A pup awoke, eyes blurry and dark from birth. His eyelids shut to protect his fragile eyes. He felt his ears perk up as he heard the first words of his life.
“Cobalt. His name will be Cobalt, for his fur is bluer than any of ours.” This cub named Cobalt did not know now that this was to be his name, but he felt that this word was his. Cobalt.It sounded right to him, like it was all he needed. He was Cobalt. He could feel warm fur next to his, and he knew that this was someone he would love. Someone who was his. His mother, how he knew the word ‘Mother’ he had no idea, but he did. Years of evolution had taught wolf pups to know their mother, even with no sight. A sudden, strong scent of milk sent his stomach in circles, but he couldn’t find out where it came from. He started to stumble weakly forward. His nose twitched as his mother’s scent increased and her paws pushed him back to her. He let out a squeak of frustration and tried to wiggle his way out of her grasp. Cobalt heard her let out a light laugh, and he froze. What did that noise mean? Was it humor, or anger? His thoughts on anger were scarce, but even at this stage of life, he had a faint recognition of anger being bad, and happiness good. He may be young, but emotions filled his brain, nevertheless.
He stilled, breathing cautious slow breaths, his head filling with information. His paws were on some sort of earthy smelling ground, dirt. Little blades of grass picked their way out of it. He opened his mouth, almost tasting the air. His mother lay, silent next to him, her even breath sending heat down his back. Cobalt could almost feel others around him, siblings maybe. Pack. His ear angled forward, and he could hear chatter in the distance, as if blocked by walls. So, he was in some sort of structure. He let out a little bark and listened as it bounced around the walls. So, this place wasn’t big. All this thinking tired the little pup out and he collapsed into his mother’s fur. She welcomed him with a little lick on his head, sending serotonin through his tiny veins. He snuggled against her and wagged his tail, tiredness seeping into his eyes. He quickly fell into a deep slumber, snores shaking his body. And just like that, the pup that would shape the history of this pack, fell into the darkness.
Cobalt awoke from a daymare (since wolves are asleep during the day a lot, and awake during the night, a nightmare is called daymare. And sometimes they are asleep during the night, that would be a nightmare.), his mom, his dad, his pack. All laughing at him with a wildness in their deep black eyes, as the special marking on his chest (that looked much like a full moon, colored white) lit up with a blinding light. He let out a strangled yelp and shoved himself up from his slumber. With a glance around he noticed his younger brother, Titan, staring at him with narrowed eyes. “Daymares? Again?” he asked. Cobalt shrugged, knowing that the pack expected him to toughen up, he was the heir to the pack after-all.
Titan sniffed, eyes filled with venom, and looked away. Cobalt sighed; his little brother Titan had always disliked him to some measure. After all, Titan would be way better fit for the leader of the pack, but since Cobalt was older, by rules passed down from generation to generation, he was the heir. Titan let out hiss of anger and shook his head in disappointment. He was probably thinking how doomed the pack was if this failure would lead it. Which would happen when Cobalt's mother, Claw (named after her giant claws) was killed, Either in a duel between the two (which would never happen, Cobalt decided, his strength was no match for hers), or if she died of natural causes. Or maybe on the rare occasion that a different pack murdered her. Though such a thing almost never happened, because their borders were well marked, and the rest of his brothers and sisters would protect Claw until their demise. Cobalt looked out of the den that his family had, it was made of old crumbling stone, and had vine curling up its edges. Hardly fit for a royal family, but then again, his mom lived in a much more polished den, and she was the only important one around there.
The moon lit up the dark sky, making the stars around it look insignificant. A full moon meant celebration for the pack. According to legends, the moon wolf, Luna, is in a never-ending battle with the dark wolf, Ghost. And every time the moon seems it has lost; it springs up from defeat and battles again! This time triumphing against Ghost, otherwise known as a full moon.
