FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

This is chapter one of my new mini-series for the SoFurry Winter Contest. I hope you all enjoy it, and look for the next ** two chapters, hopefully all up by the weekend!**

Characters are (c) to me!

Falling snow had a distinct sound to a wolf. It was a muted, muffled sound and yet it was one which brought excitement soaring into the blood-stream. She shivered a little, her ears perking as she poked her nose out from underneath the bush, her head tipping to the side as she inhaled the chilled air. It scalded her nose even as it invigorated her. Energy was roaring into her veins, her breathing steadily speeding up, visible as two almost constant plumes of breath flared above her.

She disappeared into the bush for a brief heartbeat before lunging out; her body lean from a hard summer's hunting. Her black fur was liberally scattered along the head and shoulders with snow, her shoulders and stomach tinged a steel grey made darker by the melting snow underneath her. She shook slowly, feeling her thick fur and loose skin shifting about her body as she moved. There was only one thing left to do as the snow began to blanket the ground underneath her paws, and that was to call those roaming wolves back to her side.

Her head lifted, her lungs swelling before she howled. The song wasn't distorted by the snow, the thin covering on the ground not yet muffling the clear command in the tone. Come to me; follow my voice back home. Those words were unspoken; however they were clear-cut and soon answered by voices of different levels, all conveying the same message. Coming!

_ _

The entire time she waited, the snow lingered on her black fur, settling on the tips of the double-pelt before melting when confronted with the body-heat coming from the she-wolf. Leaving the fur in spikes, she first heard the muffled steps coming to her left. She whirled, her tail swirling behind her before she yipped, running headlong to meet the grey form of her sister.

They twisted as they leapt into the air, their bodies crunching together before separating. No words were exchanged, instead noses pressing against the prime body parts. Cold, damp nose-pads were forced under bellies before pressing tenderly into cheeks and soft growls of affection were exchanged, twin eyes of amber gleaming as one.

With the pack forming again, it didn't take too long for the next pair to make their presence known, both subservient to the sisters now perching themselves on their haunches. They approached slowly, cringing lower to the ground and with their ears back, their smoky grey pelts dusted with the faintest of snowfall.

They crept towards the darker of the females as one being, their shoulders almost touching as they submissively lapped at her jaw, held high up before she let out the softest of rumbling growls. They both paused in place before backing away, leaving the grey female without the greeting her presence demanded as the Beta of the pack. She was to be disappointed however; as yet more wolves emerged from between the trees, their paws so quiet on the snow-littered ground as to appear ghostly but for the prints they left behind.

"Welcome friends, family! We are, as you know, now able to hunt together again. The branch-horns have birthed and now are many and weakened as we are strengthened by the cold. We will feast well at every hunt. When the time comes, an Alpha will make himself known and we will grow again as we haven't since my mother and father ruled the pack. Now let us sing, let our voices ring together as we tell the world how strong we are and how little we long for anything more than the warmth of fur at our sides, the ground beneath our feet and the heat of the hunt in our blood."

The black's impassioned speech had the others yipping in agreement before as one mighty beast, like a hive with one mind, they lifted their head in song. The eerie tune rang over the forests and across the plains that made up the mighty home of the pack. Home to wolves far larger than most, these were intelligent creatures able to think and rationalise far beyond their canine appearance.

The black female alone stood head and shoulders above her less intelligent kin and she was one of the smallest in the pack, despite being the leader. Dotted through the pack were wolves that dwarfed her, marking her youth far clearer then her too-long legs and over-sized paws. Soft growls billowed through her chest as she stretched before bounding into the midst of the pack. Not large and yet, not small, there were a full twenty three members of the pack, fourteen of those her own family and the rest outsiders allowed to join.

She only stopped on her way through the pack when she heard the sound of her sister baying at her to stop.

"Cryo! Will you wait for me? You know you need to keep me at your side. You are young, still learning after taking over and though you are growing well...you still need the aid I'm offering you." Cryo sighed softly, swinging her large head around and flashing the oversize teeth that filled her jaw at her sister.

