16 July 2012
When Brew told his family that he would soon be leaving the meadow they were not happy, to say the least. They were not surprised either. The winter following his announcement would leave everyone melancholy and sad. They knew as soon as the ground thawed that he would say his final farewells and be gone forever. Branook, on the other hand, was glad to see her brother go. Jealousy had been a guarantee when it came to the sibling rivalry between the twins. Looks seemed to be the only thing that was the same between them. Their actions, morals and demeanor were as different as night and day. Branook resented her brother in so many ways. She wished that she could be the one to scout new territory with their father, instead of Brew. Her place in life would be to stay close to the den and help her mother, Maiden Doe, look after the new litter until she herself became a mother for the first time. The Wounjap Clan huddled close together as the wind whistled through the thicket that runs parallel to Branch Out Meadow. The late summer's sun reflected vibrant orange against the mountainside behind them as they waited on nightfall to descend. The familiar sounds of the meadow calmed them as they waited for Pa Buck to signal that it was all clear for their evening Hawlokent. The flowers and short grass were especially dry this season from lack of rain. Pa Buck said it was because the Grey-stone men had displeased Juneson and they were now having to suffer for their disobedience. Life was about survival and Pa Buck knew it would soon be time to journey north in search of a new den for next year's spring kits. He was very worried about Maiden Doe, his mate of 4 years, because she had been having terrible night-visions of the coming months. She said the birds told her of a large, ever growing, nothingness that crept upon them and increased in size day by day. Pa Buck stretched his neck and peered silently into the capacious grassy field. Rotating his ears around and down enabled him to ascertain the safety of the meadow. After a few minutes he signaled for his clan to emerge. As instructed Branook always led the group onto the meadow. She looked left, then right and sniffed the air for a moment before she bounded across the open space toward her father. Maiden Doe was next. She was much more timid, because her weight slowed her down a bit. She was especially cautious tonight as her thoughts gravitated towards the nothingness that would soon chase them away from Branch Out. She thought this might be her last time taking part in Hawlokent where she had raised her family. Brew was the last to emerge from the safety of the hedge. He was strong, brave and had never really known fear because he could already feel the weight of so much responsibility fall on his stout shoulders. A snap in the distance caused the clan to freeze. Pa Buck resisted the urge to double back around them to swing back over to his mate. Another snap caused Branook to bolt toward the west shelter of the immense Cedar Grove forrest. Thump, thump, thump. The forceful sound of Pa Buck's foot stomping the ground caused Branook to halt her retreat toward the dark forrest. Instinct took over and the clan moved towards each other with pinpoint precision. Once the scent of the origin of the noise hit their snouts the clan relaxed a little. Spoof waddled onto the meadow at a slow, steady pace. He never lifted his head, he didn't seem to mind their presence until he was almost on top of Brew. "Hold up there boy," he said with a deep baritone resonance, "What are you doing following me?" "Following you?" Brew said with a grin, "We're ahead of you getting ready to partake in Hawlokent."
"Don't sass me boy," Spoof snarled as he started marching again in a different direction.
Branch Out • Opuss № I