A Midnight Hunt and a Chase

It took a little longer than Nova wanted for her to escape the suffocating party, but soon she found herself free with her wolf paws flying across the forest floor. She could never get tired of this feeling as she leaped over fallen logs and dodged trees as the wind flew through her thick fur and fresh scents surrounded her. Everyday Nova looked forward to a run just as much as Dawn looked forward to it.

She ran to the natural wolf pack's den and saw the wolves all stand when they saw her emerge from the trees. The alpha approached me and tilted his head. Nova nodded and the alpha released a howl which Nova and the pack joined before they all dashed into the woods. The pack only left 2 she-wolves behind to watch over the pups. Nova made sure to remain behind the alpha as a sign of respect to his position and soaked in the feeling of running with the wolves.

The alpha caught the scent of a herd of deer and changed direction with the whole pack quickly following. As they neared, the alpha slowed and the pack quickly responded. The pack worked so smoothly together as they instantly spread out and snuck toward the deer while the Alpha located the prey of the night. An older doe on the outside of the herd caught his attention and he signaled to his pack by angling his body toward it.

Nova snuck forward with the rest of the wolves but angeled her body toward another deer and looked to the alpha. He gave her a nod before continuing toward his prey while Nova moved toward another doe. Two wolves split from the pack and joined Nova as they approached the unsuspecting deer. They got into position and waited for the rest of the pack. The Alpha released a soft growl and all the wolves leaped into action before the deers could even look around in alarm.

The other two wolves went for the deer's feet while Nova leaped onto its back and bit into its neck. The deer panicked and her feet gave way as the two wolves bit them. Nova stayed on top of her and held her neck as one of the other wolves aimed for the throat. The doe stilled and Nova looked toward the rest of the pack to see they had been successful in their hunt as well. The Alpha threw his head back and released a howl of victory which his pack and Nova quickly joined.

The pack prepared the deer for travel back, but Nova caught another smell. She looked into the woods to her right as excitement flooded her. A few seconds later the pack smelled it as well and quickly circled the fallen prey and stiffened. While Nova scented a friend, they scented a possible wolf foe.

Soon a large black wolf and a grey wolf emerged from the tree line and took in the sight of Nova standing tall in the midst of the natural wolves. The pack instantly growled at the two, but Nova quickly moved between them and the alpha. Her head bowed slightly in respect and his growling stopped. His dark eyes glanced between Nova and the two newcomers and tilted his head. Her back was to them which showed she trusted them, but he wanted confirmation which came in the way of her nod.

His eyes glanced to the two wolves once again before he gave Nova a nod and turned to command his pack to collect the deer. The wolves relaxed and moved swiftly to obey their alpha. Nova watched them as they started to disappear into the trees. Before he left, the alpha paused to question if she was coming. She shook her head and he turned away and left with the rest of the pack. Soon Nova was left in the now silent clearing.

Nova heard the footsteps of the black and grey wolves and turned to greet them with a wagging tail. The black wolf, Jay, gave a strange barking laugh before moving swiftly to her side and brushing his head into her neck while she responded in kind. The grey wolf, Logan, simply gave her a nod of greeting which she also responded to.

Jay backed a little bit away from her and Nova gave him a mischievous smile before leaping onto his back before pushing off his back and ran into the trees. Jay gave a playful growl before he was up on his feet and chasing her with Logan by his side. Nova knew the forest better than they did and quickly headed for her house while using the terrain as her friend. The boys let out small growls of frustration as she continued to dodge them.

A little way into the chase, Nova ran behind a tree and disappeared. Jay and Logan both froze when they were unsure where she had gone. They followed her scent, but it didn't leave the area, but instead lead to a tree. Their bodies tensed and they shared a glance before slowly looking up into the tree to see the red she-wolf perched on a thick branch.

Their eyes widened as Nova leaped and landed with two paws on each of them, collapsing them to the ground, before she dashed off once more. The two growled and split up as they pursued her. Nova glanced over her shoulder to see Logan running directly behind her. Her eyes widened as she asked Dawn, 'Where is Jay? Wasn't he just behind us?'

Dawn wasn't able to respond before a form burst out of the trees to her left and rolled her over. The black wolf and the red wolf rolled together for a bit before coming to a stop. Dawn was basically drooling inside of their mind as Nova glanced at the large black wolf lying a foot away from her. Jay sat up with his tongue lolling out before he reached forward and licked Nova's muzzle, who in turn pounced on him before standing up to see Logan cautiously approaching them.

Nova rolled her eyes, they weren't gonna do anything. Jay stood up next to Nova and lowered his head to nuzzle Nova's neck which Nova naturally pressed her neck against him. Logan's face scrunched up causing Nova to let out a short laughing bark at his antics. Jay lifted his head and looked toward Logan and the grey wolf gave a slight bow before turning and running away. Nova's head tilted before glancing up at Jay's golden eyes.

He gave her a soft wolfish smile before jerking his head in the direction of her home. The two walked side by side, probably a little closer than they should as their sides occasionally brushed. Nova was once more glad to not be in human form as her face would've been vividly red at the closeness and yet Nova couldn't seem to want to pull away from him. She was comfortable by his side and it felt like this was where she was supposed to be.

When they came in sight of her house, they parted ways and shifted. When Nova came back out from behind the tree she asked him, "Did you place clothes here before?"

His face flushed red and he stammered, "Well, after the first time I came and dropped you off, I had someone place bags of clothes here. Cause, ya know," Jay ducked his head and rubbed the back of his neck as he finished quickly, "CauseIfiguredIwouldbevisitingoften."

Nova's eyebrows raised as she asked, "Come again?"

Jay let out a sigh before he admitted slower, "Cause I figured I might be visiting here often."

"Well, that is something," Nova laughed at him. They fell into a semi-awkward silence as neither wanted to say bye, but neither knew what to say.

'Hey, we should show him the waterfall!' Dawn's voice suggested.

A smile spread across Nova's face and she asked, "Hey, do you wanna hang out tomorrow? I want to show you something I found a while back."

Jay's blue eyes lit up and a massive grin filled his face before he enthusiastically said, "Yeah, I would love to! What time would you want to meet up?"

Nova couldn't help giggling at him a bit, he looked like a kid in a candy shop that was just told to get anything they wanted. "How about 10? We can make a day of it." Jay nodded and Nova turned to go back to her house. She paused at the fence and said, "See ya tomorrow," before leaping over the fence. She quickly moved to the back door and before she could shut it, she heard a loud howl of excitement fill the night.