That night as Scarlet slept she she drempt of all the fun her and Cliff used to have. At around 4:00 she woke up. It was still dark out but she could still see perfectly fine. As she got up and stretched ready to move on and travel some more she noticed that another wold was in the cave with her.

"Who is that?" she thought. "She looks like she's a friendly wolf. Hmm......I think I'll go get something to eat and if she's still here when I get back I'll wake her up and see if she's hungry." she said quietly to herself careful not to wake up the stranger. So she carefuly stepped over the sleeping wolf and headed out to hunt.

When she got back it was nearly 5:30. She was carrying a big chunk of deer meat in her mouth. She laid it down in front of the still sleeping guest and lightly tapped her head with her paw. "Hey, glad your awake. I brought you some food. I thought you might be hungry."

Scarlet watched as the she-wolf lowered her head in submission, but not being around other wolves much growing up she was confused by the action.

"What's wrong? Do you not like venicen? I could go get something different if you would prefer something else. Or....are you afraid of me because of my red eyes?" Scarlet started rambaling.

Kiki just stared at Scarlet, "Can I really trust this wolf?" she thought.

Still puzzled over what the visitor had ment by lowering her head she looked at her and spoke again, "Well, you don't have to answer me. The food is there if you want it. If for some reason you wish to find me you will find me farther up the path and if I'm not there then you will know that I have decided to start traveling again." With that Scarlet turned around and padded out of the cave.

As she walked on towards a small cliff that overlooked a small waterfall she began to think back to when her and Cliff were young and when she was still in her mothers pack. She stopped and sat down on a rock near the edge of the cliff and began to relive the old days.

(now you are going to get a glempse at Scarlet's past at this point in the post. The italicized part of this post is Scarlet's daydream just for the record)

She was walking along the bank of a small pond that had a waterfall comming down from one of the cliff edges. She watched the water as it came crashing down over the edges of the cliff, i was one of her few escapes to be able to sit on the bank and watch the water and think. Out of nowhere a pup around her age pounces on her pinning her to the ground.

"I got ya again didn't I Scar," she heard the attacker say.

"Oh, it's just you, Cliff. There for a min I thought it was one of my brothers or sisters comming to try and kill me again."

"No. It's just me." he said as he walked away and then turned around to help Scarlet up. "I came to see what was wrong. I went and asked your mom where you were and she said you weren't there, that yoyu had stormed off. She asked me if I knew where you were and I said no. After that I came here cause I know that whenever somethings wrong you always come here to think. So what happened, or do you want to talk about it?"

As Cliff finished Scarlet looked up at him with a tear stained face. "Mom beat me again." she said as he looked into her eyes and noticed that her eye was swollen.

"Oh, God. I'm sorry. Is there anything I can do? You know I'm always here for you and I always will be even after we are grown."

"Well..... not really, except do you think-" at that moment she was cut off in mid sentance as her mother showed up and started to talk.

"There you are, I knew if I followed Cliff that I would find you. Now I think that it's best if you go home now Cliff."  Scarlet's mother, Vinnet, said looking at the two pups.

With a horrified look on his face Cliff turned to Scarlet and wispered,"Good luck...If you can, come find me later." With that he ran towards his home.

As Cliff dissapeared from sight Scarlet's mother ran toward her, and she felt fear starting to grip her she turned and ran but she wasn't fast enough. "You little...."

(now we are returning to present time, you'll find out what happened to Scarlet later)

Scarlet's thoughts were interrupted when she heard a twig break nearby, behind her. She turned around to face another wolf but it wasn't the wolf that she had found in the cave with her this morning it was another wolf. The wolf looked tough and she couldn't tell if he was friendly or not. Just then she heard another sound to the side of her. She turned her head slightly and from the corner of her eye she saw the she-wolf from this morning.

Scarlet looked back at the wolf standing in front of her. He was a Timber Wolf bigger than the average Timber. She also noticed that he had a scar running across his face and muzzle. As she stared at him he began to talk to her.

"I see that I have finally found you, Scarlet." He began.

"What!?!?! How do you know my name?" she inquired.

