A Short Story I Wrote

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The Forest Of The Moon
A cool breeze ruffled Cookie’s soft, multi-colored fur while she woke up from her afternoon nap. The brown and orange splotches rippled across her white fur as she yawned sleepily and gazed over to where Rocky, a German Shepherd, was lounged on the carpet, a fly buzzing around his rapidly flicking ear. He was a slight reddish-brown, along with the black blanket-like fur covering his entire back and onto the top of his tail. She leaped off the window ledge and headed towards the cat door her owner built for her.
Outside, a fence covered with ivy surrounded a decent lawn of grass. Big enough for the dog to romp around, and small enough for her owner to take care of. Cookie curled up on the warm rock in the middle of the yard to start sunbathing. Mooncake was pecking around the yard and scratching holes in the grass with her sharp claws. After eating a few bugs, she returned to the chicken house which was empty because she was the only one who lived there. Ginger, her brother, had moved away to a farm some time ago because their owner got tired of getting him untangled in the vines. They were both named after their colors, Mooncake a pure white chicken, and Ginger a light brown. The bird songs suddenly stopped. The snaps of branches and rustling leaves were heard beyond the ivy fence and Cookie decided to check it out. Her sharp claws dug into the hanging plants as she hauled herself onto the fence for the first time, she couldn’t do this before.
What she thought were just trees was actually a forest, spanning miles in all directions. Cookie looked to the left to see a bear chasing a deer. A big, furry paw extended towards the deer’s hind leg and brought it crashing down. The bear clamped his mighty jaws around the prey’s neck and dragged the animal away. Chirping started up again and all was still.
“Cookie!” Her owner called from the door. When she was spotted on the fence, the woman walked over and pulled her off. Then they headed back inside for the cat’s lunch. “You better not think about going on that fence again.” said her owner. But it was too late, Cookie had already seen what it was like in the wild and was drawn towards its many possibilities.
Rocky blinked his eye open, what was that cat doing going outside? He hauled himself up and with a quick snap of his jaws, ate the fly. His nose wrinkled in disgust, he wasn’t going to do that again. His brown and black tail arched up as he stretched, and then he poked his head out the cat door. Cookie was just sitting on the fence. She wasn’t chasing the chicken today. All clear. Satisfied for the cat’s and Mooncake’s safety, he casually trotted over to the kitchen for his midday meal. Chomp, chomp, chomp. He gulped down his food and slumped onto his big bed, he planned to sleep away the afternoon.
“Meow.” One eye opened to see Cookie batting at his ear. Oh no! I must have overslept! Rocky jumped up and placed himself at the door, with Cookie hurrying after him, the bell on her purple collar ringing.
“You know we don’t need you to guard the house, right?” said Cookie, “It’s not like anything will break-in.”
“I just feel safer guarding the house, you never know what will happen. Plus, you did wake me up just to guard the door,” replied Rocky.
“No silly, I woke you up to tell you my plan.”
Oh no, thought the German Shepherd, Nothing good comes out of her plans.
“In case you’re wondering, this time my plan will actually work.” Cookie licked her paw, “All you have to do to help me is when our owner takes you for your morning jog, go crazy the moment he opens the door.”
“And why would you want me to do that?” Rocky was not going to be so easily manipulated.
“So I can escape this house and go live in the woods. This place is too boring and there is nothing to do here.”
Rocky thought about this really hard in his wisdom bone at the top of his head. I can’t just let Cookie go by herself, she has no idea how hard it is to live out there. She probably doesn’t even know how to hunt! Being a good German Shepherd, Rocky knew he would have to be Cookie’s bodyguard.
“So?” prompted Cookie, “What’s your decision?”
“I will do it, but only if you let me go with you.”
“But you are too big and clumsy, there is no way you will be able to help me.”
“Then the deal’s off.” Rocky knew that Cookie would have to come back eventually because there was no other way she would be able to escape, their owner had permanently locked the cat door after Cookie climbed on the fence. Silent again, he continued his watch at the door.
A crack of light shone through the window in the kitchen. Happy it was morning, Rocky snatched his bright red leash of the table and nudged open the door to his owner’s bedroom with his wet nose, leaving a smudge. He quickly dragged himself onto the bed and covered his owner’s face with kisses.
