No! Please don’t leave me.” Her glutinous tone with traces of sorrow caused the two adults to feel pity. The father, who was soft on the inside but hard on the outside, snorted, explaining to his daughter with patience.

“Daughter, we have no choice. The prey has become scarce.

Here, have this to eat. This will keep you until we return.”

{Lu Joaker, (pig of luck)}

Father looked at me with a low look. He reached out and embraced me. I trembled.

It felt as though they would leave me, and I would be alone. Big green eyes with green hair stared up at the two — a sow and a boar. Stepping from their pen the two outside stripped and shifted into their beast form. Father’s tusk was curved over a meter in length and a quarter thick. The sow—my mother—had none. But she had something called ‘a mother’s rage’, making her much more dangerous than Father, or any other, male for that matter. The two growled before turning away.

I stared at them, who joined the main ‘row’. Walking deeper in the pen, I huddled, closing my eyes to sleep.

The hunt used to take a sun or two, but now it took longer.

Four suns passed, and some piglets began to fight each other for food. Looking at the piece left over, I looked over and snatched it and quickly chewed and swallowed the dried meat. Soon after, one of the larger piglets rushed into my pen, looking around wildly.

“Where is it?!”

“I don’t have it!”

“I smell it. It is so fresh!” another piglet entered, eyes wide, pale cheeks turning a blushing pink in frustrated rage. I kept still, trying my best to reduce my presence.

The piglet sneered, bearing a lengthening tooth, eyes bleeding red. I shivered, trying to hold back the nervous laugh threatening to slip from between my tightly sealed lips.

Suddenly, another piglet appeared and roared. “You lie!” rushing towards me. The older piglet slammed into me, forcing me to fall on my back. I gritted my teeth from the pain, closing my eyes in reflex. I felt so aggrieved. Is it my fault I ate my own food?

I have to suffer for something that is rightfully mine?

“Roan! Get off her!”

Someone yelled from the side. The voice is an adolescent male, but his voice carried the power of a High Boar already at such a young age. The sow, who was on top of me sneered down before stepping back. Sucking in a much-needed breath, I refused to move any further. Among the piglets, I am the lowest in rank, for one reason, and that is because I am different from them.

“She is nothing but an abomination. Why should she eat when Yoana suffers from hunger?”

“It is Yoana’s fault for eating her ration too early.” The piglet who almost suffocated me was known as Roana, a son of one of the lead hunters. While the other who appeared is called Dron, the son of the High Boar. Already he is eleven winters able to fend for himself. “Dron, why are you saying this? Yoana is delicate. She needs to eat.” Dron pursed his lips. Normally it would not be seen, but watching him I could not help but notice.

As the son borne from the High Sow and High Boar, he is already eye-catching, but as a rare single birth; he had all the milk and focused on himself for the first seven sun rotations of his life.

Many sows looked at his sturdy and eye-catching form. I looked away, inhaling deeply, only to release a low, nervous laughter when I caught the scent rapidly approaching. Quickly I stood looking around wildly. I then tried to find a safe place, but knew that we would be doomed.

Shaking my head, I took a step to the side and ran quickly in what I thought was the opposite direction. “Joaker, where are you going?” Dron quickly followed, after shouting in question. I continued running away without saying a word. “I know you are scared, but I am here. I promised that I would protec—” suddenly a shadow passed, then another and another. The sound of bones breaking could be heard followed by the grunts of pain. Soon there was squealing so high pitched it pierced my chest.

Stunned, I turned to run but stumbled. Looking at a tree nearby, I rushed towards it and hid, trembling from fear.

A sun passed, I slipped from the tree and looked on at the destruction. My eyes searched for Dron, but he could not be found. I bit my bottom lip, feeling a deep loss. “Dron...?” I whispered softly.

A piglet appeared covered in blood and slammed into me.

“You killed them!” squealing in my face. My body flew some distance, crashing into a tree. There was a crunch in my ears followed by darkness. “Dron…” I whispered.

{Wolfe Klan}

Oplino forest

The howl rang out. The sound was loud, echoed by several wolves. A pack of over a hundred wolves gathered together to pay homage to the Alpha and his triplet sons. The eldest sat on his hunches exposing his muscular furred chest. The two brothers sat slightly below him, a signal that they have given in to him proving his strength as the next Alpha. The she-wolves watched, filled with excitement. Many of the young she-wolves within their fiftieth moon rotation thought of taking the three wolves and mating, hoping to come into heat so they could produce the first litter of pups and claim the title of Selene.

The three did not pay these wolves any mind but instead listened to their father Alpha who spoke softly in the wolf ’s tongue. “Not too long ago, there was a stampede. The pigs have lost their High boar and many capable males. The forest has become restless due to the loss of balance. A sign the marshlands have fallen into disarray. We may prey on them but they have a reason to stand among the five hierarchies.”

The Alpha did not howl, growl or snap loudly, but his voice carried. As a male who reached his five hundred and sixtieth moon rotation, he could still be called young. So he was still a powerful male.

“The others will not be as generous as us and will probably try to finish the pigs.”

“Helping the pigs will help keep the balance.”

“Father, then tell us what you wish us to do.”

The Alpha inhaled before releasing a breath, speaking once he could explain to his sons correctly. “Find a suitable pig and all shall be well.”

“Thank you, Father.” The eldest replied. The two below continued to watch on, seeing no need to give their opinion. Their eldest brother will know what to do. Their only duty was to follow.

Not long after, the three wolves loped away, disappearing in a distance.

The three wolves entered the forest. This forest—like most of the territories nearby—was filled with greenery, but had a vast number of caves and mazes the pigs usually called pens. These pens were hidden behind sharp, pale green rocks and poisonous trees to give them extra cover. The three wolves, identical in color, were stark in contrast within the forest, their towering forms standing over four meters tall, mighty compared to even the largest boar towering three and a half meters. The forest, which usually had a pleasant underlying scent, was filled with death and decay. The once beautiful thriving marshland was trampled and filled with scattered corpses of the pink, grey and blue pigs. The second wolf sneezed to clear his nose, shaking his large, furred head from left to right in an attempt to dislodge the scent. The two brothers gathered their power, filtering the stench to breathe normally.

Printed on the Marsh floor were hoof prints. A print of three while the six pawed wolves with twin tails continued forward. Their eyes focused ahead while the triangular ears were perked up on top of their heads, listening for the strangest sound.

The Marsh, which usually rang with the sounds of the toads, birds and few calls of the yeowlas, was silent.

Following the instructions of their Alpha sire, the three, after a full moon, saw the entrance to the lair of the pigs.

The three wolves grew still upon seeing the destruction up close, thinking of the pigs within.

The World had a balance, ruled by different species to keep said balance. The pigs kept the balance between the five who prey on all those who feed only on greenery. The Marsh, being the largest territory, is ruled by the pigs who had a High Boar as their ruler. To the fore are the wolves, ruled by their Alpha and his Selene. The left is the Aerens, ruled by their Formel, a female who has fought and takes her place to rule over the rest of the Aerens with her male, whom she mates with for life.

To the right are the Dryads, these are plants which are able to move freely. They are ruled by their King Druid who is mostly a male with a weak, pale coat lacking bark but with a head covered with white hair. Their mobile form is rather weak and can be taken by all Kind on their world, but is usually avoided because it is a fatal form. To the hind of the pigs are the Löwe. These are the sworn enemies of the wolves. They are ruled by a male in groups without a true ruler, though they have a harem of females in their group numbering from five to thirty.

The wolves saw the hooves of the prey animal that had stampeded the pigs. A low whine escaped the mouth of the eldest before trailing to a growl. He felt dissatisfied with these results.