So day two. Today we will be doing a huge hunt. So each team gets a set of animals that they have to catch. The first team to catch all of the animals needed wins.

There were five teams in the games when we started yesterday. One team has four wolves. Two teams have five wolves. And the last two teams, mine and Stacy's, have six wolves. Now there are only three teams because after the relay race, the last two teams were eliminated from the games.

The last two teams yesterday were the four-wolf team and one of the five-wolf teams. Today, one of the remaining teams will be eliminated from the games. The remaining two teams will face off in a routine tomorrow.

The animals that we have to catch are three birds, two squirrels, two rabbits, and a caribou. Our team's strategy is to split up into groups and get certain animals.

Brian and Molly will get the three birds. Leonardo and Lucy will get the two squirrels. And Leo and I will get the two rabbits. Finally, we will all catch the caribou as a team.

I'm kind of worried about Lucy because of her paw. Granted, she has done a lot better since we left the healer's caves yesterday, but I'm still really worried that she will get hurt or get worse.

Lucy just says I worry too much, but I told her that someone has to worry. And it might as well be me since I'm the captain of the team.

All five teams line up at their group's spot. There is a medium-sized hole in the ground behind us for the prey we catch. Whenever we catch a required animal, we just bring it back and put it in the hole.

We all get ready to take off. Finally, the starting howl echoed throughout the forest and the plains. We all dashed off to our different hunting spots.

Leo and I ran side-by-side through the plains. We turned to look at each other and smiled. We were a great team. And not just us. All of our friends work together to create the best team possible.

Suddenly, I am jerked out of my thoughts as a smell fills my nostrils. I stop abruptly and slide as I made four shallow trenches in the ground, pulling up grass and exposing the mud and soil underneath.

Leo slowed his pace but didn't stop like I did. He turned around and ran back to me, not nearly as fast as when we were running together.

"What is it?" He asks me, even though he probably already knows.

"It's rabbits." I sniff around some more. "Three of them. Two middle-aged ones and one older one. With one white, one black and white, and one white and brown rabbit."

Leo smiles a little and chuckles. "Man. I wish I could do that."

"What?"

He smiles even bigger than before. "I wish I could just sniff and know everything about something. I would only smell that there are three rabbits somewhere around here. And then you have a way stronger sense of smell, so I might not even smell it at all, like just now."

I smile at him. But I snap out of it almost immediately. I ran off as I followed the scent. Leo trailed right behind me, letting me lead the way.

I took a sharp turn to the right towards the tall grass. I heard a bark, but I am so ready to go get the rabbits that I almost missed it. I stop to find Leo several feet behind me with a worried expression carved onto his face.

"What's wrong?" I ask. It's not like Leo to be afraid. At least, I think that's what it is. I mean, I think I see a slight hint of fear in his eyes even from this distance.

"Kate, that's the tall grass."

"Yeah. And?"

"We could get really lost in there. It's huge and something else could be in there. We might never come back out. We cannot go in there." Leo sits down, a stubborn look taking its place on his muzzle. I sigh. This is ridiculous. We need to get the rabbits. Now. But I understand where he's coming from. The tall grass is known for how big it is and how wolves go in and never come out.

Direction seekers are more capable in it since they can easily find their way out. But there have been times when a direction seeker comes back, and they are tramatized. They end up never speaking again and dying soon after.

"Look, Leo. We have to go in there. Everyone is counting on us. And if you don't want to go in, then fine. I'll go in on my own." I say it with such confidence that Leo's ears perk up. He knows I'm serious. Now it's his turn to sigh.

"Okay. Let's go." He says as he springs to his paws and runs with me into the tall grass. He was so close to me that our flanks were almost touching.

I made some more sharp turns and finally found a small cleared area. The rabbit's scents were much stronger here. This must be where they were. Leo walked forward with his nose to the ground, his tail wagging gently behind him. I can tell he's excited and so am I. I go another way, towards another rabbit scent.

Suddenly, three rabbits burst out of their burrows, and we give chase. Two young rabbits run side-by-side, so Leo and I go after those.

We start to gain on them when one of the two rabbits jerked to the right and the other to the left. Leo went full speed after the rabbit that went to the right.

"Leo!" I called him before I even had a chance to process what was happening. I shook my head and tried to focus. I tried to go faster, but I was kind of worried about Leo. He might not be able to find his way back. But I had to keep going. For the others. For me. For Leo.

I closed my eyes for just a second, and suddenly, I was letting my senses guide me. It was like a switch inside of me was flipped to turn off my emotions. I leaped and landed gracefully in front of the rabbit.

The rabbit slid across the grass as it tried to stop after being surprised by the change of positions. It ran into me, and I clamped my jaws down around its neck.

If Leo got the other rabbit, then we would be done with our part of the hunt. Now I just had to find him. I can't believe I let us get separated like that.

Then I got an idea. I laid the rabbit down onto the ground and lifted my head to the sky. I let out a loud, soothing howl that echoed through out the tall grass.