Although only one family was the royal family, and that was Cobalt's. Supposedly some sort of power had been passed down generation from generation in his family. But only one sibling in each litter would get this power. Now, Cobalt had no belief over this, the only thing different about him was the pattern of a moon on his chest. Suddenly he heard a familiar voice call his name, causing him to leap forward and out of his den. He called out "I'm coming!" to his mother and ran across the rough rock that made up part of the clearing. He skidded to a stop in front of her mother. Her stern dark eyes glared down at him. Cobalt gulped, what had he done now? His question was answered as his mother bore down on him “you were supposed to go hunting this morning, at moon set. Yet I just heard you wake up, with your stupid, filthy, daymares.” Claw let out a snort of disgust. Despite being his mother, Claw did not hold back any of the dislike she had for him. As a pup he had, potential, and Cobalt still remembered the days when his mother would tell him stories before sleep and tell him dumb jokes. But times had gotten harder, and Cobalt just couldn’t keep up with the treacherous training that had occurred. And so, he had fallen behind, his mother shaking her head in disappointment. Cobalt sighed, “sorry m- “he caught himself from saying mom, the last time he had called her mom, he had to wash his muzzle out in the creek. He wasn’t worthy of saying her name. “Claw” he finished. His mother walked past him, shoving him aside in the process “go hunting with your siblings, maybe then you’ll do something good for once” Claw disappeared into her den, leaving Cobalt into the clearing alone. Cobalt dragged himself back to his family’s den. “Hey, get up all of you, we’re going hunting!” he called out. Titan lumbered out of the shadows, teeth glinting menacingly. Quickly following was Scrappy, (whose real name was Oak, but had taken on the name Scrappy because of his scrappy appearance, and the fact he was usually sick), Bark, and Io (who stood firmly beside Titan in almost anything). Scrappy coughed and raised his head “so, get in trouble with mom again?” he asked with a raspy voice, a small smile on his face. Bark muttered something under his breath and rolled his eyes. Io let out a booming laugh, and Titan’s eyes glimmered with rare amusement. Cobalt glared at the ground, staring at a stick that lay by his paws. “Yes” he muttered gruffly. His paw twitched and he held back his claws from slashing at their faces. He stared back up at his littermates, “Claw said we have to hunt.” His siblings filed out of the den, laughing and shoving each other, with Cobalt trailing behind.
Well, not really littermates, as he had been the only wolf in his litter, as rare as that was. But this litter was born shortly after, and so they had kind of adopted him into their litter. Before he was considered a failure. As he left the clearing and entered the forest, scent invaded his nose. He shut his eyes and felt the crisp wind on his fur, and the soft dirt covering his paws. His eyes opened and with a sudden flurry of motion he was racing to his brothers and sisters “deer” he whispered excitedly. Titan’s eyes widened and a smile crawled across his face. Io, who was trailing behind Titan, flexed her claws into the dirt “Mom’s favorite.” Bark whispered something, a small smile making its way up his cheeks. Titan stopped, glancing at Cobalt “you and Bark, go that way” he pointed with his head to an old mossy tree, covered in mushrooms. “Me an’ Io will go that way, with Scrappy” he pointed to a tree of the opposite direction. Titan turned “go for the front” he reminded Bark, before loping hastily after Io, who was already at the tree. When all the wolves were in position and had spotted the deer, which was fairly young, maybe a few times bigger than a wolf, the wolves counted down from 5. “5...” Titan growled under his breath. “4, 3, 2, 1!” Titan roared the last number. Slamming his paws into the ground, Cobalt ran. He relished the feeling of the wind on his fur, and his paws slamming into the dirt. The deer let out an alarmed screech and started to run, but it was too late. Cobalt bore down on the deer’s hind legs, as Titan ran around to its front, and Io surrounded the rest of the deer with Bark. Cobalt was the first to make a move, planting his hind paws firmly into the ground, he used a burst of energy to launch himself up and forward. He landed on the deer with a satisfying THUD. The deer in its attempt to get away, swerved to the side. Almost causing Cobalt to be flung off. Titan ran along it’s side, and with a hiss, leaped forward, raking his long claws along the deer’s stomach. The deer screamed as crimson blood dripped down its leg. Cobalt shimmied his way up its back, to its neck and with a soft rip of flesh opened the back of the deer’s throat. The deer collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily. Its eyes were wide open as its life pooled around it. Titan stalked around it; hackles raised. A