop of her half packed luggage to prevent her from leaving. Oh no, don't let it start, please no.

"Rena... Why are you leaving us?"

Dammit. It's starting.

"Oh CiCi I'm not leaving forever. Sweetheart it's just for the summer," Serena reasoned trying her best to console the sobbing five year old. A glance around the room showed that the rest of her siblings were not far from crying as well. Not even Blake who was purposefully staring out at the hallway to avoid being seen so upset. Serena let out an exhausted sigh and gracefully plopped herself down on the end of her bed. And it was like that one action opened the flood gates, suddenly she had four little monkeys clinging to her and soaking her clothes. The fifth Luppi child was still in the doorway trying his best to look nonchalant. "Hey, Mr. I Couldn't Care Less, get your butt over here!"

Blake slinked farther into the room, and settled himself on the floor with his back against Serena's legs. They make an unusual group, the Luppi siblings. Serena, Blake, and Cierra all had black hair and tan skin; Aleah, Christian, and Ashton were all pale and blonde haired. Blake, Cierra, and Ashton were blue eyed; as where Serena and the twins had emerald green eyes. Although they appeared to be an unusual group you could often find them in a situation such as this, one where everyone was on top of each other. Eventually it was Blake that broke the seemingly endless silence that had fallen, "So, why is it that you decided to get a summer job that was so far away?"

"It's not that far away, it's still in Washington."

"Yeah, but you have to leave home."

"That doesn't mean you can't visit me. The job is in North Cascades National Park, on Luna Peak. Besides you know why I had to take it. The job is at the wolf preservation!!"

"Sometimes it seems as though you love wolves more than you love us."

"Don't you dare say that Blake Mitchell Luppi!"

After fifteen minutes of reassurances and promises that they'd get to see her on the weekends, Serena finally ushered the last of her siblings out of her bedroom. Time to finish packing.