“Rocky!” said his owner, “What did I tell you about doing that, next time I will have you sleep outside!” But he gave Rocky a couple of pats on the head and walked over to the kitchen with the dog following close behind. He scooped out a cup of food and poured it into Rocky’s bowl. A can of cat food was opened and dumped into another bowl. Yawning, Cookie stumbled over and nibbled her food. As she was finishing, Rocky was leashed and ready to go outside for his walk. Cookie walked over and whispered into his big, pointy ear, “I have decided that you can go with me.” I’ll just run away when I have the chance, it’s not like he can catch me.
Rocky agreed to this and when the door was opened, Rocky started running around in circles, tangling his owner in the process. With one final burst, his leash broke in half and he grabbed the Cookie’s collar and dashed out the door. He ran to the end of the street, took a right, and sped down the road. After running for ten minutes, he ran off the road and stopped at the edge of the woods. The cat tumbled onto the ground.
“What were you thinking!” she exclaimed, her fur all rumpled, “I didn’t even want to come here!”
“You didn’t?” Rocky tilted his head, “But I thought you said ‘the forest,’”
“No! Well, not this part of the forest.”
“I can bring you back if you want,” Rocky’s tongue lolled out of his mouth and his whole body was shaking. “Just a few minutes.” He put his head on the ground and immediately fell asleep.
Uggg, this is going to take forever. Cookie sighed and walked over to a bush where she laid down to wait for Rocky.
A tree branch rustled in the forest. Sitting up, Rocky scanned the tree line. The sun was high in the sky. There was a flash of movement, this time closer. Peering closer, Rocky cautiously moved over to Cookie and woke her up.
“What is it no--” Cookie was picked up by her scruff again, as Rocky ran in circles. “Stop it! What are you doing?” During a small pause in Rocky’s pace, Cookie came face to face with a mountain lion. This was all it took for her to go berserk. She tried to squiggle out of Rocky’s grasp as they were driven closer to the forest.
Branches tugged against her fur as they ran deeper in. Rocky’s rasping breath dominated her hearing and drool soaked her fur. Rocky tripped on a rock and fell into a trench. She was released and could smell the stink of the mountain lion.
Awoooooo! The eerie howl echoed through the trees. The mountain lion backed away and fled. The sound of rapid paw steps filled the air as they, whatever they were, neared. She shut her eyes.
A big, gray paw reached down and nudged Cookie’s body.
“I think this one’s dead.” said a deep voice.
Cookie opened her eyes and looked up to see a gray, furry face staring down at her. Wow, that looks like a bigger version of Rocky. Much furrier too.
“What are you doing to Cookie?” She looked to her right to see Rocky with his big ears folded back and teeth bared. The brownish animal didn’t even move, and Cookie knew it was because his teeth were much sharper, pelt thicker, and body stronger than Rocky. And yet, that German Shepherd was still defending her.
“Woah, calm down. We were just investigating if she was alive or not. And why would we do anything bad if we just scared away that bobcat for you?” the brownish wolf said.
Rocky relaxed but placed himself in front of Cookie, “I’m not sure I can trust you just yet.”
The cat looked around her and saw six more of the Big-Rockys. Three of the bigger and older ones were discussing something next to a bush with muffled voices. Cookie felt herself get lifted up by her scruff again by Rocky, but she didn’t mind so much now. Dropping Cookie under a tree, Rocky stood guard once again but his ears weren’t folded back. Every time one of them came too close, he would give them a fierce look.
“Rocky, what are these animals?”
“Wolves, of course, they are the top of the food chain here in the forest, and we dogs came from them. It would be best if you don’t mess with them, they could eat you in one bite!”
And he was the one trying to mess with them earlier.
A wolf without the top half of his left ear at the bush turned around.
“Everyone around!” he boomed and the wolves gathered in a circle around Cookie and Rocky.
“We have decided to take these two,” the half-ear wolf said, “If they can prove they can provide for the pack.”
Since when did we even ask them to join? But before she could ask, Half-ear started for the edge of the trees. In perfect unison, the rest of the wolves fell into line leaving the pair to follow.
