10 years ago.

The leaves dance with the soothing wind as it flows across the big trees of the forest. Different colored leaves, ranging from green to red, begin to slowly descend in a swaying motion into the depths below. Some gently land onto the ground, while others fall into a calm, crystal clear lake, creating tiny rings in the water as they make impact with the still liquid.

Although the sun is shining with all it's glory up above, the atmosphere itself is quite chilly. Fresh air from the snowy mountains in the horizon rushes down into the forest, foretelling all the dawn of the winter season vastly approaching.

Amidst the forest, the flowers begin to rustle. Soon, noises of footsteps begin to arise from all directions. From the shadows, a pack of wolf demi-humans carefully make their way towards the lake.

12 of them in total, all male and wearing full self-made animal skin clothing. Compressed of different animal skins such as rabbit hide to deer hide, they're roughly stitched together to make up their boots, trousers, and tunics. The one leading the group is a very tall man with a muscular body. His right amber eye alone speaks with the most profound wisdom, and with a sturdy face structure that demands respect. Battle scars run along his body with the most noticeable one being across his left eye. Wolf ears that appear tiny compare to the rest of his body protrude from his dirty grey hair. He wields a giant spear, most men wouldn't be able to carry, on his back as he commands the others using nothing more than body language.

They target a boar near the lake, and with the leader's orders, they all separate and surround the unaware boar.

The leader gives the signal, and the closest one throws their spear! Slash! It hits the target! But it isn't enough to bring it down, the boar squeals as it runs into the forest!

Two other hunters appear and throw their spears! However, the boar narrowly dodges them, only receiving minor scratches as it runs even further into the dense forest.

"After it!!" Yells the leader as he dashes off into the forest, being followed by the rest of them.

Their speed is inhuman, they all chase the boar in an organised fashion while moving about the woods like a blur!

"Haaayaarh!" The leader chucks his spear upwards! With gravity guiding his spear, he hits the boar right on his throat with pinpoint accuracy!

It instantly kills the boar before it even knows what hit him as it falls flat on the ground. The men cheer for the successful hunt as they surround the now freshly killed boar.

They all smile with joy as they pat the leader on his back before they all in unison take a knee. Without uttering a single word, they close their eyes and clasp their hands together. Thanking mother nature for the food and giving a prayer to the boar.

After a quick prayer, they all open their eyes and glance at each other.

"Well then chief, since you were the one who killed the boar, I believe you should be the one who gets first dibs," says the one next to him.

He lets out a light smile by his comment, but he shakes his head.

"Winter is quickly approaching us, thanks Harnses for the offer, but I believe the men who have the bigger family should take priority first," he says before turning his head to the one directly in front of him.

"Richy, you have a total of 7 members in your household correct? Go ahead and make the first slice," says the chief as he hands Richy a sharp stone dagger.

Richy instinctively pulls back, almost reluctant to take the dagger despite the chief insistently pushing the dagger onto Richy's chest.

"A-are you sure about this chief? Don't you have a family of your own?" says Richy.

The chief lets out a light chuckle as his smile becomes bigger.

"My family is much smaller compared to yours, I only have two pups and a loving wife," he says while still pushing the dagger onto Richy's chest, he finally gives in and sighs.

"Ay Merek, what about me, your old man and your mother, did you forget about us?" says the older one of the group in a sarcastic manner, making the pact laugh as Merek lets out a playful smile.

"Shut up old man, you're always insisting on tagging along instead of enjoying your days at home with mother. So you're gonna be responsible to bring the food to mother," says Merek in a less serious tone.

His father just smugs and lets out a sassy shrug.

"I can't just stay at home all day, these achy bones will get restless on me. I still need to teach you younglings everything I know, after all, you guys would have never caught the boar without MY help," he says with a 'you can thank me already' expression plastered on his face. The whole pact laughs again by his words.

Even though Merek's father has become nothing but an old man. Everyone still treats him with as much respect as the current chief himself, his son. His father has been the chief for many decades, protecting and guiding his people through the worst of situations life throws at them and led them to survival. He was a spectacular leader and a legendary warrior back in his prime who sacrificed his life on many occasions for the sake of his people. Everybody looked up to him, including his son who trained very hard to live up to his legacy. Merek soon then became chief after winning the chief competition that is held every decade for the role.

