Chapter 2 - Destiny

        On the far outskirts of Nome, 1926, deep in the woods, it has been a little over nine months. Olathe and Cheveyo's pups had grown, though they were still not fully grown. Takoda was still smaller than his brother Achak, who had grown considerably over the last few months. His black and silver striped fur was healthy, and shown in the sun. The young wolf also had piercing blue on black eyes, which stood out from his dark fur. Ayashi, or Aya, as her brothers nicknamed her, was not as big as her siblings. She had been smaller, even as a pup. It seemed she would always be smaller than the other wolves. Although it didn't seem to worry her; she could keep up with her brothers, being as swift and agile as her mother. It also became apparent that Achak was going to be a dominant male. He had already shown his authority to Takoda, who almost immediately showed he was going to be a passive wolf, by rolling on his back and exposing his stomach in submission. Achak would never actually hurt his brother of course, just bare his fangs or glare if his gray sibling went too far with trying to play when he wasn't in the mood. Despite this, the two brothers were close, almost never going anywhere without the other.
        Today, however, there was to be a treat for the three wolf pups. Their father and alpha male Cheveyo was going to take them off with him to show them their pack's territory. The young wolves needed to know the boundaries of their home, so they didn't get in trouble with the other packs if they got lost. Achak seemed to take the matter seriously, unlike Takoda and Aya, who were eccentric. Their tails wagging low but quickly in anxiousness, eager to get out further than the caves on the cliff. As they all headed out after eating, Cheveyo spoke to them.
``Now my young ones…I want you all to have fun on this excursion, but you must also be careful. We are not the only predators in this forest.'' Ayashi paused in her wild running around with Takoda, and came up to lope beside her father.
``Do you think we'll see any today?'' she sounded a bit fearful, disliking the idea of coming face to face with a bear. With her small size, she wouldn't stand much of a chance alone with a bear. But Cheveyo shook his head.
``Probably not today…most of them are at the rivers.'' This information seemed to give the female much relief, as she once more ran off to explore with her brothers.
        Nearly half the day was gone, and the four of them had still not seen the whole territory, and had stopped to take a break from all the traveling. There was a small fresh water spring that was running through the woods there, and Takada, Aya, and Achak soon found themselves getting soaked from wrestling in it. Watching from a safe distance, Cheveyo smiled to himself as he observed. It was good for his pups to practice fighting, even in play. Suddenly, ears and tail going erect, the large black wolf looked off into the trees. He had smelt something. Something that wasn't suppose to be there. Golden eyes narrowing, the alpha looked back at his offspring. Could he leave them alone while he went and scouted? They were certainly old enough to be left alone…but this was their first time away from the caves! Getting another whiff of the scent, he knew he had to go. There was more than one intruder in his territory. It smelt like another wolf pack. Passing by the three adolescent wolves he glanced quickly at them, catching Achak's eyes.
``I'll be right back…you stay here with your sister and brother..'' he tried not to make it sound serious, not wanting to scare him. But Achak seemed pretty calm about it, though a little nervous. He had gotten a little whiff of the foreign smell as well. Nodding to this father and glancing at the direction the smell had come from, he watched as Cheveyo trotted off into the woods silently. It didn't take long for his two siblings to notice their father had gone, coming over to Achak. Takoda the water off his coat, it flying off his fur and going off in every direction. Aya jumped away, unwilling to be drenched again.
``Where's father?'' she asked as she glanced around, looking increasingly worried.
``He said he'd be right back…''replied Achak, who had moved to lay in a patch of sun coming through the trees to dry off. Seeming satisfied with the answer, Ayashi started exploring the perimeter of their resting place. As she went off beyond Achak's sight, he began to get a bit uncomfortable. That scent was much closer now, and there was no sign of Cheveyo. Takoda now seemed to smell it, as he glanced around them nervously, ears twitching back and forth, listening. His black tipped tail was erect, and he was slowly edging his way closer to his brother. Both of there heads shot around as Ayashi suddenly came shooting into the clearing. Achak jumped up, along with her, the scent was practically on top of them. This made him agitated, as the fur on back of his neck and haunches rising, and his pupils shrank. Ayashi scrabbled over to her two brothers, panting. Takoda frowned worriedly at his sister, at the fear in her blue eyes.
``What is it, Aya? What did you see…?'' Achak looked up as he heard the sound of something approaching. They were wolves, but the three of them had never seen these ones before. There were four of them, all looking about the same age as Achak, Takoda, and Ayashi. One, whom Achak guessed was the oldest and leader of the group, was a dark brown and white wolf with dark eyes. The other three wolves were either gray or light brown. The black and white one sneered at them, then glanced at Aya.
``Well, there you are, cutie…why'd you run away?'' We just wanted to say hi.'' Ayashi scowled at that, as did her two brothers, though it seemed to infuriate Achak. Takoda remained quiet, tail ridged. As the black and white wolf made a move towards Aya, Achak growled deep in his throat, stepping over his sister protectively, who had huddled down next to him.
