Luna blinked her eyes open,squinting them against the bright light shining in den.She looked around blearily and yawned.With the harsh winter months gone,the sky was clear and the ground practically littered with prey.She stood up and stretched,just about to go looking for her pup when she heard pawsteps eagerly thundering towards her."Mom!Mom!" Bella yelped merrily."I caught a rabbit!" she said,nudging a half eaten rabbit towards her mother.Luna raised her eyebrows and stiffled a good natured laugh.Bella flattened her ears slightly and gave a shy smile."Sorry,i got hungry.But if you don't want to eat it..." she said slyly.Her mother rolled the rest of the rabbit towards Bella."You need to eat grown big and strong,like your father..." she drifted off at the mention of her former mate,Platinum.She stared hard at her paws and closed her eyes.She felt daughter's velvety nose on her flank."You need to eat too.Ill go fetch you your favorite!" she said comfortingly.Luna smiled and stretched."Alright,be careful!Oh,and dont forget to stay away from the gorge!Wait,dont go yet!I forgot to tell you to sta clear of-" she rambled anxiously."Mom,i know.Stay clear of human traps,humans,and the wolfpack nearby.I know already!" she said,rolling her eyes.She raced giddily out the den before her mother could lecture her further.Luna's voice echoed after her for a while,but it soon died down within the sounds of the forest.She spotted a large bird hovering overhead and lopped down in the grass,watching it carefully incase it decided to land within range.Bella grinned and momentarily closed her eyes,taking in all the sounds and scents of early spring.Meanwhile,back at the den,her mother sighed and layed her head down on her paws.She tried hard not to worry about her pup.She was certainly old enough to hunt and fend for herself.To a certain extent,of course.She was smart and fast and knew exactly what to do if an animal decided to attack her.If it was small,she would challenge it without hesitation.If it was any larger than her,she knew well enough to flee back to the safety of the den.Still,she couldnt help but worry.She had worried about her whenever she went out,undeniably,but this time it was different.She couldn't shake a certain ominous feeling of fear mixed with the feeling you get when you know something absolutely terrible was going to happen.The feeling had at first only lurked deep down in the pit of her stomache,practically unnoticable.But now,every bone in her body was screaming at her to go and warn Bella and run.Run as far away as possible."Oh stop worrying.You cant be worried about something you cant even prove!" she told herself alloud.She drifted into a restless sleep.She opened her eyes.It was the afternoon,and the sun was at its highest.Even with the beautiful weather and seemingly harmless surroundings,the feeling still persevered.It was even worse now.She flattened her ears against her head and narrowed her eyes.There was a rustling sound outside the den,and the sound of pawsteps.She heard whispering and an insane and unnatural cackle.Immidiatly after that,she heard a chorus of voices telling the cackler to hush.Everything fell quiet.The birds stopped singing.She knew that that ominous feeling wasnt just worry now.It was true terror.She knew whatever or whoever awaited outside the den meant imminent death.Meanwhile,further out into the woods,stood Bella.The bird was now on the ground before her,easily recognised as some type of hawk.It pecked and fluttered carelessly on the ground before her.She lunged with a dramatic howl of truimph,but fell flat on her stomache as the bird hopped to one side and swooped back into the safety of a high tree branch."Cant a bird get a moment of peace around here?" he muttered darkly to himself.Bella had not heard him talk,and if she did,wouldnt have beleived it.Birds couldnt communicate with dogs.They had their own language of chirps and twitters.Instead,she continued to bark at the tree,stopping only to glare up at him furiously.Cheekily,he flew back down to the ground a few yards away.She persuited him,but every time she got within killing range,he flew off again.This went on and off for a while,but Bella finnaly slumped against a nearby tree and sighed in defeat.She noticed the bird had stopped its triumphant squaking and was now back in the safetly of the trees.She looked around and listened carefully.No birds in the area were singing anymore.Her mother had told her to run right back to the den,but she couldnt smell andy danger.She stood up and looked around swiftly.A large brute of a dog strutted up to her,followed by four others.Three males and one female,to be specific.She barred her teeth and growled."Come with us.We can make this easy and painless,or hard and painful as possible." he snarled gravely.She stood up with her head and stump of a tail held high."Why should i?" she growled.It was too late to back now.She was surrounded,and too far from the den to call for help,all thanks to that stupid bird.She would have to fight,she decided.The bird looked on guiltily.He only wanted to tease the poor pup,now her life was in danger because of him.But he was just a bird.An injured one at that.What would a bird with a weak wing stand against five fully grown dogs?He looked around when an idea popped into his head."If i lead this dog here,maybe i can fetch her help the same way!There is a wolf pack near here,south,i think." he said quietly to himself.Wasting no time,he flew out of the tree,sending pine needles raining down on the dogs below him.He scanned the area.No sign of any wolves.Just then,he spotted two young wolves,one much younger than the other,wandering close by.They must be hunting,he though.Perfect.Taking his chances,he dived down in front of them.The younger mostly black one lunged,and he dodged a few yards away.Like before,he repeated this,guiding them towards the battle scene.It was much harder when a young wolf and a naerly full grown wolf chasing him,though.They were faster and more intimidating than the pup from earlier.He