Bearclaw Valley A Feast for All!

"Nanook." The little warrior repeated the name to herself in a whisper, and felt a tingle rush her spine. She chanced a glance behind her, but the way was clear of any of her siblings, and the air free from the sound of approaching steps. She remained alone in her private corner, concealed in an alcove roughed into the rear of the den. Towering earth guarded her from prying ears, and from the constant din of her siblings and that other boy mama had towed in some time ago. These walls alone heard her quiet practice, and she did not intend for that to change now.

To her family, she rarely uttered a word now, none, at least, that she had not spoken to herself many times before. Ever since she'd heard the ease with which her brother spoke - especially when he muttered words the other pups never seemed to repeat - she'd felt something strange rise in her, a burning heat at the pit of her being that made her vision shake. Her first tries had matched the skill of Desna, and she'd been fine with that - until she'd heard Xan, and had seen him return with papa with strange words on his lips. They meant nothing to her, but more than anything, she wanted to know. She wanted papa to teach her, just like he did for her brother. But day by day, even though she waited for him to beckon her, he never came for her. He only came for Xan.

Nanook could picture her brother now, the look on his smug little face, and her vision quaked so much that when mama called her, she almost didn't follow. Xan would be there, and she didn't want to see him at all. But the draw of food was too strong, and hunger rumbled in her belly. She waited until the den fell silent before she begrudgingly eased out from her nook of solitude and made for the entrance of their shadowed den.

Tall grass rose around her, and stood just high enough to see past the tips of the blades. Mama and Raziel stood side by side next to a heaping mound - an animal laying on its side, though the creature was unlike anything Nanook had every seen. Every tendril of scent rose from the beast and warmed the little warrior's nose that when she inhaled again, she almost walked straight to where mama stood. Almost.

"My name is Kove Apaata, and I see you've already met Desna." Nanook swivelled her ears before she turned her body right round, and a heat seized her chest at the sound of papa's voice. "This is my son, Alexander, and I'm sure you'll meet his other two sisters, Nanook and Sesi, later."

With steps still stilted by her oversized paws, Nanook made a beeline for papa and glanced at his powerful paws to make sure Xan wasn't with him now. He was - and so was Desna. Nanook felt her stomach drop. If Xan didn't take papa's attention, then Desna would. But Nanook refused to turn away and hardened her resolve, craning her neck to look up at the bigger wolves. Now was her chance to show him she could be like Xan, too. "Here, papa." She said in a voice quieter than she'd intended, and her skin flushed beneath her fur. It was no better than a whisper, and she said nothing more, knowing anything more would only make her skin burn hotter.