"Can we please go outside?" Dawn asked, her tail twitching with excitement. 

It was a half of a month since Sky's pups had been born. And now they were scrambling and playing around the den.

"No, you can't," Sky said firmly. She seemed more protective after she got over her son's death.

Eclipse laughed, "Maybe when your older." The pups weren't discouraged, the stumbled around and wrestled like nothing had happened. Eclipse visited often to see them. they made her happy just to watch the new generation of the pack.

Eclipse padded out of Sky's den, "Wind, Birch, Berry, Fern, come with me to hunt."

The group of wolves traveled to a tiny clearing with a giant oak growing there. A rabbit nibbling on a blade of grass was at the base of the tree, oblivious to the band of wolves.

Berry sank to the ground and started stalking the rabbit. Like a shadow, her padded quietly to the rabbit. Suddenly, Berry stepped on a twig that had fallen off the tree. The rabbit looked up in horror and ran, in panic, into the tree. Berry pounced on the dazed rabbit and quickly killed it.

The group of five returned with one rabbit, two squirrels and two plump voles. And on the way back, cloud caught a small squirrel that was wondering around the den.

Cloud, Stone, Sky, and Berry shared the hare in silence, and gorged on the flesh hungerly. Eclipse, Sapphire, Ice and Fern crunched on the squirrels, it's flesh satisfying their hunger. The Voles were eaten by Willow, Wind, Birch, and puddle, saving a meal for Smoke who was out finding herbs for Birch. 

Smoke ran into the den and panted, "Three loners would like to join."

"Settle down. It's not that bad," Eclipse got up and padded toward him.

Smoke swallowed, "NightPack chased us and give one of the loners a bad scratch."

Three loners padded into the cave. One was a black wolf who was leaning heavily on a light grey loner, and the other was a dark brown wolf. Blood was dripping from the black wolf's stomach and onto the stone floor.

Birch dipped his head to the loners and said, "Follow me, I will try to stop the bleeding."

The light grey wolf whispered something to the black wolf. He nodded and followed Birch slowly to the sleeping den.

Eclipse followed swiftly behind and entered the den after they ducked into it, "What's your names?"

The black wolf huffed as he was gently lowered into one of the beddings.

The light grey wolf looked up to Eclipse after her companion was laying in the bedding and Birch was looking at him closely, "I'm Moon, and the wounded one is River and the other is Mountain."

Eclipse dipped her head respectfully to them and then asked Birch, "Do you need anything?"

"No," Birched answered, "We have already lost him."

Moon looked down at her dead companion, "No! He cant be! Not my son!"

Mountain brushed up against her but said nothing, he only looked at his dead son with grief clouding his eyes.

"Come, Birch. Leave them to mourn," Eclipse said and left the den, Birch following closely behind.