flew back up into the tree.Bella was on the ground,bleeding badly and struggling to her feet,only to be knocked back over by another sharp blow to the flank by the female.The two wolves gasped in alarm."Come on brother!" growled the younger wolf."We have to save her!" His brother rolled his eyes sarcastically."Your wish is my command,your majesty...." he grumbled.The two brothers lunged into battle.The younger wolf was on his hind legs,battering the female with his front paws.One of his claws slashed over her eyes,sending a spray of blood and a cry of alarm."Im blind!" she shreiked.She darted off in confusion,not knowing where to go.Another dog sunk his fangs into his lower back,but his older brother quickly lunged,grabbing the attacker by the throat.The attacker didnt even have a chance to scream before his throat was torn out,leaving him dead in a pool of dark red blood.Now it was 3 on 3.The leader made no hesitation to flee soon after the second was killed.This left it 3 on 2.The enemies were outnumbered,and fled after their leader with their tails between their legs.Bella looked up."Who are you?" she asked inquisitively."Im Chase.Chase the wolf.This is my older brother,Cain." he said grinning.Cain dipped his head but didnt say anything."Er...hes not much of a talker..." Chase said akwardly."How did you find me?" asked Bella."Well,we were following this weird looking bird.It had a scar over its left eye." he said.Bella felt a jolt of realisation.She explained how she had come the exact same way.They looked around the tree tops for the bird.The hawk swooped down from a pine tree above them."Allow me to introduce myself," he said gallently,"I'm Dolo.Dolo the hawk." he squaked,immitating Chase's official accent.They all gawked at him,exchanging looks of confusion."Y-y-you can TALK?" gasped Bella."Why yes.Yes i can." he anwered boredly."Can all birds talk?" asked Chase excitedly."Umm...not that i know of.Im the only one,i think." replied Dolo,smiling softly.Cain rolled his eyes and snorted."So what?Its just a bird,i honestly dont get what the big deal is..." he muttered under his breath darkly.A quick stern glance from his "know it all" brother quickly shut him up.The four chattered on and on for a while,getting aquainted with one another. Finnaly,Bella piped up,"I don't mean to interupt but...its getting late.I realy must return back to my den.My mother will be having an anxiety attack by now.I was supposed to return hours ago.Chase looked at her thoughfully for a moment and then looked at her soothingly."Its alright!We'll walk you home,just in case,well....you know.Incase those mutts come back for more." Cain glared but said nothing.The only one who hadnt repsonded was Dolo.The bird looked around,looking quite grand."I'll come too.Ill be able to spot them before any of you can.Besides,i'm a much more experienced fighter." he bragged. Chase rolled his eyes. "Riiiiiiight!" he said sarcastically,"Anyways,we should realy get going back to your de-" he was cut short by distressed shreik." AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!" the ear-splitting shriek echoed through the air.Bella's eyes widened in horror. "COME ON!" she yelled.She recognised that voice anywhere. Cain followed instantly,but Dolo and Chase exchanged a hesitant glance before following along. Bella panted.Her eyes were rolling wildly about in her head.Her pads and flank were scraped and bloody from the thorns and vines tugging and clinging to her ragged pelt.The others were still keeping up. She skidded to a halt. Dolo flew in the cave,and Chase swung his tail over her eyes and shook his head quietly.Not even birds were chriping.The pungent scent of fresh,salty blood peirced the air."No...no no no no no no.Shes alright.This isnt happening." she told herself frantically. Dolo finnaly came out. "No luck?" said Cain coldly. The bird shook his head sadly."Im....so sorry..." murmured Chase comfortingly. "NO!" she shreiked. She ran into the cave where her mother's dead body lay motionless.She pressed her face into her mother's flank. Tears flowed steadily from her brown eyes. She bowed her head. Meanwhile,outside the cave, Cain and Chase began digging furiously.Dolo looked at them quizically."May i ask....WHAT IT PHEONIX'S NAME ARE YOU DOING?!" he squaked in alarm. Cain looked up."Um....digging?You know...a grave?" Dolo narrowed his eyes and then laughed nervously."Ah hahahaha i knew that!I was just....just...er........TESTING!Yes,testing you do.Just making sure you knew what you were doing!Hehe..." Cain rolled his eyes once again and continued digging. By sunrise,the grave had been dug completely,and the body had been buried.Bella,Chase,Cain,and Dolo all stood with their heads bowed.After a while,Chase looked up. "What do we do now?" he asked quietly. Bella looked up with determination in her eyes."The only thing we can do...I'm going to avenge my parent's deaths,but before that,get to the bottom of all of this." Chase looked her in the eyes,his expression unreadable."We're coming with you." Bella pricked her ears. "Y-you mean it?" she asked in wonder. "Of course.Isn't that right Cain?" he asked,nudging his brother. Cain flattened his ears."I guess so...yeah,whatever." Bella's eyes grew teary." I-Im so..honored." she whispered. Dolo flew down onto her shoulder.She flinched slightly in suprise." Ill come to.You will need some," he cleared his throat,"Adult chapperone,i suppose." Chase grinned giddily."It's like an adventure!Like the ones mum used to tell us!" He wagged his tail.Bella smiled."I'll can't even begin to tell you how grateful i am.." she barked. Everyone looked at her. "What are you looking at me for?" she asked in suprise."Did i do something?!" she whimpered in alarm."Well...your our leader now,aren't you?" screeched Dolo. Her eyes widened in shock. "O-o-of course!The scent trail leads that way!" she barked proudly,motioning her tail towards the rising sun."Right!Lead on!" Screeched Dolo grandly. Bella dashed off with her new companions following right by her side. And thus the adventure begins!