It was a warm summer evening when the pups joined the very first bonfire. The werewolves took the time to gather wood in their human form and start a bonfire in a small open area between the trees. As the family arrived at the area which wasn’t that far from the Dens. Leeteuk took off to socialize with the elders while the mother stayed with the pups. 

It was a merry atmosphere with drinks and laughs. They celebrated a peaceful life, wealth of food and the health of every wolf in the pack. 

Everyone, especially the elder she-wolves took an interest in the tiny cute pups, automatically pampering them and gossiping with Mi-sha. As a mother of 6 hyperactive pups, she barely had time to leave the Den and hang about with the other she-wolves of the pack.


Jonghyun huddled behind his mother’s legs, he wasn’t necessarily scared but just shy to be around so many wolves. His siblings easily adjusted and soaked up the attention the others gave them.
 

There was another wolf pup maybe a few years older than him, sitting next to them and eyeing him up in curiosity. The pup was a brownish/white color with beautiful brown eyes and a long pretty snout
 

‘’What a cute little babe.’’ One of the elders leaned down, taking a good look at him. Jonghyun blinked and hid behind his mother’s legs, feeling the tip of his ears heat up timidly. ‘’Is he your youngest?’’ Mi-sha grinned and stepped back, ‘’He indeed is, right my little Jonghyun?’’ She asked and encouraged him forward by headbutting his backside softly. 

Jonghyun didn’t say anything and just froze up, the elder wolf laughed, not to belittle him though and she brought her own family member forward. ‘’This is Taeyeon, my granddaughter.’’ She introduced, ‘’Say Hi, Taeyeon.’’


‘’Hello.’’ She greeted them with a wolfish smile, her voice light. ‘’Do you want to play?’’ Jonghyun tilted his head to the side, it’s not that he didn’t want to, he just couldn’t believe someone wanted to hang out with him. Hesitantly he nodded which had her tail wag in excitement. ‘’Let’s go on an adventure!’’ Jonghyun turned his head and looked up at his mother who smiled in return. 

The small pup swallowed nervously and slowly followed Taeyeon, he liked adventures a lot but will Taeyeon still like him after it?


They passed several of their family-members in human-form, drinking and dancing around the bonfire. Both of them observed a little bottle with liquid inside and even sniffed at it which had them getting chased around by a family member. The pups were too young for Alcohol but all was good as they ran from the bonfire, giggling in joy.


‘’What do you want to do?’’ Taeyeon asked him enthusiastically. ‘’We could eat then explore the big old tree that I saw nearby or we could chase some bunnies around?’’ Jonghyun thought about it, his tummy felt empty and he felt like doing everything Taeyeon suggested.


‘’How about we do all three?’’  
 

‘’Alright! Let’s go!’’

They both giggled and ran toward Sungmin on the other side of the bonfire, he was in charge of cleaning the meat and cooking it over the fire for those who didn’t want to eat it raw but actually desired to taste the seasoned meat and feel the tenderness in their mouths. 

While Jonghyun was munching on his slab of cooked deer, he overheard a conversation that took place not that far from him. ‘’Bears are getting closer to our territory,’’ Heechul said, pacing back and forth in concern. ‘’Why does it always have to be them or the Silver hand?’’ Jonghyun tilted his head to the side, wondering who the Silver hands were. He knew what a bear was and that they were big evil meanies but since Uncle Heechul used them in the same sentence, did that mean they were big meanies too? 
 

‘’Calm down Heechul, we need to go on a reconnaissance of where they actually are before moving the pack,’’ Leeteuk replied in a calming tone. Heechul shook his head, ‘’It might be too late by then.’’ 
 

‘’What do you mean?’’ One of the other wolves nervously asked, their coat a light brownish/sandish color and their eyes dark brown and kind. ‘’I was with the hunting pack this morning, I caught a glimpse of at least two bears, Donghae,’’ Heechul informed then looked at Leeteuk.
 

‘’We shouldn’t wait any longer and just go.’’ He gulped, his aura emitting dread which was new for the laid-back wolf they all knew. ‘’There is only one chunk of forest separating us, If I calculate my footsteps back to the pack correctly, it will take them until tomorrow evening to enter our area.’’ 
 

‘’No Heechul.’’ Leeteuk scowled, just the raise of his tone had Jonghyun’s ears lower. ‘’I’m sending out a scouting group tomorrow, I’m not having panic amongst the pack before even knowing what their motive is.’’ 