Rocky walked over to Cookie. “You can ride on my back if you want.”
“It’s fine, I can do it on my own.”
After walking for a few minutes, another ten wolves merged in with the group, the smell of fresh meat wafted into Cookie’s keen nose and she saw that three of the wolves were dragging a dead deer and the rest carried an assortment of other prey. By the time they reached the camp, and Cookie was exhausted.
They were in a shallow dip in the ground, with a couple of bushes on one end. Half-ear trotted over to where a grayish female with especially fluffy fur was lying on the ground babysitting five pups with another male.
“Oh, you’re back.” she said, “The pups have been doing well.”
The biggest and boldest pure black pup stumbled over to his dad.
“Glad to know you’re safe,” said Half-ear. He looked at the fluffy wolf and the male. “We will be eating now.”
The pack converged on the pile of prey. Rocky leaned over and whispered into Cookie’s ear, “Look, Half-ear is eating first, that means he is Alpha!”
“Alpha of Moon Pack,” boasted the fluffy female, “We are the strongest pack here.”
When all the wolves were done with their meal, there was only a single squirrel left.
“I don’t think I want to eat this.” said Rocky, nudging the squirrel. Cookie agreed, it was very disgusting and not at all like the cat food she had at home. So they went hungry that night.
Rocky woke up and yelped as he felt something nip his tail. He turned around to see the same wolf who was threatening Cookie yesterday. “What are you doing here?”
“Welcome to Moon Pack,” he said, “Half-ear wanted you to come. He said that I am to train you in the ways of a wolf. And, your name is Rocky, is that right?”
“Yes, how did you know?”
“The cat told me.”
“Oh.”
“By the way, my name’s Dust-fur.”
He followed the brown wolf into the trees.
Cookie saw Rocky’s fudge colored tail disappear among the greenery. Mmm, fudge. She was starting to feel homesick. I should go back to town and investigate what is going on. Cookie walked along the path between the trees, too covered for normal eyes to see.
As she emerged from the forest, the first thing that she noticed was the papers covering every post. On every paper, she saw some bolded symbols along the top and smaller type along the bottom. The middle had some sort of solid block, but she couldn’t make it out.
Pat, pat, pat, her near-silent paw steps traveled down the dusty road. Without Rocky here, she felt insecure, like something was watching her. She felt her fur slightly puff up. I should head back. I’m not ready to home yet if I ever do. Her shadows stretched behind her as she walked towards the setting sun. A rumble was heard in the distance and Cookie looked back to see gray clouds steadily moving her way. As the paw steps receded, the mountain lion emerged from around a building, licking his lips. He wouldn’t let the cat get away again next time.
Plip! Rocky watched as the raindrops fell from the top of the den to the puddle beneath with his body was splayed out on the floor with his head resting on his forelegs. The raindrops gave him a sense of foreboding and gloominess. The gray clouds obscured the shiny moon and the sheer amount of the clouds was intimidating and reminded him of the mountain lion. He shivered and chased away that thought before it took hold. Plip! The smell of earth wafted into his nose. It was later in the day after the brown wolf, Dust-fur, had been training him on how to live in the pack. The storm had hit as the sun was going down, so he didn’t miss any practice. He learned to get better at hunting, but he tried to eat as little meat as possible, though he noticed Cookie had taken a quick liking to birds. All the wolves seemed jealous they couldn’t catch any.
He had recently noticed that Cookie hadn’t been very happy recently. Where is Cookie now? In fact, now that he thought about it, he hadn’t seen the cat for a while.
Last he remembered, she was curled on the other side of the den. Too bad his nose wasn’t going to work right now because the rain dispersed and mixed up all the scents. Sploosh! A muddy white paw stepped into the puddle. Rocky glanced up to see Cookie with her fur spiked in all directions.
“What happened to you?”
“Oh, just the rain.” Cookie responded, smoothing down her fur, but deep in Rocky’s wisdom bone, he could tell it was something else. He knew not to push it, but he would ask Cookie later when she was less bothered.
Then, to his surprise, Cookie snuggled up against his creamy brown belly and laid her head on his leg. Rocky made no comment about it but instead curled up around her and covered his glistening nose with his tail. And suddenly, the beating rain seemed peaceful and relaxing as he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.
