 Used with permission |
©: T. L. SevenMornings
She peaked out of the den, the morning had yet to begin. The darkness slipped slowly from the mountain tops, replaced with the dark purples of the day to come.
The young wolf's eyes could see into the shadows of the darkness of the valley below.
She could see a bull elk nipping leaves from bushes at the base of the hill. The leaves newly grown, tender yet, the old bull stripping the branches feeding his growing antlers.
She looked down towards the stream in the distance, a small herd of does and fawns fed along it's edge.
The dawn was getting closer now, purples chased away by oranges and reds.
Her eyes squinting as she looked over the rim watching the sun begin to peak over its edge. Slowly she stepped out of the den's entry.
The young she wolf stretched catlike, her tail curling tight over her back. She had slimmed out and lengthened during the winter.
Lil One yawned as she stretched, her toe nails reaching out into the stone, she pulled herself forward.
The little wolf peaked over the edge of the stone looking down into the shale below, her tongue slipping out as she panted.
Gray diggers played in the shale, slipping in and out of holes hidden in the rubble.
Her eyes darting back and forth, her tail wagging slowly as she watched. Her paws shuffling as she gazed at the ground squirrels below.
Her legs stretching yet farther in front of her as she scooted over the shale watching. A small gray rodent looked up spying the movement above. Lil One looked down watching the stones below her pretending not to see the squirrels. Slowly she turned her head looking to the forest below.
A chirping call filled the air as the little rodent stamped its feet, barking a warning to all who would listen.
The young she wolf cringed as she heard the call go out, making a soft huffing sound of disgust, soft dust floats up from around her muzzle. Gray squirrels stood up on their hind legs all over the shale slide. She had never seen so many.
Lil One moved back from the edge again stretching and yawning, she turned and began to walk back to the den when as usual her brothers burst from the entry rolling over each other more than anything. One big ball of fur, somewhere in the middle, a shredded gull's feather kept their full attention.
A look of disgust crept over the little female's face as she watched the two rolling past her, squirrels flying into the shale below them. The two never heard or saw the rodents rushing for cover as the brothers rolled over the edge and down the shale face.
Lil One looked over the edge, a growing smile of contentment reaching from ear to ear as she saw the feather floating in the currents of air above the brothers.
Two fuzzy dirty faces lifted from the swirling dust clouds staring at the rising feather as it slowly floated side to side, up and up, catching draft after draft. Two sets of eyes watched the feather climb up to the ledge then a sudden gust lifted it up higher.
Before their eyes, a cream colored muzzle peaked past the lip catching the feather from the currents.
Looking down at her brothers Lil One grinned, bit down on the feather, turned, padded off to her flat stone, her tail curled so tight, it touched her back. She lay comfortably watching the sun rise slowly now, awakening their green valley below.
The young she wolf, quite pleased with her luck, lay her paw over the feather. She watched as her brothers scramble up the shale face stopping to fight again and again. Each time the two would engage they would end up lower than when they started.
She was so glad not to be a silly boy. She closed her eyes, soaking up the morning light.
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