The Crimson River *Chapter 2, Part 1*

    Lily opened her eyes from her sleep to be greeted by the morning sun.  It took her a moment to realize her brother was no longer beside her.  She stood and searched the area with her eyes, beginning to panic when she saw no trace of him.
    “Thunder?  Thunder?!” Lily cried repeatedly, her voice rising to a desperate wail as she charged farther into the forest to look for him before stopping herself to return to her original position, fearful that the brown-and-white pup would find her gone the moment she left.
    “I’m here,” Thunder’s voice sounded muffled from some distance behind her.
    Lily turned to see her brother approach her with a few spots of blood in his fur and a dying rabbit in his mouth.  She was dumbfounded with relief, allowing herself to fall into a sitting position, trying to get over the shock of his disappearance.  Thunder dropped the rabbit at his sister’s paws and sat down across from her.  The black-and-white she-pup exhaled, then sank her teeth into the prey, enjoying every bite.  Thunder’s turquoise eyes stared longingly at his catch for just a moment, but he shifted his gaze to the ground between them.
    Lily hesitated as she realized she ate more than half.  She nudged the rest of the rabbit toward him, mumbling “Sorry.”
    Thunder blinked, surprised that she would share.  He looked at the rabbit, then at his sister as he pushed it back to her.  “I ate my own on the way back.”
    “You caught two?” Lily exclaimed, impressed, before skeptically adding, “But you’ve never even hunted before now!”
    “I managed,” Thunder huffed dismissively.  “Now finish eating it before it rots.”
    Lily pouted as she obeyed him.  “You sound just like Mother.”
    Thunder’s eyes narrowed and he didn’t answer.  He gently laid himself down and absentmindedly licked the blood from his fur.  By the time Lily swallowed her last mouthful, he was sitting up again, contemplating where they could go.  Finding Cotton seemed to be the most logical thing to do.  But I can’t bring Lily back there to find his scent-trail—she wouldn’t be able to handle seeing our dead pack-mates again… Thunder sighed.  I guess we’re on our own. Unless…
    He sniffed at the ground.  Shadow’s scent from yesterday was fading from it, but it was still strong enough to follow.  “Lily, let’s head out.”
    “To where?”
    “We’re going to follow Shadow—”
    “Not this again!” Lily interrupted, horrified.
    “Not that!” Thunder said defensively.  “If we tail them, we may be able to find their leftover food or their abandoned shelters.  It’s our only hope of survival…”
    “What are you talking about?  You can hunt—it’s not like this bunny just hopped into your mouth!”
    “It bit me pretty hard,” Thundered mumbled, a bit embarrassed to admit it.
    “You’re just after him for revenge,” Lily whimpered, cutting to her point.  “And I’m telling you, we’re no match for him.  Let it go—”
    “It’s not about revenge,” Thunder reiterated honestly, getting a bit upset over her lack of trust.  “Our hunting skills will improve, but we’re unfamiliar with this land.  Shadow and what’s left of his pack have been living around here since before we were born.  They know where to avoid the dangerous places that, on our own, we’d probably walk right into.”
    “What about Cotton?  I didn’t see him with…everyone else…“
    “Are you willing to look for him?”
    Lily hesitated, then gathered her courage and nodded.
    “Okay, then.  Let’s go back and try to find his scent.”
    Thunder lead his sister back to entrance of their former home.  The smell of blood and death was strong as he neared the bodies in the clearing, but the brown-and-white pup refused to let that deter him.  He glanced at Lily.  She was still in the entryway of the forest, seemingly unable to continue.
    “Do you want to stay there?”  Thunder asked, empathetic.
    Lily couldn’t make up her mind.  As much as she detested going near their deceased pack-mates, she wanted to prove herself true to her word, and above all be there for her brother.  She held her breath and stepped into the clearing.  Silent tears rolled down her face by the time she reached Thunder’s side.
    “Just close your eyes and breathe through your mouth.  I’ll find Cotton’s most recent scent-trail,” he said quietly, keeping close enough to guide her regardless of if she took his advice.
    Thunder allowed his nose to get used to the stenches so he could better detect any other smell, then decided to check first by Rose, since she and Cotton were so close.  It took him a moment to realize the reddish-brown she-wolf hadn’t been murdered by a wolf the way everyone else was; in fact, she seemed completely unharmed.  At first Thunder pondered if she could still be alive, and for a moment he felt a spark of hope alight in him.  Upon closer examination, however, he noticed the snakebite on her paw.  When did…?