"I-" he started, but he stopped and sighed. "You honestly-" just then he realized that he and Scarlet wern't alone that there was another female wolf nearby. "I'll be back to finish what I have set out to do later." he said as he turned around. With one leap into the bushes nearby he vanished and was gone for sight.

After the male had vanished the she-wolf from earlier that morning came up to her and sat down. Scarlet wondered what this could possably be about. Then she herd Kiki speak.

"Would you permit me to travel alongside you?"

Scarlet hadn't expected this so she sat there and thought for a moment. "Well she seems like a good wolf but the truth is I don't know if I can trust her. I mean she could be a wolf sent by my sibblings to kill me, I mean it wouldn't be the first time that they tried to pull something like that. At the same time though it is rather lonely traveling by myself. Well, either way it would be nice to have some company even if she might be here to kill me. I'll let her come, and learn more about her and then I'll make my judgement, who knows, I may have even found a friend in her." With those final thoughts she replied, "Yes, It will be nice to have some company. Especially since he showed up. Anyways, allow me to introduce myself. I am Scarlet, Scarlet Whitetail. You can call me Scar for short if you wish."

"Well Kiki, it probably wouldn't be such a bad idea if we did considdering we still don't know weather he is friendly or not." having said this Scarlet turned around and began to trot off. She had only gone a yard or so when she stopped and turned around to see Kiki still sitting there. "Are you comming?"

"Yeah, sorry." she said as she stood to follow.

After they had been walking for awhile in silence Kiki broke the silence, "So.....where are we going anyways?"

"Well, I'm not sure. I just travel because that's all I've ever known since my mother abandoned me. You know she really hated me that's why she disowned me and left me to fend for myself and chased me out of the pack territory and told me to never come back...." she atarted rambaling never taking her eyes off of what was in front of her. There was silence for a moment, all was silent even the birds and squirls and other animals of the forest, the only sound to be heard was that of two different sets of paws lightly, gently padding across the forest floor. "You don't want to hear about that though do you," she said breaking the odd silence once more.

Hearing that Kiki actually wanted to hear her story was a supprise for any other wolf that she had tried to tell it to had always refused saying that they would rather not. As they walked she began to tell her history starting with her young life while she was her mother's pack and of all the times her mother beat her and how her sibblings tried to kill her on several occasions. After a little while she even got to the part of her story that she had relived before that male wolf showed up.

"When she came chasing after me she caught me fairly easily and cornered me. After she made it to where I couldn't escape her grasp she began the torture. She beat me bit me slung me around after I had gotten to the point where I couldn't move because of blood loss. When she thought for sure I would die she picked me up by the scruff and carried me to a place that I had never seen before and just tossed me and walked away never to return." Scarlet said through clouded eyes. "I somehow was able to find the strength t move myself to a stream that way I could drink water. Until I learned how to hunt I just scavenged and ate berries, they tasted horrible but I did what I had to, to survive. After I was healed I just basically started traveling, having no set destination just a wanderer, a loner. Not now though, now I have you to talk to and travel with."

After she had finished the silence returned, as she waited fopr Kiki's responce and for the story of her past.

"I'm really sorry that all that happened to you but you know its not your fault. In any case its..." she paused and looked up at the sun," its about past lunch time you, so are you hungry cause it doesn't matter to me I can go days without eating but we can stop and eat if your hungry."

Kiki was fixing to reply when outof no where a wolf cme and pounced on Scarlet and then leaped a few feet away waiting for her to get up. As she got up she noticed a male wolf but a different male than the last one that had caught her off guard. She looked at him and was startled to find that it was her brother, Ornlu.

"I see you have finally found someone to take pitty on you, or ....," he started talking but was cut short by Scarlet plowing into him with her head, it hit right below his neck sending hiw backwards.

"Save it brother, I know what your here for but you are not going to succede." Scarlet said.

"Well its a good thing that our hired assasins didn't kill you because killing you myself will be much more satisfying." he said as he lunged at her.