``Stay away from my sister…'' This seemed to make the gray and brown wolves stop, a bit fearful. Achak was big for his age, and looked quite intimidating as the black and silver wolf was all ruffled.
``Hey, Nayati, maybe we should-''
But Nayati didn't seem too worried, but he too had paused, looking back to his group.
``Don't be such puppies…'' turning back to Achak, he grinned, showing his teeth. ``And what if I don't, eh? What are you going to do about it?''
        Achak bared his fangs as a warning. In a brave move, Takoda moved forward towards the other wolves.
``Why don't you all just go and leave us alone?'' Nayati seemed to ponder this, even tilting his head a bit.
``Hmm, how about not…and I do this!'' He lunged at Takoda, taking him by the scruff and flinging him down. But just as the black and white wolf was about to attack again, he found himself knocked harshly to the ground. Opening his eyes, he tried to get back to his feet, but quickly found himself shoved back down. Looking up, his dark eyes locked onto two very piercing blue eyes. The eyes of the very big, very pissed off black and silver wolf standing over him, white fangs bared, and ears pinned back angrily. Baring his own fangs, Nayati once more tried to struggle and get up, but was suddenly met with the other wolf's jaws around his throat. Quite surprised at that, Nayati kicked out with is back legs, but was only met with more pressure from Achak's jaws. The black wolf was not going to move from over him. Nayati found himself growing fearful, and he froze up at the powerful authority that the blue eyed wolf gave off. Another snarl from Achak moved Nayati to move his body from aggressive to passive, ears going back as he broke eye contact. Even going as far as trying to nudge Achak's muzzle, he was once more disciplined with a sharp snap to the face. Finally, after a few minutes, Achak lifted his head to glare down at his captive. It was truly an intimidating sight.
``If I ever see you near my brother or sister again…You. Will. Regret it.!'' To emphasize his point, he snapped at the other wolf's face, which earned Achak a fearful grimace. Nayati swallowed. ``Do you understand me…?'' The defeated wolf below him nodded. ``Now, get out of here…'' Takoda, who had gotten up after his brother had body tackled Nayati, stayed away from the two, along with Ayashi, who was looking on in awe. Achak moved off of Nayati, who got up slowly, remaining lower than the one who had defeated him, tail tucked between his legs. Watching Achak cautiously, the black and white wolf headed back towards his group, who had lowered their heads almost to the ground in equal submission at just seeing the force the black wolf had shown. Achak then snarled and made a small charge at them, causing Nayati to scrabble away with a yelp with his pack.
        Once the four wolves disappeared, Takoda and Ayashi ventured carefully towards their brother. Wagging their tails in a friendly way, Aya was first to make a move, nudging Achak under the muzzle in an affectionate but passive manner. Almost instantly the raised fur on the black and silver wolf settled, and his body relaxed. ``Are you two alright…?'' The tail wagging increased as Takoda smiled.
``We are unhurt…'' Aya joined her brother in smiling.
``Thanks to you.''
        They didn't get to say much more before they heard the sound of something approaching again. Sniffing the air, the three young wolves turned at the familiar scent as their father came up. Takoda and Ayashi beamed excitedly.
``Father, you're back!'' Cheveyo smiled back going to his charges. As he did he stopped, then lowered his head to sniff at the ground.
``This is the same scent from the other pack…what happened here while I was away?''
``Oh, you should have seen it father! There was these wolves that came and tried to pick a fight with us, and one of them attacked Takoda-'' The large alpha seemed shocked by this. Who dared attack his pups?!
``Attacked Takoda?'' instantly he was sniffing at his son, checking for injuries. ``What is the name of this wolf who attacked you…?'' Takoda seemed a little embarrassed.
``His name was Nayati.'' Aya piped up again.
``Yes, but Achak jumped in and protected us, fought him, and chased him off!'' Cheveyo now looked over at Achak.
``You fought the wolf?'' Achak stepped up, nodding.
``They were harassing Aya, provoked us, and attacked Takoda, and I wasn't going to stand for it.''
Cheveyo looked at his second son a few moments, then smiled proudly.
``You will make a fine alpha someday, Achak…'' To this Achak smiled back, tail swinging a bit. ``Now, lets head back to the cave. I think that was enough excitement for one day. I can show you more tomorrow…'' As they began their way back through the forest, Achak came up beside his large father, curious about one thing.
``Where the wolves we saw today from the same clan…?'' Cheveyo glanced down through the corner of his eye at Achak, then forward again.
``Yes, they were from the wolf pack called the Chogun clan…that wolf you fought earlier is probably the alpha's son.'' Achak pondered over this a few moments, then glanced over his shoulder at the direction the Chogun clan's scent had come from.
Nayati of the Chogun clan…May we never meet again.

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