What About Grandpa? (PG)

[Forest]

"Hey mama, why aren't we in a pack?" Forest asked as she and her parents padded along. For a moment there was silence. Then Forest's mother, Bird, spoke. "Well this is our own pack, right?" she said. "Just you, me, and your father." She bent down and licked the top of For-For's head. A smile appeared on the pup's face as she felt her mother's gentle touch. Bird smiled as well, but it soon disappeared. She couldn't tell Forest. Not yet. Forest watched her two parents for a while. "Hey, why am I an Earth Elemental, but neither of you are?" she asked. Bird and River turned to look at her. They both opened their jaws, but it was Bird who spoke first. "Because my father was an Earth Elemental" the yellow-furred wolf explained. "Ooh, my grandpa?" Forest asked, excited. Bird nodded. "What is his name?" Bird and River looked at each other. Bird sighed, and said "His name was Thorn." Then she looked away from her pup. And a real thorn he was to everyone in our pack... she thought. Both River and Bird became nervous that Forest would ask more questions, but fortunately, she did not. They just kept padding along, side by side.

A few months later, Forest was alone, carefully hidden away in some bushes while Bird and River were out hunting. Her mind began to wander, and eventually she thought of her grandpa, Thorn, She began to wonder what he looked like, how he acted, and where he was now. Forest peeked out of the bushes where she was hiding. The pup immediately saw her parents dragging a small deer back to where she was hiding. For-For yipped with joy and burst out from the bushes and darted forward to meet her parents. "Yay!" she squealed, and ran around in a circle before running back towards the bushes, a little slower than she had ran out. Once she made it to the bushes, she turned around to face her parents. Forest yipped again, her hazel optics shining and her green-tipped tail wagging. When the two wolves got their prey back to the bushes, they dropped it from their jaws. Forest ran forward, and, growling, sank her sharp puppy teeth into the deer's leg. She struggled to rip it off until River came over and pulled off a small chunk for her. The she-pup jumped back, then pounced on the meat, and started tearing into it. Bird and River exchanged looks, then both sighed happily. The two both stepped forward and took their own hunk of meat, then lay down and began to eat. Forest looked up. "Where is grandpa?" she suddenly asked. Her parents exchanged worried glances, but kept eating, pretending not to hear. Forest cocked her head. They must not want me to know for some reason she thought. The pup wanted to ask why, but decided against it. I'll figure it out on my own.

That night, Forest lay down beside her parents and closed her eyes. But instead of trying to go to sleep, she was thinking about her grandpa. If he's mama's father, does he look like her? Or maybe since he is an Earth Elemental, he looks like me! she thought. Her tail wagged quietly at the thought of looking like another family member. I bet he's a nice wolf too! Images began to swirl around in her mind of Thorn fighting against another wolf, his claws out, and his canines meeting flesh as he dealt the final blow to his enemy. Another of him racing through the forest, his paws pounding against the ground as he seemed to fly between the trees before bringing down a mighty bull elk. All these wonderful thoughts floated around in Forest's mind for a while until sleep overtook her.

That night, the she-pup dreamed of her grandfather; she saw him hunting just as she had imagined before she fell asleep. The wolf was charging after his prey, a bull elk. The brute used his powers, and vines shot up from the ground underneath the elk's feet and tangled around its legs. Thorn's prey stumbled, then immediately fell to the ground. It lay there struggling until the wolf delivered the final blow. On his command, the vines loosened their grip, and disappeared back into the earth. Thorn then began to drag the animal back to his pack's campsite. When he arrived, everyone rushed to greet him with howls of joy. Then, Thorn began to softly call out "Forest! Forest!" All the wolves, trees, and grass began to fade away, and Forest opened her eyes to see her mother looking at her. "Forest, we've got to go" she said. For-For slowly got up, wondering why Bird was in such a rush. The yellow-furred wolf gave her a nudge. "Forest, hurry" she said, worry thick in her voice. "Mom, why-" she was cut off before she could finish. "Just stay silent and follow your father." Forest looked behind her to see River waiting for them. "Come on! He said they were moving quickly!" Bird nudged Forest again, and the two hurried over. "Who? Who is coming?" The pup asked, but got no answer. River took the lead, trotting along quickly. Forest followed behind him, with Bird bringing up the rear. For-For began to wonder what they were running from. A bunch of evil wolves? A monster of some sort? Or maybe even a dangerous new species? Horrible thoughts began to whirl and spin around inside the she-pup's mind. Suddenly a chilly wind blew Forest's ears forward. River sniffed the air. "I can smell them" he said. Bird padded up beside Forest and nudged her with her muzzle. The two trotted up next to River, Forest in between them. "What are we running from?" she asked again. "Wolves" is the reply she got from her father. For-For sighed with relief. Or at least, a bit of relief. At least it's just wolves. The three went on like this for a while. Eventually they stopped to rest. "I think we should be okay for now" Bird declared. "Alright. I think I'll go out to hunt something small" River said after his mate, looking at her and his pup. Bird sighed. "Be careful." And with that, River set off. Forest and Bird sat and  waited in silence. After a while, Bird began to get a sick feeling in her stomach. Something had happened. "Stay here" she said to Forest, and got up and trotted off in the direction River had gone. Forest sat there, and she began to worry. Had something happened to River? Had the wolves they were running from gotten him? The brown-furred lass waited for what seemed like hours. The concern was now fear. Forest desperately wanted to go after her parents, but she forced herself to wait a little longer. Just a little longer. As the sun began to set, the pup's stomach growled. She sighed and lay down, knowing that when her parents returned, they would return with food. But now that hopeful "when" was becoming a doubtful "if" for Forest. They should have been here by now she thought. She closed her eyes and took deep breaths, trying to calm her quickening heartbeat. "Th-they're fine...they'll come back a-any minute now..." she murmured to herself. But something inside told For-For that the reassuring words she had just spoken were lies. The Earth Elemental tried to shake off the feeling, but it hung in her stomach like a huge cold stone refusing to budge. Soon it became night, and the brown-furred lass got up, and padded over to lay down next to a tree. She used her power to make grass grow around her, for warmth and camouflage. She closed her eyes, but worry and hunger kept sleep from taking over. "They'll be here in the morning...when I wake up, I'll see them laying next to me..." she whispered. Forest repeated these words over and over until sleep finally arrived.

Ueah...this is all I have for now, but it WILL be continued! xD