Scarlet met her brother blow for blow. They tore at each others flesh, going for each other's throats. She lunged forward jaws open seeking contact with any oposing flesh it found. It hit its mark, she got a hold of his neck and started using her paws doing what damage she could before she was hit back. He lunged at her and over shot it he landed a fe feet away from her as he turned around she saw the perfect opertunity to lunge at his throat. She was about to go forward when she heard her name being called by someone but it wasn't Kiki, she turned her head to see a wolf running towards them with a concerned and worried look on its face.

"Look out!!!!" Kiki screamed but was too late even as she said it Ornlu sunk his fangs deep into Scarlet's neck. He was about to chomp down on her jugular vein when he was tackled by the wolf that had called Scarlet's name durring her fight with her brother. The newcomer eventually defeated Ornlu and he lay there drifting into the blackness, silence, and peaceful sleep of death. Before he was compleately consumed he spoke.

"Darn you Cliff. Why did you have to show up, why did you have to care for...." he never got to finish his sentance for at that moment death fully took hold on him never to let go.

Scarlet was on the ground gasping for air. When she looked up to see the male from this morning standing over her.

"Are you the one that saved me?" she asked through her small deep gasps for air.

"Sshhshshshshshshhhh. just calm down. Here let me help you up." he said bending down to help her up. When she looked up into his not red splatered face she realized that she had seen him somewhere, she wasn't sure where but when he looked into her eyes she saw something she recognized. It was a look she hadn't seen in a long time, only one wolf ever looked at her that way, it was Cliff.

"I can't beieve it.....after all this time I finally get to see you once again and now I don't even know what to say except I'm glad to see you my old friend." she said still bewildered at what what going on.

Their thoughts interrupted they looked over at Kiki. They had forgotten she was there because she was being so quiet.

"Oh, sorry I didn't mean to be rude. Where are my manners? Yes, my name is Cliff, "he replied a little embarased that he hadn't bothered to introduce his self.

"Sorry Kiki. I hadn't expected to run into Cliff and when I realized it was him I was so bewildered I forgot about everything else."she said. "Oh, Cliff this is Kiki. She is the one I've been traveling with for past little while."

"Nice to meet you Kiki. You wouldn't mind me taging along would you? I mean Scar is hurt and I don't doubt your fighting abilities but you may need some help fighting off unfriendly visitors, especially if there's more than one of them."

She thought how she should aproach the question for a minuet then finally answered.

"Well to be quite honest.....most of them are, but not all, there were a few exceptions a few. For instance out of my 19 sibblings only 3 actually like me and don't try to kill me, Zepher, Evergreen,and Bailian. Outside the family nearly everyone likes me such as Cliff and his family although I'm not quite sure why his family liked me so much I mean half the time I was there they would treat me like I was one of theirs and even nicer some times. Besides....I'm rambaling again aren't I? Sorry it's just that I like company and well I'm not accustomed to having company yet and well there are so many things that I have just wanted to tell someone, anyone in fact one time it got so bad I went and started talking to a complete stranger and just talked them for hours before they got anoyed and told me to leave." she said as she rambled on. "Anyways I guess we should find some place to stay for tonight considdering it is getting late and we have traveled quite a distance today."

"I agree, plus Cliff and you need to recouperate from that fight with.........uhhhh, I don't think I caught his name," Kiki said.

"Ornlu."

"Oh, well.....Cliff and you need to recouperate from that fight with Ornlu."

Scarlet watched Kiki fall slowly asleep on the rock she was perched on, as she herself lay down under a massive old oak.

Relaxing her muscles and clearing her mind she slowly drifted into sleep. A dreamless sleep was what visited her. It began to get cold as time passed, and it got later and later.She felt herself shivering in her sleep as the wind picked up and got in between the single hairs that made up her fur, brushing her skin underneath it. Then after awhile of shivering she suddenly felt warm. She had no idea how long she had been asleep but when she woke she saw that she wasn't alone under the tree. Cliff had come and laid down beside her; blocking the wind and transfering warmth from his much thicker coat to her body warming her up. As she looked at him she felt a smile start to creep onto her muzzle.

