Chapter 2 - A Little Fun

After a good night's sleep, Ajax could hear the birds chirping and could feel the sun coming up over the mountain. He forced his eyes to open and slowly lifted his head. His mouth widened into a large yawn. He still felt exhausted from the day before. He brought his legs under him and stood up. Ajax shook the snow from his coat and looked around.

He seen Riot still fast asleep. He then realized the poor pup still hadn't eaten anything. He looked up on top of the hill to see Red waking up too. Ajax trotted on up and sat by her, but kept his distance. He didn't want her to feel uncomfortable.

"Feel up to a hunt this morning?" Ajax asked. He could almost hear Red groan at the thought. "Uh... sure... if necessary." She replied. Ajax looked back over at Riot still asleep and understood how worn out they all still were. "I'll go see if I can find some easy prey and if I can, then I'll howl. That way you two can get a little more rest." Ajax could see the relief in Red's eyes. "Thank you." She replied.

Ajax trotted off down the hill, keeping his eyes open and his nose sniffing among the ground. There was an old carcass not too far from their den. Not much was left on it. I really hoped for something fresh. He hadn't eaten fresh meat in what felt like forever. Ajax thought he seen a good area to hunt yesterday, he figured he'd check that place out.

Ajax trotted in the direction of what he hoped would be good hunting grounds. Once there, he was disappointed. Nothing. 'Not even a Rabbit'... he thought to himself. Ajax sighed. He'd been gone for a while and decided to head back to the den to report the bad news.

Ajax arrived to find Riot & Red on top of the look out hill. He trotted up and sat near them. "Didn't see anything besides some old carcasses." Ajax spoke. "If you guys are hungry, they aren't far from here though."

"I'm a little hungry" Red and Riot both replied. "Alright, follow me" Ajax trotted off in the direction he had seen the carcass. It wasn't much, but it was something.

Once they arrived he let the pup and Red eat first. He took what was left. It was frozen and definitely not fresh, but it did take the hunger edge off.

When they were done, they decided to explore a little further. That's when he seen.... where he had just been looking for prey.... two cow elk off on their own. Pawing their way through the snow, looking for what little grass they could find. "You've gotta be kidding me." Ajax said. He trotted in the direction of the two cows.

Ajax made his way as close as he could to them then glanced at Red. "Ready?" he asked quietly. Red gave a nod that she was. Ajax's eyes fixated on the cow in the back. He lowered himself as close to the ground as he could and slowly snuck up closer to them. Laying down flat any time they looked up or stopped.

Once he was close enough, he burst into a dead run and launched himself at the cow's haunches. Red was right behind him and quickly had ahold of the cows throat. Ajax lost his grip on the haunches and darted away from the dangerous hooves kicking and fighting. Ajax quickly went in for another grab, This time he launched himself at the other side of her throat. By now, Red had lost her grip and was back in on the cow's haunches.

The cow dropped to the ground and they finished her off. It was one of the quickest and easiest kills Ajax could remember. Him and Red made a good team. Riot watched near by, waiting for the fight to be over. He wasn't sure what was going on. Once it was safe, Ajax signaled to Riot to come on over.

There was now plenty to eat for all of them and they all gorged themselves on the fresh meat. None of them had, had such a good meal in a long while. They all lay near the carcass gnawing on bones and cleaning themselves off.

They lay around letting their food digest a bit and the sun beat down on their coats. It felt rather nice and peaceful. Ajax was happy. He felt... playful even. A sly smile crept across his maw. He trotted up to Riot and booped him with his nose. "Tag, you're it!" He then ran a little ways off and started doing play bows.

Riot was confused at first, but then ran after Ajax. Ajax darted away when Riot got close, then let the pup catch him. Riot jumped on Ajax and 'tackled' him to the ground. Ajax laughed. He got up and tagged Red. It was her turn to be it.

Before she was able to engage in play, Ajax caught sight of a rabbit. He decided it was time to give Riot his very first hunting lesson. He explained to Riot how to get low to the ground and how to sneak up then pounce on the rabbit. Ajax showed him the stalking position. The rabbit darted back into it's hole too quickly though and Riot didn't get to try.

Ajax decided just a lesson is talking would do. He demonstrated how to be sneaky, then let Riot have a go at it. It took the pup a few tries but soon he was doing it great. "There you go pup! You've got it!" Ajax called out.

Ajax trotted over to the pup and whispered to him. "Now, sneak up on Red and pounce on her". Riot looked at Ajax like he was crazy. "Uh... you sure?" the pup asked. "Of course, go on. She won't mind." Ajax had a mischievous, playful smile on his face. "Okay..." Riot replied. He circled around and started sneaking up on the Red female.

Red could tell something was up and pretended not to notice the pup sneaking up behind her. She acted fully surprised when the pup leapt on her. They all laughed and fully enjoyed the moment.

Soon it was time to return to the den. Ajax lead the way. Their trip home was pretty uneventful and they were all happy to be back to take a nap. Ajax plopped down on look out hill. Red found a spot on look out hill to plop down on as well.

Riot didn't want to be by himself by the den so he joined Red. He felt more attached to her as the days went on.

Ajax's thoughts went back over the day's activities. It was one of the funnest days he had had in a long time. It was also the moment he realized..... his pack was already growing.