‘’Do Bears even have a motive except to kill?’’ Heechul snapped back, teeth bared and eyes fierce. ‘’They’re bloody monsters, last week they were inhabiting the mountain area and now they moved further down!’’ Jonghyun gasped, jumping in shock as Leeteuk barked at the other, stance a show of dominance as he raised his upper body higher, looking down at Heechul in means to intimidate him. ‘’Don’t question my decisions! I’m sending a scouting group tomorrow, end off discussion.’’ 

The situation had turned tense out of the blue, the small pup didn’t like any of it. He never witnessed his father and uncle quarrel like this so the Bear situation was really dire. ‘’Jjongie?’’ Taeyeon appeared next to him, her eyes worriedly taking in how the elders were acting. ‘’H-how about we chase some bunnies now?’’ He mumbled, feeling a bit uneasy and wanting to leave.

‘’Sure.’’ She agreed, not liking the situation either. They were about to leave the bonfire before Jonghyun suddenly let out some hurried noises, ‘’Oh! I forgot to give Yara some of the meat!’’ 

Taeyeon blinked, ‘’Whose Yara?’’ 

‘’My other friend!’’ Jonghyun grinned then ran back to receive a piece of meat and proudly carried it between his small canine teeth. Curiosity got the better of the older wolf and she followed him towards a collapsed tree trunk with an opening in the middle. 

She followed him inside and was baffled, to say the least, Yara was a cocoon?


‘’Uh, Jjongie?’’ 

‘’Here you go Yara.’’ Jonghyun muffled then dropped the meat and nudged it forward with his snout. ‘’I hope you don’t mind that it’s cooked instead of raw.’’ A flash of blue flashed across the cocoon but other then that, it didn’t make any movement towards the meat that lay beneath it. Taeyeon never saw such an odd friendship before, especially not one that was one-sided like this. The cocoon was just hanging there and while she was knowledgeable about what it was, it wasn’t developed yet.

‘’I-i don’t think your friend is hungry.’’ She inquired quietly, a little confused but not having the heart to tell Jonghyun that Yara didn’t like meat or could eat it for that matter. ‘’That’s alright, I will leave it here in case she gets hungry.’’ The pup yipped then turned around with big eyes.

‘’Bunny chase?’’ 

Taeyeon stared back, a small smile lifting at the corners of her snout. ‘’Bunny chase.’’ She agreed and they both left the tree trunk in a rush towards a field nearby that had Bunnies hopping around.

Chasing the bunnies was a lot of fun but after they all disappeared into a hole in the ground when the skies gotter darker, Taeyeon and Jonghyun called it a day. The older wolf had shown her new friend the big old tree before they left for their dens.


The big old tree was very beautiful with its pink petals and the fireflies flying around. ‘’You know, you are my first friend who I’m showing this to.’’ She admitted, both of them gazing up at the fireflies in amazement while sitting side by side.


‘’Really?’’ Jonghyun squeaked, his heart swelling with joy at hearing this. ‘’Uhu.’’ The she-wolf hummed positively. ‘’I don’t like the other pups around my age and you’re the first one I have genuinely enjoyment with.’’ The small pup smiled, as a runt of the litter, it wasn’t every day that he got compliments especially not when his siblings were so much better at everything, but to hear how Taeyeon liked his presence, it truly made Jonghyun’s day.

‘’So you don’t mind me being the runt?’’ He asked bluntly, eyes lowering as he automatically guarded himself against the hurtful words probably coming his way. Taeyeon turned her head towards him, eyes wide and startled.

‘’Certainly not!’’ her tone had an underlying edge of hurt to it. ‘’I don’t care, it doesn’t stop you from being the sweetest!’’ She approached the smaller pup and nosed the side of his head. ‘’I didn’t become your friend because of your status but your personality which is way more important you know!’’ 

Jonghyun was a bit caught off guard, eyes watering just a little. ‘’Y-you really mean that?’’ He whimpered then nuzzled her back. ‘’My siblings are meanies sometimes, I thought you f-felt the same w-way.’’ 

Taeyeon whimpered too, ‘’You know, it may sound harsh but..’’ She hesitated, ‘’Those who start as the weakest, end up being the strongest later in life.’’ The small pup stared at her, taking in those words, it was a fact that he was the weakest pup but would he truly end up being a strong adult wolf? That was so hard to imagine, needless to