Beast Queen - Chapter 3 Exploring

I could hear birds chirping as I woke, and when I opened my eyes I could see that the five pups have yet to wake up. But Anya and Cyrus were sitting next to each other near the entrance to the cave as two other wolves approach the cave. The two wolves, one with reddish brown fur, a female, and the other with grey fur, a male, bow and expose their necks when they reach Anya and Cyrus. “We greet you, our Alpha and Luna.” The two wolves say.

“Be at ease my Beta’s, we welcome both of you.” Cyrus says, and the two wolves stand up.

“My Alpha, the Elder wolf would like to see your pups tomorrow, so he can give them names.” The male Beta says while the five pups slowly start to wake up.

“Of course, we’ll gladly meet with the Elder wolf tomorrow morning with all the pups.” Anya says.

“Then we will be on our way.” Both wolves say and then leave when they have exchanged goodbyes with Cyrus and Anya. Now that their conversation is over Anya and Cyrus turn around to go say good morning to the other pups. While everyone is distracted I take this chance to sneak out of the cave and into the forest. I then spend the next few hours exploring the forest.

I learned that although the Pack rules the forest there are a variety of different beasts, including the four main beast families. The four main beast families include the monkeys that live in the trees, the bears that live in the nearby caves and ruins, the dear that live in the forest closer to the mountain nearby, and finally the wolves that live in the forest and caves. Besides the four main beast families their are other smaller beast families such as the raccoons, the rabbits, the foxes, the snake families, and the bird families. The bird families are made up of the woodpeckers, the owls, the sparrow hawks, and the ravens while the snake families are made up of the rattlesnakes and the garter snakes.

While I was searching the forest I found a lake where all the nearby beasts go for water and a smooth flowing river a little ways away from the cave. But the one thing I didn’t find was a single cultivation herb, and without a single herb it’s going to be a lot harder to cultivate and get stronger. After I finish up exploring I go back to the river that I found. Sitting near the edge of the river I peer into the reflective surface of the water, what I see shocks me and makes me understand why Cyrus acted the way he did and why I received the looks I did from the other beasts in the forest. What I see are two bright, blood red eyes and pure white fur, just like Shadow’s eyes and hair. Compared to my short brown hair and black eyes in my last life, it’s like I’m a completely different person, at least on the outside. The shock coupled with the fatigue from exploring so long and exhausting my energy makes me collapse at the edge of the river. After lying down for a few minutes I fall asleep.

About an hour or two later I’m awoken to someone shouting. When I wake it’s still light out, and a few minutes later I see Anya running from the direction of the cave. When Anya sees me lying down she slows down as she gets close to me. “I’ve finally found you! I’ve been worried sick don’t ever wander off again!” Anya yells when she gets right in front of me. And before I can react Anya takes me in her mouth in order to carry me. After walking for a while we finally get to the cave about ten minutes later, where the five other wolf pups are playing in front of the cave and Cyrus is sitting at the cave entrance watching over the pups. As we get closer to the cave Cyrus finally notices us, and as he does he gives me an annoyed look while looking at Anya lovingly. When we reach Cyrus, Anya lets me go and I fall to the ground with a soft thump.

“So, you found the little trouble maker. Where?” Cyrus asked.

“At the edge of the Crystal river.” Anya said.

“Hmm. You should take the pups inside the cave while I go hunt for tonight’s dinner.” Cyrus said while looking towards the other pups. When Cyrus mentioned dinner, I finally noticed how hungry I am from not eating at all today.

“Ok. Be safe.” Anya said and walked over to the other five pups. Anya herds the pups and me into the cave and when Cyrus sees we are all in the cave he sets off into the forest. After a few minutes Anya settles down near the cave entrance while the pups play around in the middle of the cave. Instead of laying down and waiting for Cyrus to return I decide to explore the cave thoroughly. The cave floor is smooth, packed dirt and the cave walls and roof are smooth rock, but the back cave wall is made of extremely jagged rock. The jagged walls may prevent bigger animals, like Anya and Cyrus, from getting close, but with my small body it doesn’t. As I search the jagged wall I feel a cool breeze of air coming from a small hole in the corner of the jagged wall. But before I can go towards it, to find out where it leads, I smell the strong stench of blood. When I turn around I see Cyrus dragging a mountain goat towards the cave with the two betas from earlier today following him. Everyone, including the two Beta’s, spend the next hour feasting upon the mountain goat until it becomes a meatless skeleton. And by the time dinner is finished it is dark outside, so the two Beta’s leave saying goodnight and they would see us tomorrow morning for the naming ceremony. Stuffed, I curl up near the back of the cave, away from the jagged rocks, and fall asleep thinking about all I’m going to do tomorrow.