Is There A Plan? [Zero, Shepherd]

He couldn’t deny it. Wrestling with Shep and Zero was always fun. They didn’t get to do it often, especially not back at home. The sound of one snarl or out-of-tune yowl and someone would scold them. That didn’t really upset Kai much, for sometimes their playing did get a little bit too rough even for him. But sometimes a little rough-housing was good. It, if anything, solidified the fact that he could still be one with his brothers.

Even in his stranded position, backside stuck on whoever he was closest to, he still tried what he could to fight back, kicking his back legs rapidly, sometimes at nothing, sometimes at someone. He couldn’t tell or see. He likely looked as though he were trying to swim rather than fight, but what else was he to do?

The smallest opportunity rose as the pup his back end was stuck on shifted. He managed to plant his front paws in front of him and just lift his chin from the ground when he felt a pair of jaws clamp on his shoulder. It wasn’t really much of a bite, nor did it go inward much, only grabbing a layer of skin. But even as a pup himself he had learned very well how sharp puppy teeth could be. Luckily, despite being the smallest and the most clumsy of the three brothers, Kai was an oddly durable little bugger. He could take a bite to the shoulder, even if it was from the all-mighty Shep.

A big grin crossed his face, his head turning and his jaws reaching out. He managed to bite down on what he assumed was an ear, probably Shep’s, when he felt a sudden force smack him square in the tail. The other kicks had been somewhat smaller and not hard enough to really throw off too much balance, but this kick was different. It probably wasn’t intentional, nor did he know who did it, maybe Zero? But, intentional or not, a hefty kick slammed right into his back legs, his paws tangling up beneath him and his balance immediately capsizing. He felt himself falling forward, eyes going wide. He didn’t mean to, it was done out of panic, but in that moment he truly bit down, almost hoping that Shep’s singular ear would pull him back into balance. But it did not. His whole front half leaned forward, and though his paws reached out to catch himself, he found there was nothing there.

With a yowl, which caused his teeth to release Shep, Kai went rolling forward, right shoulder hitting the dirt that was far more slanted than he remembered. His head bent beneath him, his back legs curled inward and then folding out when they caught air. The ground he had thought was relatively flat ended up being a rather steep hill. This was why he was supposed to watch their surroundings!

With each roll and hit of his shoulders against the ground, the pup released high-pitched yelps and grunts, his speed only increasing. A rolling, tumbling ball of fur, Kai almost felt like it would never stop until the ground shifted again, flattening for less than a second before he temporarily went uphill. He found himself mid-air, paws flailing, before he went through a bush at the bottom of the hill. He hit the ground with a thud, bouncing forward only once.

He laid there unmoving for a minute, and in a moment of dejavu, found his chin planted against the ground.

“Owww….” He lifted his head and shook, bits of dirt falling from his pelt. When he opened his eyes, he actually didn’t feel too badly hurt. Maybe it wasn’t that bad of a tumble? Or maybe it was leftover adrenaline from the short-lived tussle. But his focus didn’t stay on himself for long. Little, round, silver eyes opened wide, a shivering chill running down his spine.

Half-corpse, half-skeleton filled his entire vision. It was huge…

The body lay before him in the middle of a very small clearing, bones protruding from what remained of torn bloody fur and somewhat large scraps of meat. There wasn’t a head in sight, maybe contorted backwards behind the body itself. The fur was a rather plain shade of brown, with bits of darker and lighter mixed in, plus the addition of blood. He couldn’t tell what it was. But this also wasn’t his first thought. He didn’t notice the hooves at the end of the legs, or the tiny tail. All he saw was something large, dead, scary. If he was a different kind of wolf, he could have fit inside of that ribcage. What in the world was this thing?!

“S-S-Shep! Z-Zero!” Panic began to set in, but he couldn’t move, nor could his frightened eyes leave the body. There was nothing else in the clearing, nothing else to catch his attention or break it away. Only the body. His heart beat hard in his chest, his wondrous mind immediately hoping with all its might that this large dead creature wouldn’t suddenly stand up and come after him.

"Speaking." Thinking.

Nearly all wild creatures learn to follow their instincts. It is something that young of all kinds are encouraged to follow, for it is most often what saves you in situations of life and death. Don’t trust any creatures you don’t know. Don’t eat anything you suspect could be deadly or bring you sickness. Don’t go out alone when you can’t protect yourself. And, should you come face to face with a beast that is sure to kill you, a beast that you stand no chance against, a beast you would be a fool to face: run.