blood-thirsty look in his eyes, his paws covered in the red that was around the deer. When the deer finally bled out, which to Cobalt seemed like much too long of the deer’s suffering, Titan called for them to help him carry it back to camp. The whole way back to the clearing, Cobalt stayed behind, with no hope of praise from his mother. Claw ran out to greet them, eyes shining with admiration “Titan! You have done well, my boy” she crowed, turning to Io “and you! Your skills shine brighter every time you hunt” pride flickered into Io’s eyes, and she grinned “thank you, mother.” Cobalt was not at all surprised when his mother skipped over him and praised Bark. Even Scrappy got praise. But not Cobalt. Never Cobalt. Just as they padded back into camp, a long howl rang out among the wolves. Claw looked up in alarm, ears pricked. “Lupus? Is that you?” A group of roughly seven wolves raced across the clearing, they looked worried. Ears plastered against the back of their heads.It turned out the wolf at the lead was indeed Lupus. Lupus skidded to a halt, sending a cloud of dust and dirt at Cobalt. Claw tilted her head up to avoid the dust getting into her eyes and stared down at Lupus. “What?” she demanded. Lupus glanced at the wood surrounding the clearing. “We uh- we went out hunting, and we scented a large pack of wolves. Big, huge, probably bigger than ours.” Cobalt couldn’t help but notice how Lupus’s legs quivered with fear, and how his tail sunk between his legs. Fear showed clear in Lupus’s stance. Cobalt could see the distain in his mother’s eyes as she narrowed her eyes at Lupus. Cobalt thought that Lupus noticed, but it wasn’t clear if he had. Claw’s head swiveled hastily toward the forest. “Gather the pack around, I will make an announcement about this” Jaw clenched, Claw stalked to a large boulder than stood firmly in the middle of the clearing. With a shove of her hind paws, she jumped onto it. Sitting neatly on top. A low hum of murmurs could be heard as wolves slunk out of dens. Complaints as food was abandoned to listen. Claw’s voice brimmed with authority as she talked, tail flicking back and forth. “We have a problem, a big one to be exact. A large pack, bigger than even ours-“ She paused to gesture at the wolves surrounding her. “-has been scented on our territory, they must have smelled our scent boarders, yet they still invaded our space.” Trepidation sunk into the pack. Fear scent flowed through the clearing, and wolves began to panic.
Claw leaped down from the boulder, sending wolves back to make a path for her, heads bowed. Her anger was clear in her tensed limbs and flat ears. “We need to start to train for battle” she growled, voice low. Wolves crawled closer to listen, eyes frightened. Titan seemed to be the only one that didn’t show fear. His stance was at ease and a flicker of a smile crossed his face. His eyes only showed courage. He strode forward to his mother, causing commotion among the wolves. Shoving aside wolves as he walked. Claw waited for him and once he caught up, walked with him. Titan’s voice boomed around the clearing. “I will lead battle training, all who wish to fight come with me” he bounded into the forest, and with a swish of his tail he was gone. Cobalt watched as wolves leaped after him, excited but fearful chatter disappearing into the forest. Claw looked on with pride and left to get some rest. Cobalt took an uncertain step towards the trees but glanced back. Fighting had never been his strong suit. He shook his head and growled, racing after his brother. He stopped with a sudden yelp as he almost ran into a wall of gray pelts. Heads turned hastily to stare at him. Bright back eyes narrowing. “Brother! I see you decided to join us!” Titan’s teasing voice rang out loud. Cobalt glanced back and forth with uncertainty and nodded. Titan turned to the gathering crowd. “A surprise to be sure, am I right?” This caused many snickers and chuckles. “Well, enough with that. Let’s get training! First get a partner and practice fighting with them.” The crowd dispersed into pairs, and soon the forest was full of the sound of fighting. Titan stalked haughty over to Cobalt, black eyes glinting. Cobalt gulped and tried to stand his ground. Titan’s large form stooped over him. “Time to fight big brother.” The last words were filled with malice, and Cobalt’s worry only grew. With no time for him to think, Titan leaped at Cobalt, sending leaves into the air as he jumped. Cobalt shrieked and soared over Titan’s head, crashing his paws into Titan’s back. Titan reared up, sending Cobalt sprawling across the ground. Cobalt spit out dirt and shakily stood, just as Titan raced at him. Cobalt stepped to the side, causing Titan to run past him. As Titan began to turn Cobalt dove into him and they both flew forward into a spiky tangle of vines. They stabbed into Titan’s back, causing tiny pinpricks of blood to sprout out of Titan’s back. Cobalt was spared the uncomforting feeling, as he had rolled on top of Titan. Causing Titan to be further pushed back.
