Bearclaw Valley Like a rushing waterfall

I also apologize for the length, and also if she's not as pup-like as she's supposed to be. It's my first time trying to write for a character who's so young.

Nanook was dreaming of a place she'd never been. An expanse of water deeper than anything she'd known, though she had seen little beyond the dome of their den. An expanse of water greater than the lazy river just beyond their home. It stretched every way she turned, and it lapped around her body and chilled her to the bone. The little pup didn't think to scream - there were so many screams already. So many screams, and she thrashed. Her sisters. The water darkened, blurred, and she blinked to greet the dark and musky den.

Nanook was dreaming of a place she'd never been. Only this wasn't a dream, and she splashed for purchase until her paws met the ground. But her gaze locked elsewhere, on the blur of white retreating the den, carrying away her sister's cries.

Mama had left them. Something was wrong. The water reached midleg now, and her heart pounded. But for once, Nanook stayed silent. For once she did something other than scream. Nanook followed. On paws unaccustomed to the depth of the pool, the little warrior splashed forward and up, eyes locked on where mama disappeared, intent to go there herself - because wherever mama had gone, that was where she needed to be. A cry rose from Desna, panicked, and for a fleeting moment Nanook lost focus and turned - only to have her feet swept from the ground beneath her. Her stomach lurched and she let out a sharp squeal before she registered her mother's milky scent and the sharp shift in air around her. Her eyes widened as the dark, damp den disappeared, replaced by howling winds and sharp water from the sky she couldn't escape no matter how she turned or how fast she blinked.

Her fur brushed Sesi's shivering form when mama lowered her to the ground and a sharp thrust greeted her, but Nanook didn't kick her sister back. Instead she stared wide-eyed at the blurry land, draped with pelting rain. She stared, even when Xan and Desna dropped beside her, and even when mama's panicked voice filled the air. The call sent a shiver down her spine, and when mama started moving without bending to pick her up, Nanook didn't complain. She could only follow as she tried to do before.

Others joined them - the silver, and the dark one - but Nanook hardly noticed. Her eyes stayed fixed on mama's heels and the sway of her tail as she walked further and further from home. A new noise rose, a rhythmic splash Nanook only registered when a spray of fat droplets accompanied the sound. She yelped and jumped sideways, swiping at her face and lifting her gaze in time to catch Xan's retreating form and the glint of mischief he cast her way. And like that, her trance was broken. With a scowl she turned to her sister - only Desna didn't walk by her side. Rather she dangled from the mouth of the silver, whose words were too many to understand, but whose voice and presence somehow calmed her. It was only then she realized she and Xan walked alone - both Sesi and Desna hung in the jaws of the grown-ups. For a moment a whine threatened, but a resolve in her refused to beg for help. She was walking, and keeping up, and they wouldn't let her fall behind. The press of their bodies all around her reassured her of this - silver at her side, mama at the front, the dark one at the rear, and her father's constant eye. So when papa came her way, she held her head high and fixed her eyes forward, transfixed upon her mother's hocks. Though her grey fur felt thick with mud and dirt, and her heart pounded as hard as the beating rain, she felt safe even in the midst of the raging storm. The water couldn't reach her with all these wolves around - it wouldn't dare try. She could do this by herself.