As multiple flashes of movement happened at once, Kai bolted. A sliver of his mind was unbelievably grateful that he had been a racer, a wolf built for speed, someone who could get out of situations like these in the blink of an eye. Terror flowed through his body like a rushing river, fear like none he had ever felt before. Where fear moments ago had made his whole body freeze, it now pushed him as hard as he could possibly handle. Trees and plants flew past him in blurry flashes, their shapes and colors lost on unseeing eyes. In that moment, the only thing he could see, the only thing he felt or thought of, was the image of the giant cat standing before him, its eyes wild, blood dripping from its opened maw, giant claws. The thoughts only made him run faster.

He didn’t know where he was, or where he was going. It wasn’t until the land around him grew brighter and light shined ahead that he actually came to, pulled for a moment out of his fear. It grew closer and closer until finally the deep brown and dark-clay-colored pup leapt forward, rolling forward and landing on his side. When his silver eyes even then still full of fear opened, he found that he was no longer surrounded by trees. He looked around, surprised to find that he had actually reached the edge of the forest and was now laying at the start of the expansive meadows that consumed much of the valley.

His sides heaved as he caught his breath, trying to calm down as best as he could, thought his heart pounded in his chest in a fight against it.

“I…I think…we made it…what…what was that thing…was it a ca-” He froze again, eyes looking frantically along the bushes he had just came out of. He waited a minute or two, hoping that he had just been too fast and that his brothers had merely fallen behind. But he heard nothing.

“G-Guys…?” Heart still uncontrollable and breath coming in waves, Kai stood on shaky legs facing the bushes. They had followed him, right? He knew his brothers, he knew how they were. Both of them took every opportunity to put themselves in danger, to explore, to face any challenge head on. A part of him admired them for that, for that was something he found he was unable to do. He loved learning, sure, but learning in an environment where he knew he was safe. He came on these adventures with them because he loved them and didn’t want to ruin all of their fun, even though he still did that almost every time. He knew that they loved having fun. But…..they weren’t stupid enough to face off against…whatever that thing had been. They couldn’t be. That thing had been huge, it had killed a giant elk presumably on its own, and it had not looked happy that they were playing around its meal. Just looking at it, that beast could probably eat any one of them whole and still have room for the other two. Three of them versus one or not, they were pups, and that thing was huge, angry, and hungry. There was no chance in all stars that they would come even close to giving it a single scratch, much less defeating it. They knew that, right? They….they wouldn’t stay…..they wouldn’t have challenged it…..they couldn’t…..

“S-Shep?.......Z-Zero…?.......Guys? A-Are you…..just….trying to scare me?.....This…..it's not funny!..............G-guys…..?” The more he called out, the more he spoke, the more that his fear overtook him again and the more the hope and relief drained from his body. No….I told them that it was dangerous…..I told them that something was still there…..I told them that we should have left it alone…..they couldn’t have tried to fight it….they couldn’t…they would….I have to….

His body trembling like a leaf, he jumped forward, ready to rush back into the bushes, but his legs froze. Staring into the leaves, into the darkness, he couldn’t move. Something was stopping him, something he couldn’t control. There was something wrong, something he couldn’t quite place. The beast….didn’t follow him…did it? His legs tensed and remained planted in place. His eyes darted in front of him, looking for anything, any sign of movement. Something was there, he knew it was. Was it Shep or Zero? Was it the beast? He couldn’t smell anything, or see anything.

Maybe…it’s nothing…nothing is there…

He took a step forward. Crack! He froze again. Something was definitely there. He waited a few seconds, hoping it was his imagination. And then there were eyes. His heart skipped multiple beats and his paws shook. Just as he went to open his mouth, whatever was in the bushes moved forward. He readied himself to jump backwards if it was the beast from before. But it wasn’t. It was a wolf. Not Zero or Shep, nor anyone from the Vertok. But a wolf nonetheless.

The wolf spoke, but their words found unlistening ears. He looked passed them, peering through their legs into the bushes behind them. “B-B-Brothers……i-in trouble……m-monster….h-help….”

"Speaking." Thinking.