"Must you sniff everything?" White snapped. Moon paused mid-sniff. His nose was shoved into a budding flower that was poking out of the leafy ground. The plant was feeble with shrivel rose pedals. Moon pushed away some of the weight from its area.

"I love flowers," he stated. White chomped down her fangs onto his tail. His eyes reached a whole new roundness when the contact was made. The once legendary snow coat was now stuck in a rigid station. The boy's teeth were squeezed together. He had to shake his body to relieve the pressure from the bite. "Why would you do that?" He permitted brackish tears to saturate his fur.

"Stop crying. Be a man and do your job. We are here to hunt, not to play in the pansies. Do I have to beat that into you?" White scratched her flank up against some bark. The over-exaggerated movement caused the flower to break off its steam.

"Ravenous, are you going to take her side?" Moon pouted his lips and stepped into Ravenous' sightline. Her mouth edged a smile. She manoeuvered around Moon and plonked down at White's side. The two girls exchanged smirks. White even let out a laugh. Ravenous' awkward smile grew larger and more crooked. It was warming for the other two to witness.

Moon wandered away from the bonding moment the ladies were having. The thickets were calling him and drawing him further away from his home up on the cliff. Everything had a story in the forest and he was keen on finding those tales. There was no need for him to murder the inhabitants. The pack brought in enough meat for them to remain healthy. If every member strove towards bringing home a reward than the land would be raped of its bountiful resources. He would rather explore those resources than extinguish them. Moon felt that he wasn't going to ever be a major contributor in the food department for the pack. The story he was writing wasn't meant to chart that course. The purpose of his existence was going to be greater than that of a provider. He wanted to be that lost connection to nature. There was no shame in teaching the animal kingdom about natural beauty and Moon wasn't afraid to admit that to himself.

A butterfly with a protective façade painted on its wings floated over to a sapling. It exuded grace like a lion roaming the lands with its pride. Moon was hypnotized by the flap of its opaque wingspan. The creature lifted up from its resting spot and danced in front of his eyes. His head followed the cavort it presented. Unknowingly, his feet were lifting and his body swayed with the rhythm of the butterfly. He was copying every movement the tiger face made. Moon allowed his bulk to skip around after the butterfly. It was leading him. His spirit was under an enchantment. This was how nature felt.

"Where are you going?" The girls had tracked his scent. Moon had drifted quite a distance away from the Moon hunting grounds. The trees around this area were arched together and growing more mangled.

"There was a butterfly," he responded. Confused, the girls searched for the so-called bug. It wasn't there.

"Are you right in your mind?" White playfully brushed her tail over Moon's forehead. He closed his eyes for that moment and studied her pine fragrance. The tail was gone and Moon was left fascinated. "The stars are out. I think we should go back," she said. The trio all made to go in different directions. "Home is this way." Ravenous pursed her lips and attempted to growl. It came out as a breathless sound. She swung her head in the direction she had picked.

"I think we should follow White." Moon was easily defeated by the dominate females presence. Ravenous let out a huff of air, but succumbed in her own way to Moon's charm. The three of them went to the east. The Demon had chosen this path. "Was that story about your grandpa true?"

"Of course not," White sniggered. The Shadow was left catching flies in her open mouth. She bit down on her tongue to hide her surprise. "We tell that story to the kids to scare them. The Demons have an image to uphold. Don't be stupid. The wolves can understand the human language, but they don't know ours. There is no way we could communicate with each other." Moon was avoiding eye contact.

"Daddy! Is this where we are going to build the house?" A child's voice echoed in the woods. The trees seemed to quake with the pitch. The three youngsters stopped. They all wore a stunned expression. Ravenous' muscles were tensed and Moon was kneading the mulched leaves in-between his claws.

'Stop moving," White mouthed. She motioned her head towards Ravenous and then to the route of the sound carrier. 'Stay,' she spat at Moon when he made a move in that direction.

In unison, the female prowlers sunk themselves to the earth and crept forward, one paw at a time. The slow process was like a new art.

They found shelter behind strands of thick grass. A scarred sky examined the noise maker with a hellish ruby right beside doing the same.

"Move away from the machinery, baby," said a male voice. It was human. A distinct line of forest and human destruction was becoming clear to the girls. Sawed off trees plagued half of the woodlands, and the cubs struggled to take it in. Hundreds of downed timbers were piled up next to a large yellow vehicle.

"I am sure this is part of the Moon territory," White hissed.

"Should we tell Thorn?" White jumped when a voice answered her. Ravenous looked equally as startled. Paw inched forward. He was nestled between their bodies.

"When did you get here?" White questioned.

"I've been here since you left. This is where I come to watch the humans. They started cutting down the trees last week." Paw broke free from the tall grass and began to explore the deforestation.

"Get back over here." White stomped her foot and threw a paw-full of soil into Paw's eye. He blinked out the dirt. She unleashed a growl from her dry throat. Paw was too carefree and exuded an unwillingness to bow down to what White requested. He wasn't a pushover like Moon. Moon was too easily influenced by a pretty woman.

"What is this yellow thing?" Moon was nuzzling his head against a tire tread. White narrowed her eyes at the sight of the cub playing in the construction zone. Ravenous looked from side to side, once, before stepping across the frontier. She latched herself to Paw and trembled. Being this close to humans made her heart rest in an unsure state. The stress of looming trouble had her uncontrollably panting. Paw attempted to shake her off, but Ravenous was too quick for the oversized boy. All of their steps were in sync. Her hunting skills came in handy when it came to matching Paw.

"Moon, come take this thing away from me." Paw was disgusted by Ravenous' shy contact. She lived up to her last name and acted very much like a loyal dog. Reluctantly, Moon jumped down from his post on the truck's roof. He wrapped his tail around Ravenous' matchstick top end. They looked like a peppermint candy cane twirled together. Pulling her, they dodged around the abundant amount of stumps.

Paw went to work sharpening his claws on one of the logs at the bottom of the pile. The splinters shaped around each knuckles. Small holes remained when he pried his hooks out. One knot of wood wouldn't free the tender unit. He yanked on the lumber. It wouldn't forgive the stuck talon. Sandal slaps from the nearby humans resonated off the metal in the tire rims. Everyone become more alert.

"Help," Paw yelped. Moon and Ravenous ended their stroll to check on the Storm boy. White kept a watchful eye from the forest borderline.

"Hurry," she screamed at the three exposed pups. Moon acted fast and ran his tongue over the nail. It was embedded deeply into the logs middle section.

"It won't come," Moon puffed. Paw jabbed his hind legs into the ground for support. He pulled with every fiber of his strength. The single claw dislodged. The log it had been firmly placed into slipped from its position.

"Run," he yelled. The stack pursued the single tree body and skidded from their grips. Logs on the top fell and bounced around the cubs. Crashes alerted the humans. Ravenous shoved her head into Moon's side. He groaned at the sudden interaction. A stray piece of timber missed his temple, but struck her on the rump. The entire mound collapsed. Sawdust kicked up into the light breeze. There was no visibility. As it settled, the two cubs helplessly scavenged for Paw.

His awkward form was sprawled out flat. A rounded tree attachment was weighting his back to the ground.

"Paw!" Moon galloped to the unmoving wolf. He licked his friends face and leaned an ear down to his mouth. Ravenous limped after him and attempted to roll the block off his body. "He is breathing." There was a sigh of relief from the busy Shadow leader. "Go get my dad," he called to White. She didn't fight back and ran away from the scene. The pups were both now ramming their bodies against the burden on Paw's spine. His eyes were closed and his chest movement was weak.