Rocky was startled awake by a faint sound in the trees. Glowing eyes appeared in the dark and Rocky felt his ears folded back. Trying to be as quiet as possible, he got up and nudged Cookie towards the back of the den, then covered her with some branches. Only Dust-fur was standing guard, and that was on the side where Half-ear was sleeping with the pups. Rocky was with Cookie in a den situated completely opposite to the bush since they had not yet proved their loyalty. Laying in a circle around their Alpha’s spot, none of the other wolves were awake, exhausted by the day’s work.
Rocky’s eyes looked around the clearing again, his haunches quivering. His ears pinpointed the lightest crinkle of a leaf. Crouching, he prepared for the incoming disaster. Rocky could see his breath coming out in puffs in the cold night air. He waited for so long he thought that he imagined the sounds. Relaxing his hind legs, he sat down. At that moment, a mountain lion peaked his head out of the trees, he was smaller than the one who chased Rocky, but still a formidable opponent. The animal’s yellow eyes fixated onto Rocky, who stood frozen in fear. Silent footsteps carried him closer to their den, or even worse, Cookie. This is not looking good. Coming closer still, the mountain lion licked his nose.
He seemed to know that this German Shepherd was no match for him, being raised in a house and not exposed to the dangers of the forest-- such as himself. Soon, he was only a few feet away, and he crouched.
Something triggered in Rocky’s wisdom bone right then, a wild part deep inside that sent a thrum of energy through his body. His senses heightened and power surged into his limbs. He felt his throat struggling to keep in the sound it now held, something strange and special. Rocky raised his head and saw that through the clouds, a single beam of moonlight shone through. He opened his mouth and loosed a howl that was heard throughout the whole forest and contained the strength of a thousand sounds, which struck straight into the wild heart of that mountain lion.
He abandoned his prey at that very moment, that dog was not something to be messed with-- no, not a dog, more like a wolf. Not any prey of that power was worth going for, he ought to have kept to his normal hunting boundaries, and not venture beyond. This was what he had gotten into and that was a permanent lesson to him not to mess with dogs, or wolves, ever again. And if that wasn’t enough the dog’s friend was chasing after him. The claws of the small cat dug into his back and he felt a tuft of fur get torn off the top of his head. He ran in a zig-zag, slipping around on the wet ground. Then the weight disappeared, leaving him with an empty patch on his back and a permanent scar to his reputation. Scrambling away, he growled, but more in fear than frustration. He ran at full speed through the muddy forest and vowed to never come back again.
Half-ear stood in the center of the circle of wolves, with Rocky and Cookie facing him in the middle.
“Last night, these two have proved themselves worthy of staying in this pack. They chased away a mountain lion, no easy feat, and also helped provide for us. They shall now earn their pack name which shall stay with them for as long as they are here.” Half-ear looked at Rocky, and placing his gray muzzle on Rocky’s head, he said, “Your pack name is now Storm-gazer, you will be one of the hunters.”
Rocky felt proud, but also a sudden pang of homesickness, his owner would be missing him. But then it was Cookie’s turn and he quickly turned his attention back to Half-ear.
Cookie was much to short for Half-ear to reach so he just bumped her head with his nose.
“And your pack name will be Flash-claw, and you will be one of the hunters too.” Then he turned to both of them, “We will be migrating to a different part of our territory tomorrow due to prey shortages in this area. Now that you have your names you can come along with us.” He looked at them expectantly.
“No thanks,” said Cookie, “I think we both have had enough of the wild.”
Rocky was very much surprised by that. Why would Cookie all of a sudden want to go home? But I’m not going to argue with that though, I feel the same. So Rocky tilted his head in agreement.
“Thank you,” said Rocky, “We will be heading back home, but we will come back sometime to visit.”
Half-ear acknowledged their choice, “I understand, you will always be welcome in the pack.” Then he dispersed the circle and Rocky almost thought he heard him mutter, “I should be visiting home too.”
As the last rays of the evening sun disappeared, Rocky and Cookie said goodbye to the pack and ran at a light gallop towards the town, well, Rocky did, Cookie was riding on his back for the long trip home.
 
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