With his son taking the torch, he can now live an easy life until his passing. However, even in his retirement, he still tries help out in any way he can.

Richy finishes cutting his piece of the meal and hands the dagger to the next person in line. As the day slowly passes, they all cut their own piece, including the bones, and leave nothing left to make sure the boar's death isn't in vain. Before they store it in a leather bag and then they all walk together in a certain direction.

Inside the heart of the village.

Tiny puffs of smoke flutter onto the sky from the house's chimney down below. The houses themselves are more like huts with a round base structure and a V shape roof, they were solely made up of clay and mud.

The village itself is quite small and hidden amongst the trees. Nature lives with the inhabitants as grass makes up the majority of the ground, and with a stone pathway leading through the village. Many birds make their landing on the trees nearby; not too concerned with the people surrounding them as they go to their nest to feed their young.

Many wolf-like demi-humans walk around the village. The adults and elderly take their time to stroll around, enjoying the fresh air and greeting the other adults who they happen to pass by as they walk towards their destination, going to another house, visiting the shops, or venturing off the village.

The teenagers hang around in the woods, snickering amongst each other as they climb the trees or play with a leather ball. And the children, they are running along the village, completely oblivious to the people around them, in their own little world as they scream and laugh while playing tag.

Among the people, there's a child walking hand and hand with her grandma, guiding her with a cheery smile that can rival the sun's brightness itself.

"C'mon grandma!! My dad is gonna arrive anytime soon! We can't get there late!!" says the little one as she hastefully tugs at her grandmother's hand.

The little one's smile is contagious enough to make the grandmother smile. She's a tiny grey fluffy ball of pure happiness, enough to melt even the coldest of hearts. Even though she tells her grandma to hurry, she walks with her grandmother every step of the way and offers her hand as support for her elder. She's extra careful not to harm her grandma, and never throughout the stroll does she ever leave her side or got annoyed at her grandmother's pace.

"Hold on Alice! Let's sit here, let me recover my strength Alice," says her grandmother as she stops and points at the public bench next to them.

Alice nearly trips by the sudden weight on her arm before she turns around. She glances over to her grandmother with her large pupils and tilts her head to the side, with an innocent confusion arising on her face.

She's still too young to understand the concept of time and what it does to an aging person, but she nonetheless grins brightly and nods.

"Ok!!"

She hops onto the bench and sways her legs back and forth with a happy go lucky smile on her face.

Alice's home.

"We're home mama!!" Shouts a cheerful Alice as she opens the door to her house.

The fresh scent of food breezes around Alice like a warm blanket as she takes in a lung full, before exhaling with her stomach growling.

"Welcome home Alice, where's grandma Milka?" Says the mom while she stirs the pot.

Alice leaps to the side in an adorable manner before presenting the person behind her.

"Right here mama! She's right here!"

The grandma enters the house with an appreciative smile for Alice, before she turns to face her daughter-in-law who has become a mature woman right before her eyes.

"Good evening, Alina."

Says the grandma as she waves to greet. Alina turns around and beams.

"Good evening mother."

As they both greet each other, another person in the room hastefully wipes down the table and rushes over to the two.

She appears almost identical to Alice in both age and physical features, though she's a bit taller, and in complete contrast to Alice, she has black hair with grey fangs.

"Grandma!" Says the child as she hugs the visit with the same cheerful expression as Alice, though her voice sounds more composed and relaxed compared to her sister.

The grandma returns the hug and strokes her head.

"Ahh, I was wondering where you have gone off to Annabelle," says the grandma with a light grin.

She rubs her head across her grandma's clothes with a bright smile as her tail sways excitedly from side to side.

"Sorry for not going grandma! I was helping my mother cut the vegetables and doing some final preparations for later tonight."

The grandma's grin widens with pure joy in her eyes as she continues to stroke Annabelle's ears and hair.

" . . . You're growing up so quickly Annabelle. I'm so proud of you . . ." Says the grandma as she tickles Annabelle's ears as a reward. She giggles uncontrollably as they separate from each other, she gives one last glance of pride to her grandma before turning to Alice, who's watching the both of them with a bubbly smile.

