Chapter 2: The Tribe Warriors


It had been only 6 years after the blood red wolf came, delivering two small black pups, who looked almost alike. The eldest one, was Emmette, and the youngest one, was Adrienna. Both seemed to fit in as tribe warriors, who hunted, defended, and kept watch over pups.
Adrienna was out gathering fruit, when something swept past her from behind. Her ears stood up, and she looked behind her, to see one of the warriors, known as Kuro, standing there with a rare panda lily in his mouth. “Hey, how’s it going?” he asked, slyly. Adrie was a good friend of him, but he had a major crush on her, and wouldn’t leave her alone most of the time of her gathering. She just rolled her eyes, then continued to look for more fruit. He jumped in front of her, wagging his tail, “So, do you have a partner to go with to the Dragon Ritual?” she didn’t answer. That’s when Kuro started to get a little agitated with her. “Aw, come on, Adrie! Just once?” she immediately looked up, with a straight face. “No.” was the only word that slipped from her muzzle, before picking up another branch of blueberries, then carrying them back to the camp in her mouth. Kuro grumbled, then finally gave up. Meanwhile, Emmette was too busy playing tug-of-war over a buffalo rib with one of his friends, Jethero. They seemed to get along fine, until Emmette saw his sister, and then all of his attention came to her. Emmette released the buffalo rib, causing Jethero to tumble backwards. “Need some help, sis?” he asked. Adrie shook her head, then continued toward the fruit pile. The leader, Kahn, was very impressed with her being able to gather fruit. So, that following day, he gave her permission to start hunting meat.

Though, it was very tough, having to ignore all of the other male hunters, asking her if she had anyone she was going with to the Dragon Ritual. She was pretty tough, and she grew an ability to ignore. Focusing on her prey, she lunged at 5 rats, killing 4, fatally injuring 1. As soon as she got back, a few other females were standing by the kill pile, talking about how strong she was. They were very curious to find her source of strength. “Hey, Adrie!” one of them, Mika, greeted. Adrie nodded. She wasn’t so great with speaking with people, but sometimes, she would say a word or two. “We were just curious, but where did you learn to hunt, gather, and fight?” Adrie was confused. She was born naturally with it, she guessed. The other girls didn’t believe her, and wanted to know her secret. It seriously felt like being a celebrity, and she was. Later that evening, she sat out on the rock by the lake, when one of the lead warriors, Alexandros, loped up to her. He was a very handsome wolf, with sleek grey fur and sparkling green eyes. All of the girls liked him, but he most certainly liked Adrie. He sat by her side, without her noticing, until he finally spoke up. “Hey.” He said, coolly. Adrie nearly jumped out of her pelt because she was so focused on her reflection. For some odd reason, Alexandros’ reflection can blend in with the lakes, somehow.  Her face flushed with embarrassment. “Oh-uh…. Hi.” She stuttered. He smiled. He knew she was embarrassed, because he had never actually talked to her, only taken orders from him on what direction to go when they hunt. He got up closer to her, looking her cutely in the eyes. “Mind if I ask… Where did you actually come from? Everybody wonders, but all we hear is that some red wolf came and gave the shaman you and your brother to take care of, then took off… Do you remember any of it?”  Adrie went back into her memory, when she was first born… But all she could remember, was that blood red muzzle nuzzling her head for the last time, before leaving her in the shaman’s den. Ever since then, she had forgotten. “W-well… No, I don’t remember…” she said, softly, then looked down at her reflection, upset that she didn’t know who her mother or her father were. Alex nudged her side. “Don’t feel bad about it. I was just curious… Oh, and another thing… I’ve noticed all of the hunters have been asking you if you were going to the Dragon Ritual… Are you?” Adrie nodded. “If so… I was wondering… Wanna be my partner for it?” Adrie was struck dumb. Even the cutest and handsomest wolves didn’t ask her if she was going. Immediately, she nodded, smiling. He smiled back, then pressed his nose against hers, then left, leaving Adrie blushing bright red like a strawberry