"I know I have you to thank, Skyler. Without you, the pack wouldn't have accepted me, but you need to understand that I am grown now. My pack need me to be the strongest leading female I can be until we've hunted and filled our stomachs on more than the half-branches that linger for the pairs to hunt or the rabbits for those that hunt alone. When we find the male we are meant to find, then you will step down." Her voice became a harsh growl as she stepped towards her sister.

Her brow was lowered, her eyes shadowed as she took one step and then another. Her body was lean but muscled, the black pelt bristling and adding the illusion of size to her rather slender frame. Skyler stepped back as she moved forwards, her eyes hard on those of her sister before she dropped them down, acknowledging her sister as the more dominant out of them. Triumphant but not hasty, Cryo stepped forwards again until her sister backed away properly, leaving her alone and free to travel through the pack without her not so little shadow at her side.

She greeted each wolf individually, rubbing her body against theirs before bounding about in excitement. The thrill of the hunt was upon her and suddenly she became frantic, dashing through the pack wordlessly and gathering the others to her side. She was panting, filled with an anxious energy that had her ears perked with quivering urges.

There wasn't much she could do but gather them up, feeling Skyler sliding up to her side and just down from her shoulder. Cryo was urgent as she lifted her head and almost bayed, calling the attention of the entire pack to her.

"With such a huge amount of us gathered, we need to split into three main packs. Each pack will break into half, with the target of three branch-horns being our prey before we feed. You will each have a leader, three hunters and the rest will be normal wolves. I will lead one group, Skyler will lead yet another and the final group...will...be...led...by...Shil. Shil, will you come here please."

The timid, shell-shocked male broke free from a group of his brothers, his eyes widened as he stepped towards the Alpha female. He was a truly monstrous beast when compared to her relative daintiness. The summer hunting had only increased his size so now he stood more than half again over her head, his golden eyes fixed to the ground in submission despite his size. He was a typical grey wolf, his coat a mottled effect though longer in preparation for the winter that had finally begun.

With his ears flicked back, Cryo smiled at Shil before sitting, waiting for him to copy the movement before she spoke.

"I know you wonder why I chose you as a leader, Shil. You are the biggest male now, the one able to command almost the largest of wolves. You will take the dominant males with your three hunters. They will try to test you; you need to prove to them that you aren't a weakling. If you can hold your own...well. You will be rewarded handsomely when the time comes." He lifted his eyes to Cryo's his head tipping slightly to the side before he nodded.

"I understand, Cryo. I'll go pick my pack now then wait for your signal to move out. I'm guessing you want us to keep our voices to ourselves?" Cryo was almost surprised by his words, nodding swiftly before watching him head off, gaining a sense of pride as his strides became filled with a sense of purpose.

"Skyler, go pick your own group. Remember, no more than three hunters. I'll pick my own three. Split the others how you like. You know who I prefer to hunt with." Cryo's voice allowed for no mistakes to be made, Skyler dipping her head politely and with the softest of growling approval. Cryo was left alone for a few minutes, watching as the others shifted themselves about their groups. Her own group was the smallest next to Shil's, Skyler having the largest group of wolves.

Cryo shifted herself to her feet and stretched slowly out, growling as the tension in her spine eased. Moving to her place at the head of her pack, the smaller portion of which she knew to be utterly loyal to her and everything she stood for. She was prepared, though one last time she lifted her voice, not in song but in direction.

"Make sure to hunt only the old and the weak, and howl if you see any outsiders! We will have our Alpha this night or I will revoke my hold on you all as Alpha female." Her words caused a silence which was telling. There was no promise that any outsiders would turn up, let alone one to rule beside her. They began to whisper between the smaller packs, their ears splayed before Cryo lifted her head in joyous song.

Shil, move out, head to the left of the territory and move with silence. Good hunting and good running! Skyler, you take the right, head to the mountains and move with confidence. Good footing and good hunting, remember to keep your noses up and your hearing keen! My pack, come to me; let us forge ahead with patience. Good speed and good fortune is upon us!

With her pack prepared, the she-wolf stood and began to run. The footfalls of her pack echoed around her as they vanished into the forest as wisps of different hued smoke.