I didn't have to wait too long before a similar, more masculine howl replied to my call.

I continued to howl as I walked through the grass carrying the rabbit, and then laying it down to howl. I inched my way closer to the source of the howl until I pushed through a spot of tall grass to find Leo staring at me, tongue hanging out of his mouth and his tail wagging fiercely.

I ran to him, dropped the rabbit, and jumped on top of him. We wrestled around for a minute, but finally got back up.

We grabbed our rabbits, and I led the way out of the grass. I followed our scents back to the beginning of the tall grass.

When we finally get out, we run as fast as our legs will allow back to the hole. Once we got there, we put the rabbits in the hole with the other animals. The rest of the team trotted up with their tongues hanging out of their mouths.

We each looked at each other, and with a nod of my head, we raced off to find the caribou. I led the way with Leo and Lucy flanking me. We ran through the hunting canyons in a V-formation.

We followed the scent until we finally saw a caribou herd in the distance. We slowed down to a trot and split up, moving to the sides of the cliffs.

A low growl slipped out through my muzzle. One of the caribou's head rises into the air as our scent is carried towards the herd. One after another, the caribou raised their heads to sniff the wind.

Suddenly, one of the caribou yelled out as it identified the smell. The caribou started to run the opposite way, and we go after them.

I barked at Lucy to find a weak caribou in the pack, a baby or an old caribou. Finally, she finds an old caribou in the center of the pack.

I looked at Leo, and he gives me a nod of his head. I lowered my head and back as I got ready to jump. Then, I leap onto a ledge on the cliff.

I ran along the edge as Leo did the same on the other side of the cliff. Lucy and Leonardo were barking furiously below as they started to reach the side of the herd. Molly and Brian stayed behind the herd in case one of the caribou tried to get away.

I turned back to my task: getting to the front of the herd and separating it all the way to the center. I pick up some speed as I get ready to make the jump to the front. I bunch up my legs and leap.

I am almost to the ground in front of the herd when the caribou start to run faster towards me. If I land with the caribou under me, I could get seriously injured, or I could get trampled.

As soon as my paws touch the ground, I back spring towards the cliff. I get as close to the wall as possible, and I bark like the rest of the team to keep the caribou away from me.

"I have to get to the front of the herd," I whispered to myself. I keep barking, but run with the herd until I reach the front.

Leo is already there trying to separate them into groups, but it isn't working. I run forward and help Leo separate the caribou.

Soon enough, we get close enough to the center to separate the old buck from the others. The buck turns to the left, and we give chase.

The whole team races after the caribou. The buck tries to turn back to the herd, but we block his path. Lucy and Leonardo try to get in front of the buck, so they can stop it while Molly and Brian edge it forward by occasionally nipping its heels. Then, at the right moment, Leo and I will tackle the buck and bring it down for good.

I run along side the buck, and suddenly, I spring onto it's back, snarling. Leo tries to bite its neck from below while the buck tries to throw me off, but it is too weak.

Finally, I open my jaws as wide as I can and snap them shut on top of the base of the buck's neck.

The buck immediately slows down and falls to the ground with a heavy thud. I jump off the buck and smile.

"Okay. Let's get this thing back to the hole. Lucy, you and Leonardo push the buck's back. Molly, you and Brian carry the back legs. Leo and I will carry the front legs." As I bark out commands, everyone grabs their part of the caribou.

We drag the buck all the way back to the hole, and when we are several feet from the hole, Stacy's team comes into view. They are also several feet from their hole. As soon as they see us, they pull their caribou harder to try and get there first.

I turn back to the team and bark, "Come on, guys. We can do this." We all pull on the caribou as hard as we can. Rocks and stones jab into my paw pads, but I just keep moving.

We're almost to the hole when the caribou gets heavier. Everyone is getting tired. I pull harder even though I feel like my legs are going to give out from under me at any moment.
We only need about a half a foot left to go, but Stacy's team is slightly closer to their hole. Then I hear it.

"I knew she was just a runt." I hear it. I hear it perfectly. Someone in the crowd was whispering it, but I didn't know who. But it didn't matter. What mattered was that I was not going to let someone just say that and let it be true.

With renewed strength, I pull the caribou the last few inches into the hole, only about a half a second before Stacy's team did.

The crowd barks, yips, and howls. I jump up into the air with my team beside me as we celebrate another victory.

Lonnie comes up behind us with a proud gleam in her eye. Trina and Savannah follow right behind her with similar looks on their faces.

"I knew you guys could do it," Lonnie says which makes me smile even bigger. "You worked very hard. One more day. Tomorrow, it's you guys and Stacy's team only. All of the other teams have been eliminated."

We all start to bark at once, but soon, the whole team is ready to practice for tomorrow.

We were going to have the best routine ever seen before, and we were going to win.

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Hey! Hope you guys enjoyed. I know it's a little bit long. But I hope you liked this chapter. Ask questions and comment. :)