Rune's pack
#4 of Transition Stories
Author's Note:
Yay! Another chapter in the trans. series, I finally got it up :D If you see anything that weirds ya out, tell me....
Enjoy, and feel free to comment :3
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1)Rune's pack
A wolf ran silently through the trees, puffing slightly, her breath visible in the cold air. She was near her goal as the forest began to thin, exposing a secluded clearing. A small cottage stood near the other side, where the wood began to fill up again. Puffs of smoke rose out of the chimney, telling her it was nice and warm inside, perhaps even that supper was started. Hopefully they could eat soon, she was starving.
Coming up to the cozy home, she traced the edge of the woods, keeping in the shadows more out of instinct than fear of being seen. Soon she stopped, her ears perked up, as it picked up the tiniest sound.
Yips. Little yips coming from the shadows of the wood. She was sure of it.
Abandoning any hopes of getting her belly filled soon, the young wolf darted back into the trees from whence she came. Bounding over fallen logs and large boulders rooted into the ground, worn by the elements, she hurried on her way.
Taking care to keep clear from any nettles or brier patches she saw, the wolf strained her ears as she made her descent into a shallow valley, following the calls, growing louder as she drew near.
She knew what this was, being very familiar with it in her life, and hoped she could find them before the temperature dropped too low. Suddenly, she lost her footing, hitting a patch of wet moss, causing her to pitch over a crumbling hillock, and rolling down a steep grade.
Her legs flung out as she tried to grasp anything that rushed past her to stop her from sliding before she hit a log or boulder. Even during this slight peril, she could only think about her new objective.
Jerking to a stop as she dug her claws into a young sap she nearly missed, groping out to it, even biting at the small tender limbs for extra resistance, to keep her from going any further. She heard a small 'pop' as her neck strained at the sudden weight brought on it, arms burning as they clasped tightly around the tree.
Shakily, she got up, her legs having been whipped out behind her during her stop, causing her slight pain. Ignoring all of this she quickly continued her search, clearing a rather thick outcrop of rock, before seeing what she was looking for.
A small dent in the earth, not even barely passable as a den and clearly abandoned, was dug behind the rocky overhang. Nestled close together, already shivering from the cold, were eight little wolf pups. She knew she couldn't leave them there, even her instinct told her to stay and care for them.
Fortunately, she had a better place to keep them and care for them then the shabby little hole they were in now. Knowing the rest of her family wouldn't mind, she knelt down and carefully scooped them up, bundling them against her warm body.
Grimacing slightly from her injuries as she got up, she started back to the cottage, taking care to keep all the pups safely tucked in her arms. It was much slower progress then when she was on her own, but she was determined to see that these pups would live, no matter that they were feral. The freezing temperature was starting to bite into her as the cold began to sink into the earth, and the heat flee before it.
By the time she stood at the front door, she was shivering from the cold, exhausted from the walk back as her injuries made it even more difficult than usual. The puppies were safe and cozy warm though, that was all she cared about.
Luckily for her, her brother saw his sister stagger up to the house and opened the door to let her in. She was glad he did, because she couldn't open it herself without disturbing the puppies, exposing their new warmth to the bitter wind that began to sweep up from the north.
"Look, she has puppies," her cousin pointed out to the rest as her brother closed the door.
"Rune, what happened, I thought you were heading back over an hour ago," her mother cried, worry in her voice.
"How did you get hurt?!" her father exclaimed.
Calming down the torrent of questions, she told them her story as she took a seat on the stuffed mattress before her, puppies still in tow.
"That was very lucky for them wasn't it?" her cousin said. "That you got to them before any predators did, I mean." The others nodded in agreement. Living in the north was no picnic for weak animals, who would easily get picked off if they weren't cautious.
"What will you do with them Rune?" her father asked, knowing what his daughters answer might be.
"I will take care of them and protect them from danger, father." she simply stated.
He knew his daughter to be very headstrong and did not deny her her wish. Once she had her mind set on something, she would stick to it, no matter what the outcome. Usually it turned out good, her family rarely seeing her go down a bad path because of her decisions.