    Rose dived for the only spot between the snakes.  The added weight of the pups on her back made her landing a clumsy; the sudden collision with the ground would have sent the two flying forward if it weren't for Thunder tightening his hold on her.  Lily fell against her brother's back immediately--the forced knocked the bundle of herbs out from his mouth.
    Thunder choked with guilt at the memory.  Now’s not the time for this, he scolded himself.  I have to find Cotton…
    “Thunder, are you alright?” Lily breathed.
    Her brother looked at her, slightly relieved to see her eyes were shut and her mouth was open.
    “Yeah.”  Thunder sniffed at the ground around Rose, and sure enough Cotton’s scent was there, nearly as strong as Shadow’s was in the forest.  “I’ve got a lead on Cotton.”
    “Really?” she cried with abatement.  Lily opened her eyes.
    Thunder blocked her view of Rose, not wanting his sister to blame the she-wolf’s death on herself.  “Come on,” he said with forced enthusiasm, hoping to distract her.
    The black-and-white she-pup charged after her brother as Thunder followed Cotton’s scent up the mountain-trail.
    Somebody was coming their way from within a small wood just off of the trail… As the first glimpse of a bloody white paw was visible, Lily bit at Thunder’s heel.  “You were right:  it’s an ambush,” she whined, dragging him slightly backward before fleeing back the way they came.
    Thunder skidded to a halt.
    Lily nearly crashed into him.  “What’s wrong?”
    “I don’t think this is a good idea,” he said.
    “What?  Why not?”
    “The wolf we saw before might still be there…”
    “You really think so?” Lily said doubtfully.  “I mean, it would be stupid of ‘em to just stay there all night…  If ‘e was gonna hurt us, ‘e would’ve done so by now.”
    Thunder didn’t reply right away.  Then he exhaled sharply through his nose.  “I guess you’re right.  But stay behind me just in case.”
    The pups continued up the mountain-trail, Thunder cautiously creeping a few paces ahead of his sister.   He signaled with his tail for Lily to stop right before the ground leveled out.  He stared at the small wood not far in front of him, listening for any signs of danger.  His gaze travelled to the ground in front of it, where he saw the least bit of dried blood from the strange wolf’s paw the previous day.
    “Do you see anything?” Lily whispered.
    “Shh,” Thunder shushed her, daring to go farther onto the trail.  He spotted somebody in the distance and slowly ventured toward it.
    Lily began to follow him, worried but curious.
    “Stay there,” Thunder demanded, not wanting anything to happen to her.
    Lily scowled but backed away.
    As he continued to approach it, he saw it was a bloodied white wolf…the same one they had met yesterday.  It wasn’t moving, and he didn’t risk getting close enough to check if it was breathing.
    “That’s the wolf from the ambush,” Lily said, appearing next to Thunder.
    “I told you to stay there!” Thunder exclaimed, startled since he hadn’t noticed her tailing him.  He sighed as she ignored him.  “Yeah…except it wasn’t an ambush after all.  It was just Cotton...”
    “That’s Cotton?!” Lily gasped.  She darted toward the wolf.
    Thunder panicked slightly, biting her hind leg to stop her.  Lily fell.
    “What are you--” Lily started to say, catching herself and looking back at her brother, flustered.  She never finished her sentence when she saw the despair in his turquoise eyes.
    “He’s not moving,” Thunder said, remembering how he had felt about Rose earlier.  “And he’s covered in blood…”
    “Maybe he’s just resting,” Lily persisted.   “If we could just—”
    “Lily, Cotton is gone, just like everybody else,” Thunder snarled with frustration, his own words registering the realization of loneliness that he had accepted but never allowed himself to feel beforehand.  His eyes watered and he fought back tears.
    The black-and-white she-pup glared at her brother, ready to argue.   But she could tell he knew something about it from his expression that was better left unsaid.  Her determination wavered and she slowly sank to the ground.
    Thunder let out a restrained breath, forcing the emotional pain to the back of his consciousness.  He gently pushed his forehead against his sister’s shoulder in a vain attempt to comfort her.
    “I’m sorry…” he muttered sincerely.  “But I guess it’s safe to go to the other mountainside, now, like you wanted.”
    Lily sniffled.  “…I’ll go.”
    Thunder wasn’t surprised.  He turned to leave, but Lily stopped him.
    She clarified, “I’ll go with you…after Shadow.”
    Thunder seemed ready to oppose the idea now.  “Lily…”
    Lily stared him in the eye, challenging him to dissuade her.  The decisive look on her face said that nothing could.
    Thunder gave an understanding nod.
    The two left the trail, passed through the clearing, and set out with Shadow’s scent to guide them.