Titan slashed at Cobalt’s face. His face distorted into a grimace. Cobalt ducked his head to the side and Titan slashed empty air. Titan then threw himself up at Cobalt with a shriek. Cobalt yelped in surprise as he was flung into the air and banged into the ground. Titan took no time to recover, only pinning Cobalt to the ground. Cobalt breathed heavily as Titan glared down at him. Lowering his head, Titan whispered into Cobalt’s ear, his rancid breath beating down on Cobalt’s head. “I never liked you much big brother.” He hissed while letting go. Cobalt scrambled up, tail between his legs. Cobalt shook out his fur, muscles aching. “I’m going back to camp” he grumbled. Titan watched him go with a satisfied look in his eyes. As soon as he was out of Titan’s gaze he slumped to the ground and shut his eyes. Leaves stuck to his wet nose and his shaky breath made them fall off. He wanted to get back to the clearing for a mouse or two and his stomach rumbled it’s complaints, but he was exhausted. “I’ll just take a small nap…” he murmured; his speech slurred as his vision went dark. His dream was odd. He was back in camp, wolves stalking around him. But these were unfamiliar. Their eyes were a different color, bright yellow. The moon shaped patch on his chest glowed, sending out a faint light. The wolves seemed to hiss at it, stepping away. Soon they were all running back out of the clearing, frightened whimpers streaming out of their mouths. He awoke with a confused look on his face. He must have dreamed of those weird wolves that his pack had smelled. Sudden terror pulsed through his body, and he shoved himself up. He had fallen asleep! He glanced around, heart pounding. No, it was okay, he had not been kidnapped. But as he glanced at the sky his expression darkened. The moon shone in the middle of the sky, the shadowy sky. Shoot. He ran back to camp, paws thudding against the soft dirt. As he got to the clearing, a wolf he knew as Fern looked up with an annoyance-filled gaze. “What in the world?” He growled. “Cobalt! Where have you been?!” Cobalt shifted his paws uneasily, “er… hunting?” He said though it was more of a question than a statement. Fern looked skeptical “I don’t see a single piece of prey in your jaws.” Cobalt let out a small meek sigh. “Uh, I had a bit of trouble.” Fern rolled his eyes and chuckled. “Fine.” Looking disinterested Fern stared out into the dimness of the woodland. Cobalt slinked forward, but just as he passed Fern, Fern shoved him aside. Cobalt wilted into the ground, eyes wide with shock. Fern cackled, slamming a paw into Cobalt’s head. Shoving it into the dirt. “Disappointment” Fern hissed. Amusement lit in his eyes. With a flick of Fern’s claw, a long cut made its way across Cobalt’s cheek, spraying blood into the dirt. With a shudder of pain Cobalt shoved Fern off, racing back into the camp. Fern’s laughter could be heard above the now pouring rain. Cobalt slipped in a patch of mud and collapsed into the ground. Cobalt shut his eyes and picked himself up from the ground, causing a new laughing fit from Fern.
Cobalt pulled his paws out of the thick mud and attempted to clean them off in a murky puddle. Fern’s laughter died down as Cobalt padded hastily back to his family’s den. Scrappy’s snores grew louder as he entered the den. Titan was fast asleep with Io right by him. Bark was sprawled across the ground. Cobalt curled up in a tight ball in the back corner of the den. His head slumped to the ground with a small thunk, and he was asleep. He awoke with a start. He could hear screams and screeches from outside his den. He stumbled up, untangling his limbs. Was this a dream? He wondered; eyes wide with fright. Breathing heavily, he rushed out of the den. His eyes adjusted to the light quick enough for him to see a wolf stumble by him. A whimper leaped out of his mouth before he could stop it once he realized the reality of this situation. It was the wolves. The ones that had been smelled in their territory. Cobalt watched the scene in front of him. The smell of blood and fright filled his nose. Wolf fought wolf.