None of the family were against her decision, and were glad she wanted to care for them. They enjoyed playing with the pups, teaching them needed skills for later in life as they grew. Their pack was slightly diminished, and her tribe broken up as others moved away to better grounds, new opportunities, or had died somehow or another, mainly hunting accidents or sickness.
In fact, they were the only part of the tribe who lived in that area anymore. But even though they were greatly dispersed, every wolf in that tribe considered each other a friend, no matter where they happened to live. Distance meant nothing to them, and would not break their familiar bonds. Regularly those who belonged to the pack would visit each other if the weather was good, or they had news to bring, sharing their tales in their new homes.
A long time had past since those days, many, many moons passing across the deep, thoughtful sky, as Rune recalled them from her memory. Much had happened within that time too. She did not know what became of her cousin some years after that time, smiling at the image she kept in her mind of her.
Somewhat shorter than her, she had the same physique, yet her breasts were somewhat smaller than Runes, as she had yet to reach puberty then. (Rune thought she may just have grown up already by now). Her fur was different then the rest of her families though. Similar in color, but she seemed to have gotten all the attributes of her parents, instead of just a few. Her underside was white/silver and the rest of her was a darker shade of gray. Brown strokes almost completely separated the two colors on her body, except for where her paws were, under her head, and most of her tail (excluding the tip). She loved the way her cousins coat looked, remembering when they were very young, asking her parents why hers wasn't like it. She did hope her cousin made it and was okay, maybe even be able to see her again one day.
The rest of her family she was sure of their stance in the world. Her parents, rest their souls, passed away, leaving her and her brother the house. They lived together with the pups for a couple years until the great move happened. That is what they called the migration to Mars. If she wasn't concerned with leaving her home, she would have considered living on the moon instead, as her kind were rather attached to it.
Where she was, she could not see the beautiful moon of the earth, and still missed it's presence in the sky. Of course there was a moon here on this planet. In fact, there were two, but they were not as lovely as the moon she was accustomed to. Both were irregular shaped, like rough ovals, and they passed through the alien sky at different periods, one after the other.
Her brother, she missed greatly, mourning his demise when the police officer came to her door to tell her the news. He was one of the 'unfortunates' they said on the television, that were caught up in the raids of ferals after the shift began. Rune was horrified at this news, frightened for the young ones she smuggled on the ship with her, as they would not regularly allow someone to bring that many pets with them, saying it would only overpopulate the planet more than necessary, and they needed that room for people.
She was disgusted at how the world had changed. They did not care for all of earth's creatures equally, as her tribe and family would. They would commit horrible acts of violence for no reason but change. Nature was change. How could they not see it? Because of their blindness, so many had died, so many who did not deserve it. Rune did not stay bitter at this new world though, she did not become angry or depressed. Neither did she hold it all in until she would feel she might explode.
Rune knew how to deal with the changes that life brought and moved with them, as if in a tide, not fighting against or letting it carry her away, but working with it.
Gone were the days when she knew little of technology or 'urbanized' people. She was a quick learner and retained information well. This did not mean she had to be altogether happy with it, though.
For instance, she did not particularly like the house she lived in now. It felt too....unnatural. Her old home was made of the elements of earth, inviting nature in even though it was an enclosed area. The place she had now though, was like it's opposite. It was not a happy place. It did not invite the strange new nature of the world into it. More it repelled it, keeping a definite barrier between the inside and out. From the stark white plaster walls to the rough carpeting and fake tile on the floors. But she knew she had to adjust to it as well, making due with what they were given.
The female wolf was quick to pick up their ways, if only in defense of her own survival and for those she loved. When they knocked on her door that day, she stowed away her 'grown' pups in the back rooms, making sure they were naturally hidden, pretending to sleep, under covers, lest they decide to search her whole house, closing the door before she answered their abrupt calls. She was very glad when they took a quick sweep of the house, just peeking in the doors of other rooms before moving on.
They questioned her shortly, dependent on the 'bad' reactions they usually got from the residents after the change. Asking if she noticed anything strange, or if someone suddenly turned up in her house, if she had any pets, something to put them on a lead.