"A job well done Alice! Here's your reward," says Annabelle as she pats Alice on the head. She beams as her hands tighten, trying her hardest to contain her happiness from exploding, but both her smile and tail fail to show restraint.

With preparations nearly complete, they all sit down, and await the men to come home.

Later down the day, the sun is beginning to set.

The group of hunters have just arrived at their little village with their sacks of food over their shoulder after a long trip. They all begin to say their farewells, congratulating the chief for his sharp hunting skills once more before they all go their separate ways. The chief's father tags along with him, saying that his pumpkin awaits him at his place.

Merek chuckles at the thought of his mother being a pumpkin, but he agrees nevertheless. Walking side by side with his old man through the stone path with the day ending. . .

"Honey I'm home~" Says Merek as he opens the door.

The sweet scent in the air catches him by surprise as he opens his eyes widely. He almost didn't recognize the house as the whole place is decorated with ornaments and many hand made paintings with the letters spelling "Happy Birthday!"

"Happy Birthday papa!!"

"Happy Birthday dad!!"

His two daughters rush in from their hiding places and give their father a welcoming hug! His wife and his mother appear from the kitchen with a bowl filled with stew in their hands, and a smile plastered on their faces. His father enters his house, smiling cheekily as they all say happy birthday one more time.

Merek is at a loss for words, it takes him a minute before it finally registers in his head.

From his stone cold, manly face.

A smile forms on his lips. .

Alina places the bowl onto the table before turning to her husband.

"C'mon now, the stew is gonna get cold. Today, I wanted to spoil you with your favorite stew, rabbit stew," Alina gently pats the chair before going to the kitchen to serve more bowls.

Alice nuzzles up against his clothes before turning to face him with a bright smile.

"C'mon papa! Let's go eat!"

Merek shoulder's relaxes as he pats Alice, and glances over to everyone with an appreciative expression.

". . Geez . . . I thought I told you guys to skip my birthday to spare food for the winter," says Merek, and his mother shakes her head to respond.

"Nonsense sweety, we will never skip your birthday, now sit down and enjoy the stew your wife and daughter worked so hard to make," says his mother in an assertive manner, almost scolding the chief himself for thinking such thoughts.

His old man tugs at his shoulder and nods to him.

"Let's go eat, son."

Merek quickly gives in, and sits down with the rest of the family following suit.

With the night young, they happily dine together as a big family. They soon engaged in some chatter and laugh together under the cover of the night. The atmosphere is lively to say the least. They all dance and sing to the moon, enjoying themselves to the fullest as they play family party games with the alcohol from the red wine influencing their decisions. The ones who are sober have a ton of giggles escape their lips as they try their hardest not to laugh.

Although the party felt magical, all things must come to a close. The party soon came to a close with Merek's parents saying their farewells and congratulating their son once more for the special occasion. With their eyelids feeling heavy, Alice and Annabelle give in to the night and make their ways to their beds.

As Alice is laying upon her bed.

She can't help but smile . . .

Although today isn't anything out of the ordinary, today meant the world to her. It's like a dream . . .

A dream . . . That she never wants to wake up from . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . .

Light begins to consume her vision.

Although her body feels as heavy as a boulder. She slowly opens her eyes with the gentle wind nuzzling her body.

Tears are trailing down her face as her eyes widened in shock. She almost couldn't believe it, she touches her face and feels the sensation of her tears rolling down.

She slowly gets up.

Her hands start to tremble uncontrollably as she begins to cry with a smile on her face.

Has a miracle happened?

Axel stares on with his back against the tree and tilts his head in confusion.

"What's wrong?" He asks.

Her legs nearly give out on her and she tries her hardest to wipe the tears away. He stares utterly confused, she appears to be on the verge of breaking, and yet she's smiling, two opposite emotions that you would think wouldn't be possible.

She flashes him a smile as she begins to calm down.

"I-it's nothing . . . . I just had a wonderful dream . ." She replies, grasping her chest with her tail wagging.

Axel scratches his chin and huffs while turning his head. He gets up, and begins to clean up. Alice follows suit and they both quickly work together to gather up their stuff and hit the road. With Alice, smiling brightly throughout the whole ordeal.