It was hard to pick apart who was on his side and who wasn’t. He saw Titan grappling with another wolf with bright yellow eyes and a dark pelt. Titan shoved off the wolf with a hasty bite to it’s shoulder and sprinted to Cobalt. Titan glowered at Cobalt. “Fight you idiot!” He yowled. With a rough shove from Titan, Cobalt was in the battlefield. Cobalt’s first instinct was to run, get out of there. The overwhelming scent of these attacking wolves seemed everywhere. There were too many of them. This was odd, because as far as Cobalt knew, his pack was the only one as big as it was. His thoughts were cut off as a bulky wolf lunged at Cobalt, biting down on his ear. Cobalt shrieked and wrapped his paws around the wolves neck, thrusting them into the ground. The wolf snapped its teeth together, spittle spraying into Cobalt’s face. The wild look in the wolves eyes scared Cobalt a great deal. The wolf’s ears perked up as someone called It’s name. “Fang! You dealing with that one?” Just as that was asked Fang shoved Cobalt up and used this momentum to leap on top of him, pinning him to the ground. Cobalt felt his heart speed up and he fought panic. “What does it look like?” The wolf named Fang laughed, but this laugh wasn’t so amused, but cruel. Fang looked like he was enjoying this battle. Cobalt’s breathing was labored as he swiped feebly at Fang.
Cobalt shuddered as an odd feeling swept through his chest. At first, he thought that it might be fear, but it started to burn. Fang leaned closer to Cobalt with a big grin spread across his face “you’re gonna wish you were never born once I’m done with you.” Cobalt began to panic for a different reason than Fang, his chest burned. Cobalt looked down on his chest and saw the moon marking. It was glowing. The light was dim at first but started to get brighter and the burning grew.Fang noticed quickly and his smile vanished. Fang pressed a paw lightly on the marking and reared back hastily. “It burns!” Fang cried out. Fang’s confusion didn’t last long though and anger seeped into his expression instead. Cobalt’s eyes widened as a sudden surge of strength ran through him. But this was no ordinary strength, it was more. Fang leaped off Cobalt as a glimmering shield appeared, molded around Cobalt’s body. The shield grew around 5 inches around Cobalt, and it blasted Fang back. Fang winced and struggled back up. His fur was tinged black, and Cobalt realized that his shield was on fire. The burning sensation stayed in his chest but didn’t grow anymore. The fire on the shield did not hurt Cobalt. Fang hissed, but fright could be seen in the depths of his yellow eyes, then he turned and ran. But as soon as this happened the shield flickered off and the burning in his chest stopped. The only emotion Cobalt had in that moment was a deafening confusion.