Of course she answered no to all of these, denying she even had pets (fortunately there were no records kept of who had pets or how many, only the amount of occupants, though now they wished they had) only family living there.
The pups were close like family to her because she cared for them and raised them, but they were much more like very close friends. She lost enough in her life and would not tolerate anyone dispatching them too.
Luckily, because of the occupancy they were put down for, they had enough rooms for them to get by. When they moved in, Rune and her brother each had their own room, and the pups gave them an extra room (they dared not put in more than one extra member, in case they decided to get identification, though when they did this the pups were still small creatures and one room was more than enough).
Now that her brother was dead, this gave them three bedrooms to sleep in, along with their den, kitchen and bathroom. This would usually end up three people to a bed, so they were like sardines half the time, even if the bed was a queen. They had thought of using the den as an extra room, though did not have extra money to convert it and buy another bed for it.
Besides, that was the only other place they had that people could visit in, so they made due with their current sleeping arrangement. When they did move though, everything was free for them, they did not have to pay for the house, land, or anything in it. They were even given some allowance to start out their new lives, but they had to ration it wisely, as it was not a giant sum.
Groceries were her main concern, with eight pups (all close to her age when they shifted) to feed. Most of them were taller than her, except for two who were about her height and one who was a tad shorter. It wasn't even the male pups who always ate more, some of the females consumed the most groceries! There were five males and three females, one of which who ate the most.
Because of the upbringing they received though, the pups almost immediately adjusted after their change. So, there was one good thing in all of it, that she did not really have to reteach them. There was need for jobs, though, because Rune knew they would not get this allowance forever, knowing they needed to start saving now.
That was where Rune was at the moment. Her job was not very stimulating, working at a desk, but she was able to keep tabs on the status of her family, even the other tribe members, with the files she had access to.
As she would regularly come into contact with these files, she could warn any in danger of raids (those who cared to help the new furrs stay safe and hidden, which she checked beforehand with discreet questioning) and at the same time not be put in a suspicious light. She did think of getting a position as a security guard, knowing they needed them after the shift abundantly, because of the rise in theft and break-ins. That particular path, however, seemed too risky, as she had the feeling they could pin her down more easily if she let runners go just because they were a feral once.
No, her best way to help was here, even if she perfectly staged a possible captor slipping from her grasp, they could have gotten her better there. And even then, they might become unhappy about it and make up reasons to fire her. This was the best scenario she could place herself, a nice inside job if you will.
Even though she did have a desk job, she maintained her physical prowess by working out. Usually this was at the gym, as there were not very large trees in the area she lived at, definitely nothing big enough to pass off as a forest. She just wouldn't feel comfortable running through there, easily spotted, despite the lack of prey to stalk anymore (which only upped the food bill as the food turned into people, she could no longer hunt them, even if she knew they were feral).
If she was not at the gym in town, she would work out at home with the pups. Sometimes they helped each other with resistance training, or they might spar for a while, doing tag teams if everyone felt like participating.
The others were not jobless, they would never make Rune heft all their living fees alone. Some of them picked up jobs as well, working at construction sites (which were still in demand), waiting tables at one of the more active bars, and a couple who picked up small jobs here and there, leaving possibilities open for their free time. Those who did not have a job in Rune's new pack helped around the house, volunteered in the community, or sometimes stopped by the others work to see if they needed a hand.
Usually, one of the occupants was always at the house, there were rarely any times when no one was in. So if any of the others called, usually someone was there to pick up, and if anyone came by to visit, there was always a friend to welcome them in.
Many friends would come by and visit on a regular basis, as what was known as the 'Rune' family was getting to be well known through their service and widespread careers throughout their new residence. Those who they came in contact with quickly became good friends, so they were not without their own connections.
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Next time:
The pups reveal their past. What will they drudge up from their lives back on Earth?
(Woo! I've got short descriptions of what happens in the next installment and what happened in previous ones. Some of them seemed a bit funky to me, but I guess they'll do :S)