The sun rose upon the horizon, painting the sky with an orange-yellowish color. The clouds drifted lazily by, just awaking from their long naps.

The light of the rising day glinted off the snowy ground, bouncing off snowdrifts and the icy branches of trees.

A wolf pack ran through the crunchy snow, kicking up puffs of the powdery stuff. Every one of their muzzles was stained a bright red, evidently from the results of a successful kill. They were simply returning to the home center of their territory, to rest and chat with each other. 

The two wolves leading the group ran almost in sync, like two birds, gliding side-by-side. It looked like they were flying over the snow, legs seemingly never touching the ground for more than a second. 

The wolf on the right turned to the one on the left, gazing at her companion's beautiful, grey eyes. 

Her ears perked, pink eyes a-gleaming. 

So.. pretty, like the owls that hoot in the night... 

Suddenly, the male turned, feeling his mate's eyes on him. "Kaede, are you alright..?" 

She yelped, shrinking back a bit. "Y-yeah, I-" 

He gave a hesitant laugh, turning his head to look at her. "Do I have something on my fur? Ah, jeez-" 

"N-no!" Kaede yelped again. "It's just..." 

Dammit...

"Your eyes are so prett-"

"HAHAHAHAHAHA!" Someone laughed from the middle of the group. 

The yellow she-wolf huffed, pulling her ears straight up. She knew well who this was. 

"Hey, Pooichi and Kaeidiot! Let's pull this whole shibang over, so y'all can fu-" 

"Miu," a deep voice rumbled, from the mouth of his mate. "Cool your jets." 

He turned as best he could to stare straight into her eyes, black orbs boring into her soul. 

There was a lapse in her gait; she almost fell back into Tsumugi. "H-heeeeee!" 

Both Shuichi and Kaede turned to look at Ryoma, eyes full of gratitude. He just gave them a small nod in return. 

A couple of minutes passed by in silence, the pack peacefully running together. 

Then, Shuichi lifted his nose into the air and exclaimed, "We're close!" 

Behind them, a chorus of whoops and yells filled the air. 

You see, they were departing from their prime hunting territory. It was a bit away from their actual home; their small, forested valley really only was home to creatures such as pheasants and rabbits. Sometimes, small herds of elk and deer passed through, but it was not frequent enough to sustain them. 

The wolves (and dog) started to recognize their surroundings, and before long, they hurtled straight into the middle of the territory. 

There were sighs of relief as some of the bigger and taller wolves dropped some of their smaller packmates*, and others laid down for a short breather.

Over in the far corner, Gonta gently placed a very bored Kokichi onto the ground. "Thanks, Gonta!" 

The spaniel snickered, tail wagging back-and-forth slowly. Gonta's crimson eyes fixated on him. "You're welcome, Kokichi! Gonta always happy to help." 

 With a bounce in his step, Kokichi walked away, pondering what to do. He seemed to be the only energized canine out of this whole group, the rest lounging about. His eyes twitched in annoyance. 

What to do, WHAT. TO. DO?

He surveyed the group, thinking over his options. 

Kirumi and Ryoma were not too far away-  he could totally try to go for them. They were peacefully cleaning each other's snouts; he could try to sneak up on them, maybe scare 'Mommy', as he called her, in the process. 

On second thought.. 

Kirumi would give him a painful nip on the ear, and Ryoma would surely give him a mouthful (especially if he tried to scare the aforementioned she-wolf). 

Nahhhh...

His purple gaze settled on Maki and Kaito. The red and black-furred wolf was standing there, a hint of light pink touching the tips of her ears and her cheeks, as her mate was animatedly chatting about whatever came to his mind. 

Nishishishishi, this is gonna be perfect! 

While he wouldn't normally mess with Maki when the alphas and betas were so close, he was too bored to really care. He just hoped she wouldn't bite his face off. 

Kokichi chortled to himself as he approached her, being careful to stay downwind. Surprisingly, he escaped her keen eyes. Kaito didn't notice either, too absorbed in.. space nonsense. He sidled up to one of her back legs, angling himself justtttt right. 

Then, he farted on Maki's leg. 

She whirled around to face him, letting out a yell. But, by then, Kokichi was already off.

 He let free loud laughter, fur flowing in the wind. She bolted after him, loud snarls and growls escaping her mouth. But, too bad for Maki; he was too far ahead. She could only dream of catching up to him at this point. 

He turned his head mid-run to look at his chaser. His laughter became louder when he realized how far behind she was. 

All of a sudden, Maki yelled, "Kokichi, stop!" 

Something in her tone worried him. He looked down, realizing his mistake way too late. 

He had skidded straight onto an iced-over pond. 

Cracks snaked across the surface as quick as a thunderbolt, loud SNAP! noises accompanying the display. 

Before he could let so much as a cry escape his throat, he fell under. 

*The bigger and taller wolves were carrying smaller ones such as Ryoma and Kokichi, because if they were to be placed down, they would just go- ploof!- straight down into the snow. Mofos wouldn't even be able to move because of how deep the snow is 💀

Yay, the first chapter is done! Most of this served as a filler, until the ending, that is. Apologies if everyone seems OOC- I have only really written for Kirumi and Ryoma, and even then, they're pretty poorly written. And, sorry, I just HAD to sneak that little bit of toilet humor in.. ~Mia 🔱

P.S. To answer a question literally nobody asked, no, this is *NOT* a Kokichi- centered fic.