Cobalt blinked and stared down at the marking on his chest. At that moment he realized that the battle was still going on and glanced up. His eyes widened and his terror grew. They were losing, practically almost lost. Dead wolves littered the ground slumped on top of each other. Claw was screaming the word “surrender! We surrender!” into the cold unforgiving winter air. Cobalt had the urge to run, and he embraced it. He turned and raced desperately into the forest. The wind bit at his fur and his paws grew cold against the wet, leaf-covered dirt. His tail streaming behind him. He panted as he ran, and his legs hurt. But he couldn’t stop. He was afraid the wolves were following him. Eventually he stopped, his lungs threatening to explode. Cobalt’s eyes darted around rapidly, and his tongue lolled out of his mouth as he panted. He shut his eyes and took in a big breath. He paused for a moment and once he was sure that he wasn’t being followed he flopped to the ground. Scattered moss provided a sort of cushion on the rough rocks and dirt that covered the ground. He stared in wonder at the moon shape on his fur, tapping it with his paws. Nothing happened. Now that he thought about it, this kind of matched up with the myths he had heard as a pup. Plus, the fact that it was moon shaped… His mind wandered to the moon wolf Luna, and he stared up at the sky. A surprising amount of time had passed, and the sky was turning a shade of muddled oranges and dark blues. Cobalt was trying to understand what was happening, his forehead hurt, and his stomach rumbled with hunger. All he wanted to do was sleep but he was so, so hungry. With a deep mournful sigh, he pushed his weak limbs off the ground. Stray leaves fluttered slowly off his fur. His head sagged as he smelled the air, and an abrupt squeaking noise caught his attention. A mouse crouched close to the ground, holding a small berry that it rolled around in it’s paws carefully. It bit into it and a red juice dribbled down it’s chin. Cobalt tried to breath as quiet as possible as he squatted awkwardly and started to move gradually forward. The problem was, he had never hunted without someone else with him. Usually, his siblings had been there to help him. Cobalt put on a sudden burst of speed and sprung at the mouse; claws outstretched. The mouse squeaked and raced off into the bushes. Cobalt roared in frustration and shoved his head into the prickly branches of the bush. Jaws snapping up and down, drool dribbling down his chin. He licked his lips and stared into the bush. The mouse seemed to be nowhere, and Cobalt seethed with anger. His claws sprang into the bush as he shredded leaves. He plucked his head from the bush and shook off his fur. To his surprise the tiny red berries that the mouse had been eating slipped from his fur. He impaled one with his claw and glared hungrily at it. He sniffed it and reeled back in disgust, it smelled horrible. But he was too hungry and so he opened his mouth cautiously and wrinkled his nose as he took the tiniest bite from the berry. A sweet red juice pooled onto his tongue and the sour skin of the berry stuck to the top of his mouth. He swallowed and was interested to find out it didn’t taste half bad. Only a few minutes later he had gathered a big enough pile of these berries and was staring at them with a conflicted look on his face, what if they were poison berries? He shoved this thought to the back of his head, he had already had one and he felt just fine. With a delighted bark he lowered his head and dug in. His jaws stuck together at the sticky substance, and he had to struggle to open them. But it was worth it, his stomach filled. When he was finally done, he lifted his head to stare at the night sky. His eyelids drooped and his muzzle had juice trickling off it. He dropped to the ground and started to snore. His eyes opened slowly, and he licked his lips, rubbing off some of the berry. As he stood chunks of red dropped to the ground and he glanced around for some kind of water to wash the dried juice with. His ears twitched and he heard a faint gurgling of moving water. He started to move towards it, groggily putting one paw in front of the other. He paused for a moment to yawn, glancing around. The forest was alive with birds babbling to each other, hopping from branch to branch. The wind howling and shoving the greenery from side to side. Any sign of the other nights rain gone.
Cobalt stopped walking in front of the river, bending down sluggishly to drink. He gulped down the water thankfully and, in the process, the dry juice seeped off his fur. Cobalt lifted his head and shook off the water than streamed down his jaw. Shaking his head, the reality of the other day seemed to hit him. He sat down, scattering dirt to the side. Then the idea hit him. If he somehow managed to save his pack… everyone would be proud of him for once. He once again stared down at the moon on his fur. Maybe he could use it to help? Cobalt blinked and thought about what to do. If he could train his power enough maybe he could use it save his pack. But when he shut his eyes and tried to use it, nothing happened, and now that he thought about it, he had never actually figured out how to use it. Sure, he had used it in the battle, but that was different. That was life or death. He shook out his fur and stood. He needed to learn how to hunt alone. Cobalt gazed at his surrounding and spotted a small deer, it could be seen slightly between the trees, and it seemed to be