"Is it possible that I actually feel different towards Cliff. I mean I've always thought of him as a friend but is it possible that over the time we have been apart that I have developed an actual attraction to him and think of him in a different sence deep down? Only time will tell I suppose."

With those thoughts Scarlet lay her head back down this time even closer to Cliff's. Maybe just maybe there was hope maybe deep down she hoped she was in love and that he loved her back but there was always that little problem of hers that made her think that no one would ever want her or be interrested in her, letalone want her as a mate. She couldn't possibly do that though even if he was to ask her to become his mate....could she? It would be akward between us after that wouldn't it?

"Only time will tell," she thought, "Only time will tell." With those final thoughts she sighed and drifted into a deep sleep as a pair of friendly eye's watched from above on a rock.

"Well......I fell a little better after the nap but I did lose a lot of blood.....why don't we stay here for the night and decide in the morning." As Scarlet responded to Kiki's question she noticed that Cliff was looking at her, and she caught something in his eye, something that had never been there before. She wasn't sure of what it was, or weather it was a good thing or a bad thing.

"Ok, sounds like a plan."

"Ok, it's settled then, we'll stay the night and then make our decision in the morning. As for right now though, none of us have eaten anything since this morning and its WAY past lunch time, so why don't we find something to eat. I could go for some squirl myself personally, what about you, Cliff?"

"Just whatever we can find really. I'm not picky." Cliff said.

"Ok, well...what about you Kiki what would you like to eat, or are you even hungry"

After walking silently through the forest for a while they came upon a small clearing and in the clearing there was a young buck. Scarlet looked at Cliff and Kiki and nodded signaling that this is what they were going to try andbring down since it was the only thing they could find.

Scarlet looked straight at Cliff and tilted her head in the direction she wanted him to come from. She did the same for Kiki and then she positioned herself in between them. All three were in positions where they could not be smelled or detected. One thing Scarlet wasn't used to was hunting in a group so this was different for her. As she waited for Cliff and Kiki to reach their posts she thought to herself and she just hoped that she could adapt to hunting in a group fast that way she wouldn't keep the others from doing a good job on the hunt.

Slowly she began to move forward behind the buck. The others followed comming from their own angles forming a big triangle type shape around their prey. As soon as they were all ranging from 75 to 50 yards away from their target they began to move at lightning speed making towards their target. The buck heard them at that point and began to dart towards the direction Kiki was positioned. The buck didn't see her in time, she pounced, bulls eye. She had a hold on the throat. This slowed it down giving Cliff and Scarlet time to get there and help her hold it still so the suffocating of the animal would be eaiser. It tried one, twice, three times to buck them off, each time it failed. After the fourth time it finally went down too exausted to fight back any more.

The trio looked at each other's blood stained muzzles. Happiness and joy shown on all their faces, happy at the outcome of the hunt. After making sure Kiki didn't want any Cliff and Scarlet began to eat. Cliff hadn't eaten in days so he ate more than Scarlet did. Scarlet ate just enough to replinish her strength from the fight with Ornlu earlier.

As soon as they were done they picked up a few chunks and headed back to the clearing where they had rested earlier. Not long after they had gotten back and hidden the food in a small hole under a rock Kiki aproached Scarlet and Cliff.

"Can I talk with you guys for a minuet?"

"Sure what's on your mind Kiki?" Scarlet asked as she walked over to a small nearby bolder and laid down in the shade that it provided.

Scarlet turned to Cliff and then back to Kiki with a shocked look on her face. She didn't know what to think about Kiki's suggestion of forming a small pack. At a loss for words she turned looked back at Cliff just as he was stepping forward.

"Well, I think its a great idea. What about you Scar?" Cliff said looking in Scarlet's direction.

"Well.... I...uhhh.....it's a good idea I suppose I mean I just wasn't expectig the topic to come up, but it would be nice to live in a pack again," Scar replied, "but," she contined, turning towards Kiki, "won't it be a lot of work to start a pack, get new member, and mark and defend our territory? I mean I'm all for it but won't it be a lot of work for just the three of us?"

"Its ok Kiki,I just like to try and guess what is to come sometimes so I just have habbit of looking ahead and thinking about things like that. Anywho, I would like to form a pack cause you know I've been traveling for so long I have forgotten what it was like to stay in one area.So-" Scarlet started.

"Its the same reason that I agree as well." Cliff cut in.

"Yes, now as I was saying...." Scarlet said glaring at Cliff for the intruption, "when are we going to start scouting the area for other packs to see where our compitition will be?" Scarlet said looking back at Kiki. "If you want we can split up and go and scout the area right now and then meet back here at dusk.....if you want that is."

"I'm positive that it is ok. Also I know we haven't known each other very long but I already consider you a friend and I trust you." Scarlet replied trying to reasure Kiki that it was ok.

"I second that." Cliff chimed in.

"I guess we could start scouting right now. Someone will need to go scout to the noth, northeast, and northwest. Someone else will need to scout the land to the west, southwest, and south. The remaing wolf will have to scout the east, southeast, and northeast-east, if that makes any sence. So, who wants to go where?" Scarlet said looking at her companions waiting for an answer.

"I'll scout the east, southeast, and the northeast-east." Cliff said eager to get started on the mission.

"Ok, that leaves the north, northeast, and northwest. Along with the west, southwest, and south. Myself personally, I don't care where I go just as long as I'm helping to work towards building the pack. What area do you want to scout, Kiki?" Scarlet asked.

"Well, I would say that it best to meet back here at sun down. Is that alright with everyone?" Scarlet asked.

Kiki and Cliff looked at eachother and responded simultaneously, "That's fine with us."

"Ok, we'll meet back here at sun down then. Take care and be safe everyone." Scarlet said as she turned around and headed towards the South.

~LATER~

After Scarlet had been walking South for awhile she stopped and changed direction, for she had found nothing in that direction, and started walking towards the Southwestern part of the territory. When it began to get dark she turned to head back to camp.

When she arrived at camp she noticed that she had been the first to return. Settling down near the tree she had laid under earlier she laid down to wait on the others but soon found herself asleep.

After sleeping fo quite some time she felt a thump on her head and she woke up and raised her head to only be staring into the eyes of someone very familiar to her.

Seeing Kiki in front of her she stood up. "Is Cliff back as well, or do you know?" she asked as she went to go get a drink from the stream that was fifteen feet away from the tree.

"No, I don't think he is back yet. If he is I haven't seen him." she answered. "While I was out scouting I did find something. I found a fresh scent of other wolves near by."

"Ok. Do you think we should go investigate more once Cliff gets back?"

"I think it would be a good idea because the longer we wait about investigating the colder the trail is going to get and the harder it will be for us to follow it."

"I agree."

Just then Cliff bounded into the clearing. "Sorry I'm late. Anyways did you guys find anything because I didn't," he said as he trotted over towards the other two.

"I didn't find anything, but Kiki did." Scarlet replied. "Kiki where exactly did you find the scent and exactly how old was it?" Scarlet asked turning back towards Kiki.

"Well, I found it in the Northeast. It' hard to say exactly how old the trail is but it couldn't be no more than a couple of hours old, if that." Kiki replied, "So," she continued, "when do you want me to lead the way to where I found the scent?"

Scarlet looked at Cliff, there eye's met and an exchange of silent messages passed between them in that moment. They had known each other so long that they could tell what the other was thinking just by looking into the others eyes and looking at the facial expressions. After a few seconds passed Scarlet looked back at Kiki, and replied with the answer that had exchanged between Cliff and her, “Yes.”

"Ok, follow me then." Kiki said bounding through the brush.

They moved swiftly through the forest and after tem minuets they reached the spot.

"This is where I found it." Kiki said looking back at her companions.

"Hmmm........*sniff**sniff**sniff* smells like there has been a fire nearby recently," Scarlet said as she sniffed the air picking up hints of old burned wood.

“Yea, I forgot to mention that.” Kiki said.

“It’s ok. Anyway, let’s see if we can find that other wolf that’s around here.” Scarlet said as Cliff and her reached Kiki’s side.

Cliff and Kiki nodded in silent agreement to what Scar had said, and they all began to move forward again, in silence, all pondering over what they might find.