munching on something. Cobalt stood up and as silently as possible turned to the deer. It didn’t seem to notice him and so he stooped close to the ground and started to crawl forward. Cobalt was mostly hidden in the long grass, only his ears and the tip of his back and tail could be seen. The deer started to trot sluggishly back into the comfort of the trees, and Cobalt panicked, he couldn’t let the deer get away! With a quick thrust of his hind paws, he was sailing through the air, wind whistling through his fur. The deer snorted, it’s tail flicking back and forth, it seemed to notice Cobalt and it bleated in panic. Cobalt landed squarely on it’s back and with a bounce landed on it’s neck. The deer’s bleats cut off abruptly as Cobalt heard a snapping noise and it’s head dangled weirdly from it’s neck. He slipped off the deer and landed on a rock, knocking the air out of him. With a growl he stood up, glancing warily at the deer. The deer’s head was twisted in a gruesome way, and the deer’s tongue drooped limp on the ground. Cobalt padded his way over, eyes wide. He prodded the deer’s head and held it clumsily in his paws, it slipped off his pads with a sickening crunch and Cobalt winced. The deer was obviously dead, it’s eyes glazed over and it’s nose still. It was a bloodless death, but a painful one. Cobalt grasped the deer’s neck and hauled it until it was motionless next to the river. Once he was done eating, he had eaten around half of it. He washed off his muzzle in the river. Cobalt decided he should try to train his power, his eyes traveled down to the moon marking and he huffed. He didn’t feel all that burning nonsense in his chest and hadn’t since the battle. He in that moment thought of an idea, he would climb a tree and survey the forest. Surely, he could find somewhere more suitable for his practice. Cobalt sauntered to a large oak tree, it’s branches thick and moss falling limp off it’s limbs. His eyes traveled deftly up the tree, noticing the hallow indents that would prove useful for climbing. He placed a paw on the park, digging his claws deep into the tree, then he placed another paw on the tree doing the same. He pulled his body up slightly, allowing his hind paws to be placed on the tree. He was now grabbing onto the tree, dangling slightly off the ground. With a huff he jumped onto the first branch, the branch swung around slightly, and Cobalt looked down nervously. He was maybe three feet off the ground. With a glance up he leaped onto the next branch, this one wobbled more and he almost slipped off, with an alarmed yelp he immediately pushed off to the next branch. Landing on a more stable branch he was now able to look up again. The next branch was too high for him to jump on instantly, so he decided to climb up with no branch. He forced himself not to look down and clambered onto the side of the tree, bark flacked off the tree and he slid a bit down. Biting his tongue so he wouldn’t yell, he crawled slowly back to his original position. His claws gripped tightly to the tree, and he shifted forward, inching slowly up to the next branch. Once he was close enough, he leaped up with a yowl, landing on the branch with a thud. The breath was shoved out of him, and he lay clutching the branch, sucking air into his lungs. Cobalt looked around and realized that he could see above the trees. He breathed out in wonder, eyes widening. This is the highest he had ever been, and he smiled, relishing the wind on his fur. Cobalt realized with a sudden jolt that the forest ended, this might sound stupid, but he had never actually been out of the forest. In his mind the forest covered the whole world like a giant green blanket. His eyes darted back and forth and his mind raced. He needed to go there. Besides, he reasoned, maybe someone there could help his pack. His eyes wandered back down a tree and with a yelp of fright he grasped the idea of climbing down the tree. “Oh shoot.” He muttered to himself. The tree swayed as he stumbled closer to the trunk, and his stomach had butterflies fluttering in it. His breathing was hoarse as he hugged the bark, lowering himself slowly down the tree. His tail kept getting stuck on stray pieces of bark. Just as he was getting to the first branch, he could smell something rancid in the air. He wrinkled his nose and strained his neck to look down to the ground. Four wolves surrounded the tree, eyes a bright yellow. They circled the trunk, sniffing it curiously. Cobalt stifled a yelp of panic as he realized that they were the same ones that invaded his pack. With a large intake of breath, he lunged off the tree, landing noisily on the other side of the circling wolves. They immediately turned and with snarls rippling out of their throats followed him. He tried urgently to think of some sort of plan, his mind knotted with thoughts. Cobalt leaped over the river he had previously cleaned his muzzle with and barely landed on the other side. From the cry and splash he heard after he could infer that one of the wolves had fallen in. A feeling of satisfaction filled his head, but it didn’t last long, he could feel the other wolves breath on his tail and could hear their teeth snapping trying to get him.